Edrienne Leolani (Edwards) Carpenter, a former Kauai Junior Miss and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Edwards of Kekaha, was recently crowned the 2004 Mrs. United States. Now a Texas resident, she was Mrs. Texas until she won the national
Edrienne Leolani (Edwards) Carpenter, a former Kauai Junior Miss and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Edwards of Kekaha, was recently crowned the 2004 Mrs. United States. Now a Texas resident, she was Mrs. Texas until she won the national crown.
Alicia Michioka Jones, Mrs. Hawaii, the daughter of Blaine Michioka and Lorri Stilwell-Makaneole, was named first runner-up.
Carpenter, who owns and operates Royal Hawaiian Hula, an entertainment business, in Texas, is a 1991 graduate of Waimea High School, and attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In February, she won the title of Mrs. Texas. She was crowned Mrs. United States 2004 in Las Vegas recently.
“This year, I am traveling across the United States, promoting my platform of post-partum depression,” and will be appearing on “The Dr. Phil Show” and others, she said.
“The highlight of my year will certainly be my upcoming trip to Kaua‘i,” she said. “I am so excited to be coming home next week, on Thursday, Oct. 28, in conjunction with the Waimea High School homecoming festivities on Friday, Oct. 29 (where I will be honored in special events), the Kauai United Way walkathon on Saturday, Oct. 30 (where I will be speaking in honor of our dear friend and outstanding community leader Kaipo Kealalio),” she said.
She will be available to sign and hand out official crown photos, and make appearances in schools across the island Monday through Friday, Nov. 1 to 5.
The pageant had four contestants with Hawai‘i roots, and three of the four placed in the top 10, Carpenter said, now of Rockwall, Texas, a Dallas suburb. She and her husband Shane Carpenter have two sons, Logan Kalana Carpenter and Austin Kainoa Carpenter.
She won the physical-fitness award (swimsuit) and received the highest overall scores in judges’ interviews, and poise and appearance (evening-gown competition).
She helps the Make-A-Wish Foundation by spending time with the terminally ill children who wish to go to Hawai‘i. Before they fly to the islands, she gives them hula lessons, teaches them helpful Hawaiian words and phrases, and performs with them at their own special lu‘au. Carpenter also donates her time at children’s hospitals, retirement centers, schools, and women’s shelters. She also enjoys organizing food and clothing drives for donation to various charitable organizations.
On a grass-roots level, she enjoys belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Relief Society program (the world’s largest women’s organization) where she has held numerous local-level leadership positions (in Hawai‘i, Utah and Texas), and has been a visiting teacher for 13 years. In this capacity, she and a partner are assigned to regularly visit and help specific women in their community.
“Being a visiting teacher is one of my favorite responsibilities, and has led me to a lot of volunteer baby-sitting, preparing meals for the sick, providing transportation to the emergency room or grocery store, helping families find employment, mowing the lawns of elderly citizens, providing emotional support in times of family loss, and much more.
“It is at this personal level of service that I have gained the deepest sense of satisfaction and a greater conviction of the effectiveness of volunteerism. Recently, my own visiting teachers were key instruments in helping me to overcome a three-year battle with post-partum depression,” she said. “Imagine how much improvement would come to our society if every individual simply donated just one more hour of their time to a friend in need or to a charitable cause.”
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from BYU, and is working towards a master’s degree in business administration at Texas A&M University at Commerce. She met her husband while both were attending school in Provo.
