Very Special Miss Louisiana 2017 hands out hugs, love across St. John
Published 12:15 am Wednesday, November 22, 2017
- Trinity Jacobs of LaPlace greets St. John firefighters with hugs and cookies Monday as part of a community service effort.
LAPLACE — Wherever she goes, 14-year-old Trinity Jacobs of LaPlace commands the room with her boundless energy and loving spirit.
Born with Down syndrome, she’s the titleholder of Very Special Miss Louisiana 2017. Part of her platform is giving back to the community through service projects.
With the support of her mother, Jennifer Frizzell, grandmother Iona Holloway, and best friend Nia Adams, Trinity handed out homemade cookies to representatives from the St. John the Baptist Parish Office of Fire Services, Sheriff’s Office and Parish government Monday at the Percy Hebert building in LaPlace.
Trinity Jacobs
Themed Savor Your Sweetness, each cookie-filled goody bag included a message from Trinity: “Thanking you for all you do and reminding you to be your best you!”
Frizzell said it is important for the family to find a service project Trinity can actively be involved in.
“We decided to bake cookies,” Frizzell said. “Winn-Dixie covered the cost of the project by donating the cookie dough, and the theme Savor Your Sweetness really fits Trinity’s personality.”
Though a speech delay makes it difficult for others to understand her at times, Trinity gets her message across through her actions, expressions and joyful smile.
Upon seeing men from the Office of Fire Services walk into the building, she immediately ran up to them to give hugs and let them know they are loved.
Trinity Jacobs and her mother, Jennifer Frizzell, handed out homemade cookies to representatives from the St. John the Baptist Parish Office of Fire Services, Sheriff’s Office and Parish government Monday at the Percy Hebert building in LaPlace.
The trend continued as Trinity served cookies to other Parish representatives and made instant connections, addressing each person as if she had known them for a lifetime.
“Trinity has so much love for everyone,” Holloway said.
“We’ll see some men at the park, people I don’t even know, and she’ll go hug on them and say ‘God bless you.’”
Trinity’s family was by her side when she was crowned Very Special Miss Louisiana in January, and judges said her cheering supporters and modeling poses made her stand out on stage.
Frizzell said Trinity’s platform forwarded three objectives.
“When she won in January, we made a commitment to spread awareness for the pageant,” Frizzell said.
“Secondly, we wanted to increase awareness for special needs and show these young ladies can do just as much as anyone else. Thirdly, we wanted to focus on community service.”
Trinity will preside over the 2018 Very Special Miss Louisiana pageant in January, where she will relinquish her crown and pass it on to the next queen.
An eighth grader at LaPlace Elementary, Trinity loves dressing up in her pageant gowns and is great at working with children.
