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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Abbie Stockard at her parents’ home in Vestavia Hills. Stockard was crowned Miss Hoover in July and is a junior at Auburn University, studying nursing.
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Photo courtesy of Abbie Stockard.
Maddie Hagler, left, and Abbie Stockard are both students at Auburn University and best friends.
Some young women who participate in beauty pageants and scholarship competitions pick a charitable cause to support because it’s a requirement to be in the competition.
But Abbie Stockard, a Vestavia Hills High School graduate who was crowned Miss Hoover 2024 in July and will compete in Miss Alabama next summer, has been passionate about her chosen community service initiative for years.
Stockard, a 21-year-old nursing student at Auburn University, has been working to bring awareness to cystic fibrosis and raising money to fight the disease for more than a decade.
Her best friend since third grade, Maddie Hagler, has cystic fibrosis, and Stockard said she long ago promised Hagler she would do everything she could to help fight for her and others suffering from the disease.
Stockard has been participating in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides Walk for more than 10 years, raising money for the cause. The past two years, she has spoken at one of the walks and gone to elementary schools in the Birmingham area to share with young students about cystic fibrosis.
Stockard worked with state Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, about a year and a half ago to get a resolution passed through the state Legislature, declaring May 26 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Day. And she partnered with Dr. George Solomon, a pulmonologist at The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital, to do a social media campaign to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis.
Stockard did short video clips with questions about the disease, such as what causes it, what life is like with it and treatment options, and then Solomon responded with the answers. She aired the videos on various social media channels for seven weeks.
She also last year held spirit nights at five restaurants that agreed to give 20% of their sales during a certain time to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, raising close to $10,000. In the coming months, she hopes to do the same thing at restaurants in Hoover, she said.
Margaret Smith, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, said she is thrilled that Stockard has chosen cystic fibrosis as her community service initiative.
“She has been a supporter of the foundation ever since she was a little girl,” Smith said. “She’s a really sweet girl. She does a tremendous job in our community and helps raise awareness about this. … We’re always happy to have her and appreciate all of her help and support.”
Stockard’s commitment isn’t lost on her longtime friend, Hagler, either.
“She’s always been there for me,” Hagler said. “It just shows how much she cares for me and how much she pours herself into finding a cure for something I’ve been battling my whole life.”
Hagler, who attended Vestavia Hills High School with Stockard and now attends Auburn with her, said dealing with cystic fibrosis has been a challenge.
Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disorder that causes the buildup of thick, slimy mucus in the lungs, leading to the blockage of pancreatic ducts, intestines and bronchi, and often resulting in respiratory infections. People who have it often have trouble digesting foods and maintaining a healthy weight. There is no known cure, and the average lifespan for someone with cystic fibrosis is about 50 years old.
Hagler said she has learned how to deal with it better as she has gotten older and more mature, but she has to be careful about being around a lot of people and has to take about 30 pills a day and do treatments once or twice a day. An exercise science major, she also tries to stay fit.
She’s grateful for Stockard’s concern and passion.
“She is honestly one of the most hard-working, passionate people I know,” Hagler said. “She is probably the busiest person I know, but she can make time for anybody. She just really cares about service. It’s been one of the biggest blessings.”
Stockard said she’s excited to be Miss Hoover and especially excited that she won $5,000 to go toward her education.
She plans to complete her undergraduate degree in nursing in the summer of 2025 and wants to get a doctorate in nurse anesthesia and work at Children’s of Alabama hospital, she said.
She grew up in a medical family. Stockard’s mother is a pharmacist, her father is a medical sales representative, her grandfather was a surgeon and she has an aunt and uncle who are physicians and another aunt who is a psychiatrist. She just wants to serve people and make a difference, she said.
Stockard stays busy at Auburn University, where she is on the Tiger Paws dance team, in the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and works with the Auburn student recruitment team, giving tours to prospective students. She grew up an Alabama fan, but she followed in her mom’s footsteps, went to Auburn and fell in love with the campus, she said. “Now I’m an Auburn girl through and through.”
Stockard said she didn’t grow up competing in pageants but was convinced by a friend to give it a try during her freshman year. She became Miss Cahaba Valley 2022 and Miss Trussville 2023 and placed in the top five at Miss Alabama in both of the past two competitions. She’s hoping the third time will be the charm as Miss Hoover.
