PEARCE, Ariz. (KGUN) — Allison Thomison is a mom, wife, special education teacher, farmer — and now, Mrs. Arizona American.
Thomison, who lives in Pearce, was crowned in May, becoming the first woman from Cochise County to hold the title. The win came a year after she finished as runner-up.
"I was so excited to be able to put Cochise County back on the map a little bit," Thomison said.
She credits her resilience to return and compete again to the lessons learned on her farm.
"I think in all the years of farming and failing at farming and ranching and learning along the way, it gave me this grit and this resilience to keep going and to get back on the horse and do it one more time," Thomison said.
Now, she is using her platform to bring attention to rural Arizona, where farming is a way of life for many people.
"It is so important to me that there are more ranchers and farmers upcoming. 75% of the world's farmers are over the age of 65. We need more farmers. We need more ranchers, and we need more right here in Cochise County," Thomison said.
Thomison spends most of her days as a special education teacher at Pearce Elementary School, and she hopes her students are among those she inspires.
"It is emotional for me because it is a real-life representation of yes, we're out here in the quiet corner of Arizona, but you can be loud, and you can be seen, and you should be, and that's what I want my students at the school to know," Thomison said.
Beyond agriculture, Thomison is also drawing attention to the unique experiences of women in rural America.
"Women of rural America have such a different life experience. We have lived different things. We work hard. We're out here in the sun, and we're riding horses still. And we do things from an aspect of supporting our families in agriculture that, in most places, is gone," Thomison said.
Thomison is also using her platform to raise awareness for her nonprofit, Control Alt Elite, which helps victims of domestic violence. She started the organization with her mother after growing up in a household where domestic violence existed.
She will represent Arizona at the national Mrs. America competition in Las Vegas in the coming months.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
