A Monroe woman was named first runner-up in the Miss Michigan 2026 competition, held Saturday, June 20 at the Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon.
Reese Johnson, 20, was Miss Monroe County in 2023, but she competed Saturday as the reigning Miss Washtenaw County. She’s a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“It was such an amazing moment,” Johnson told The Monroe News. “Being in the final two was a moment I have only ever dreamed about, and having it become a reality was so surreal. I am still in shock. This is just an experience I will never forget.”
Grace Hanke, Miss Oakland County, was crowned Miss Michigan 2026 on Saturday.
Dione Oerther, executive director of the Miss Monroe County Scholarship Program, said three Monroe County women competed in Miss Michigan 2026, and all three were in the Top 11. Oerther said 30 women in all competed in this year’s program.
The other Monroe County women were MaKayla Dickinson, 20, Miss Monroe County 2025, and Josephine Nicols, 26, Miss Land of Lakes. Nicols won Miss Congeniality at Saturday’s Miss Michigan competition.
“It was a phenomenal show. The girls ‘left it all on the stage’ tonight. I’m so proud of all of them,” Oerther said.
Reese Johnson
Johnson is a graduate of Monroe County Middle College. The daughter of Patrick and Emily Johnson of Monroe, Johnson is a junior at UM, where she is studying graphic design. Her talent for the Miss Michigan competition was musical theater. Her Miss America Social Initiative was “PRISM: Providing Support, Education and Resources to the LGBTQ+ Community.”
She was fourth runner-up in the Miss Michigan Teen 2023 competition.
In 2023, at age 17, Johnson was crowned Miss Monroe County on her first attempt at the title. She was the second youngest person ever to win the title.
“I made history last night,” Johnson said in 2023. “I’m the first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to win Miss Monroe County in 60 years and the only one in the state of Michigan. I am the rep I never got to see. I’ll be spreading awareness.”
Johnson had competed in the Miss Monroe County program since she was 6-years-old. She was third runner-up for Tiny Miss and was first runner-up for Miss Monroe County Outstanding Teen in 2022.
She was Miss Washtenaw County Teen in 2022. She spent 2025-26, her reigning year as Miss Washtenaw County, speaking on her platform.
“My Service Initiative is ‘Prism: LGBTQ+ Support, Education and Resources,’ a 501 (c)(3) organization I founded in 2021,” Johnson said after winning Miss Washtenaw County. “I provide education through a two-hour curriculum that helps teach others how to become better allies for marginalized groups and communities. I really want to focus my attention toward facilitating these trainings throughout my year. My goal is to always be the person I once needed to see in these roles, as a person within the LGBTQ+ community, because I never want others to feel that there can be limits on dreams.”
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler atswisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe woman named first runner-up in Miss Michigan 2026 competition
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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By Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News | USA TODAY Network
