Mr. and Mrs. Randall Frank, 38-year residents of Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch are proud to announce that their granddaughter, Ashley Nevison, was recently crowned Royal International Miss Arizona Preteen 2020. Miss Nevison is the only daughter of Jonathan and DeAnn Nevison (graduates of Chaparral High School, class of ’91) of Phoenix. She is a 12-year-old 7th grade student at Elite Performance Academy in Chandler and an alumnus from The Awakening Seed School in Phoenix. She is a straight “A” student and the secretary of EPA’s student council. She represented EPA in the 2018 Hamilton Invitational Science and Engineering Fair with her project on hydroponics. She loves science and math and hopes to study medicine and become a pediatric orthopedic surgeon after a professional ballet career. “I want to help kids with their sports injuries just like the doctors are helping me today,” Miss Nevison said. “I know my career as a professional ballerina will be short so I want to return to school and start a second career.” Miss Nevison has always dreamed of becoming a professional ballerina and has danced since she was 2.5 years old. Starting out in all styles of dance, she danced competitively for seven years before focusing only on ballet. Then in 2017 she began concentrating on ballet full time. She currently dances 20+ hours a week in a pre-professional ballet program through The Russian Ballet Academy at Club Dance in Mesa. Ashley is a triple threat. Besides dancing, she sings, plays piano and loves musical theatre. She played Willie Wonka in Ahwatukee Children’s Theater’s production of “Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” in 2017 along with parts in local productions of “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Shrek Jr.” from 2015-18. After the recent loss of her beloved cat, Sargeant, to cancer, Miss Nevison opened her own charity, “Sargeant’s Army,” in his honor. She makes and donates toys and blankets for cats waiting for their forever home from scraps of material she gets from her mother, a costume designer. “That way,” said Miss Nevison, “the cats get something and all the scraps stay out of the landfill. It’s a win for everyone.” Miss Nevison and her mom are members of the 7th grade class of the San Tan chapter of the National Charity League. She is the secretary for the class of 2025 and enjoys all the community service opportunities it offers her. She earned the silver President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2018 based on 78 hours of community service. Miss Nevison’s 2020 Queen’s message platform concentrates on standing up for your friends against bullies. “I was bullied when I was younger and want to help kids today understand and get through a bad experience. If I can help even one kid, all the time and effort will be worth it,” said Miss Nevison. “I am developing my message on discussing bullying and reading books on bullying for 3-8-year-old children.” She hopes to visit many schools throughout her reign. This year will be Miss Nevison’s seventh year dancing the Nutcracker. You can see Miss Nevison, the Royal International Miss Arizona Preteen 2020, at Symphony Hall in Ballet Arizona’s performance of the Nutcracker in December. If you would like an appearance from Queen Ashley, message her on Instagram @rimarizonapreteen.