Miss America to Media Maven: Meet Heather French Henry

Some Kentuckians may know Heather French Henry as Miss America 2000, but over the last couple of decades, she has made a name for herself as something of a renaissance woman, making a splash in a variety of industries. The only woman to have served as Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Heather also specializes in media strategy for women entrepreneurs as Vice President of Media Training at the Brielle Cotterman Group. She even founded the Rosemary Clooney Museum with her husband, in partnership with Paramount Studios. Get to know this dynamic FACE of Louisville — Heather French Henry!

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Many people know you as Miss America 2000. Can you tell me a bit about your experience with the competition?

Miss America had been a dream of mine since I was about four years old. I had a dream that I was Miss America. In a faith-filled circle, I think we look at dreams as visions. Of course, I didn’t know all the responsibilities it would entail until I grew up and knew more about it as a scholarship program. It was a fun extracurricular activity that could fund my college education, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie.

Why did you choose veterans’ issues as your platform?

It took me half a decade to get a state title to compete for Miss America, and I did not use veterans’ issues as my platform for the first four years. It was a very personal issue, and I did not feel comfortable sharing that side of our family’s story. When you come from a small town, you’re not encouraged to talk about negative aspects of your life. But during my final year of eligibility, when I finally won Miss Kentucky and Miss America, my father became ill and had to be induced into a coma. The day before he went into the coma, he held my hand and said, “I need you to try one more time. Our veterans need a Miss America.”

That changed the entire trajectory of how I was training. In that important, pivotal moment, my father gave me the authority to talk about our issues; basically, he said it was OK to share our story. In doing so, the competition became bigger than just Heather. It became part of a story about a family — a story about tragedy to triumph. I also knew that it could impact millions of families. At that moment, it became very apparent that our story about our family and what we had been through as a military family was my personal passion.

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What is your story as a military family?

My father struggled with co-occurring issues with PTSD and substance abuse for most of my life up to my adolescent years. And around the same time my father was going through rehabilitation, my uncle wound up missing on the streets of Gainesville, Florida. A homeless veteran program within the Gainesville VA found him and put him into a homeless veteran-specific rehab program. So, in the formative years of my life, I saw two men in my life, who were both Vietnam veterans, get assistance through government-assisted partnerships with community-based organizations — and they were able to turn their lives around.

You’re now a nationally renowned advocate for military veterans, but you also wear several other hats. What else are you doing professionally?

First and foremost, I am a designer. I am certainly a creative, but I’m also a problem solver. That’s what designers are in nature. Whether you work in industrial, fashion, graphic, or another realm of design, you’re always trying to solve a problem. That is why I think working in government intrigues me so much … You have an even greater opportunity to think outside the box, which is what government doesn’t normally do.

I also own the Rosemary Clooney Museum with my husband, and I design products for my company, Heather French Henry, LLC. Becoming the vice president of media training for Brielle Cotterman is the icing on the cake. It takes my 23 years of experience working in and around the media and utilizes it to help others who are trying to transition into their own branding space.

Aside from veterans’ issues, what other causes do you feel particularly passionate about?

Being environmentally conscious is extremely important. Our children are growing up more educated regarding climate as a subject matter. My husband founded the Future Fund Land Trust in 1993 when he was county commissioner, and now it has grown to almost 6,000 acres. Most people know it as the Parklands of Floyds Fork, but the Future Fund Land Trust preceded the Parklands, and we have more land in and around them. We’re a silent partner to a degree, but no less important. Our mission is to save Floyd’s Fork watershed. That’s something that I have inherited as a responsibility, being married to my husband, and it’s something that our family has been constantly involved with.

I think that Louisville has done a tremendous job with its support of building the Parklands and helping us to save Floyds Fork — but we are now in constant danger of high-density development as urban sprawl becomes a larger problem. It’s a fight on the front lines. Nearly every week, there’s a major issue we have to traverse with the Future Fund.

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What is the best advice you’ve ever given or received?

I received the best advice at the beginning of my Miss America year. The organization’s CEO had just been let go, so I started my year with controversy. In my day, it was pretty rocky grounds to traverse. David Letterman had called me to ask me to sing on the show, and he went over the whole show agenda with me. He’s from Indiana, so there’s a little of that Kentucky/Indiana connection.

He wrote me a note, which I put in my scrapbook, that said, “Don’t let those punks get you down.” Never were there truer words that have resonated with me over the last 22 years. There are moments in your life — especially when you’re in a leadership position and you’re trying to follow your dream — when many people will not understand the calling that you’ve been given.

Aside from faith, family, and friends, what are three things you can’t live without?

This might be a little superficial, but I’m not going to live without my makeup. It’s not that you have to go out with a full face every day, but as someone who works in media training and branding, I understand that putting your best foot forward is never the wrong way to go. And I feel like every woman can feel better by engaging with herself and her appearance.

The second thing is probably my sketch pad. I constantly sketch, creating some brilliant pieces of artwork at the most insane moments. I think that helps to drive my creative side. And, of course, I’ve always been in love with animals. I have a dog that I rescued during the pandemic. She showed up on our back porch, and her name is Lily. She’s a mama’s girl. She has mentally rescued me more than I rescued her, as most pets do. She has been such a blessing.

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