Jessica Swindle, a former Miss Peach, is a meteorologist at KLTV in Texas.(Contributed)

By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Former Miss Peach Jessica Swindle has gone on to become a meteorologist in Texas.

Her path to live television broadcast included many more pageants during her higher education, but the journey began in Chilton County.

Swindle was Miss Peach during her senior year at Jemison High School in 2010. From there, she went to Alabama A&M. She returned to Chilton County once a month to appear at different events, a duty that comes with the crown.

“I didn’t mind coming home a lot. Being Miss Peach was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Swindle said.

Through connections she made being interviewed after winning Miss Peach, she was able to find a job as a meteorologist at KLTV in Texas.

“I was on WSFA12 in Montgomery and I met meteorologist Josh Johnson and got his business card,” Swindle said. “I interned with him this past summer and it led to me getting a job at KLTV.”

Swindle’s father, Dwight Swindle, said he was proud of Swindle’s commitment to Chilton County while she was away at college.

“God has blessed her in everything that she’s done. She’s aspired to do some things and God’s blessed her to be able to accomplish several of them. Her family … and our church ministry are very proud of her,” Dwight Swindle said. “The people here in Chilton County have always supported her.”

Along the way, Swindle has also won Miss Sophomore at Alabama A&M and Miss Alabama A&M. She got a degree in communications at Alabama A&M and went to Mississippi State University to study meteorology.

Swindle is finishing her last semester at Mississippi State online while working at KLTV as a meteorologist. She attributed her smooth transition into her new role in part to her experience as Miss Peach.

“Being Miss Peach really was a stepping stone … starting at 18 years old and developing those critical [communication] skills helped me a long way too,” Swindle said.