Photo courtesy Genie Bunton   Melody Pierce didn’t grow up doing pageants. In fact, she didn’t compete in her first one until she was 20 years old. Yet her passion and perseverance led her to compete – and ultimately claim the Miss Phoenix crown in 2019 through the Miss America Organization. Pierce, now 25, initially decided to pursue pageantry because she wanted to contribute to her community in meaningful ways. “I didn’t start out...