Life-long Merrittonian Jen Hogg is hoping to be named Inked Magazine’s next Cover Girl.
Each year, Inked Magazine, one of the world’s most popular magazines showcasing the industry’s best tattoos and most talented artists, holds a competition to determine who will be its “Cover Girl”. Competitors advance through nine rounds based on public voting, with the Grand Winner being awarded an exclusive photo shoot and $25,000.
Hogg’s philosophy is “family is everything”, and the love of family was the driving force behind her entering into the competition.
“I was raised by a single mother in a small house in Lower-Nicola with my brother and sister,” said Hogg.
“We didn’t have a lot, but we had each other; family is everything. We had what we needed, we had each other, we had our little pack, and we grew up strong and loved. Unfortunately, my family has gotten a lot smaller over the past few years.”
Within just a year of her son’s birth, Hogg lost both her mother and her father-in-law. While she still has her brother, her sister followed her own heart to New Zealand, leaving an entire ocean between the close-knit family members.
“My sister Tina moved to New Zealand in the fall of 2014, and I haven’t seen her since,” said Hogg.
“We miss each other like crazy so winning the $25,000 prize money would definitely make a trip to see her more than possible.”
Hogg is relying on her wider family of Merritt to help advance her into the next round.
“I am currently holding my spot at third in my group of ten, and will be advancing into the top five March 12,” said Hogg.
“After that I really need to get to first or second in my group, or I will fall away with the rest of the girls being weeded out. I’ve been in Merritt my whole life and I’ve grown up understanding how our amazing small town can rally behind its members to help them achieve great things. I’ve already been so blessed to see yet again how great it is to be a part of Merritt and I really hope to gather some more support and get to the top of this contest and reunite my little family.
“I feel like ‘Family is Everything’ represents the vibe of Merritt too, so it’s kind of fitting that something our town values is at the core of this competition for me.”
Voting will continue until April 9, with each round narrowing down the potential winners until the Grand Prize Winner is announced.
“I can’t even tell you how amazing it feels to have made this far into the competition as I had never even planned to do this,” said Hogg.
“I saw the ad for the competition on Facebook and it felt like something I needed to do. Very quickly, my amazing friends, family and fellow Merrittonians started to show support and now we’re here! I am beyond grateful for all the support and honestly this has made me love my little town even more than I did before.”
You can vote at https://cover.inkedmag.com/2020/jenna-4 .
