BROOKHAVEN — Miss Merry Christmas 2022 Brianna Emfinger is excited to represent Brookhaven. She grew up here and attended West Lincoln before she moved to homeschool. 

Emfinger said she remembers going to the Christmas Parades every year growing up and now has the opportunity to participate in the parade in a spotlight role. Brad Emfinger is her dad, her mom is Christy Hall, and her brothers are Landon and Slade Emfinger. 

She will have the honor of lighting Brookhaven’s Christmas Tree. The tree is her favorite aspect of Ole Brook’s Christmas season. She will attend Saturday’s Christmas Open House and take pictures with the children.

This year is the first time she entered in Miss Merry Christmas. A committee of judges made their selections after receiving an application and hearing interviews from candidates. Emfinger said they were all sitting in a room when judges gave an envelope to Katie Nations. She opened it and announced the winner. 

“The emotion in the moment was shock. I was shocked,” Emfinger said. “I love the kids, and I know they will be excited Saturday. They are always excited to meet Miss Merry Christmas.” 

Her favorite thing about Brookhaven is the downtown area shops and boutiques. A Morgan on Brookway Boulevard is one of her favorite places to shop. 

When she is not at home working on her classwork, Emfinger helps her aunt at her boutique. A senior, she plans to attend Aveda Institute in Hammond. 

At Aveda, she will study esthetician, a degree in skin care. She said she has always been interested in skin, skincare and makeup. One day she would like to open her own business to practice, but it depends on how life goes over the next few years. 

One thing you might know about Emfinger is she is a professional cornhole player and plays with her dad Brad. The first tournament she played in was Jackson, and she won. 

“I have done professional cornhole for two years with my dad. We have played in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and California,” Emfinger said. “I played in the backyard and one of my dad’s friends asked if I wanted to come play. We figured out people played it all the time and every day. That is how we got started.” 

Nations said she might have to get a cornhole set up at the Christmas lighting event.