# Lencola Sullivan

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**Orean Lencola Sullivan** (born 1957) is an American news anchor, singer and former beauty queen who has competed in the [Miss America](/source/Miss_America) pageant. She was the first African-American to be crowned Miss Arkansas.[1]

Sullivan was the oldest of five children born to Richard and Macie Sullivan. She attended the [University of Central Arkansas](/source/University_of_Central_Arkansas) where she received a degree in broadcasting.

Sullivan won the [Miss Arkansas](/source/Miss_Arkansas) title in July 1980 and represented [Arkansas](/source/Arkansas) in the [Miss America 1981](/source/Miss_America_1981) pageant held later that year in [Atlantic City, New Jersey](/source/Atlantic_City,_New_Jersey). Sullivan and Doris Hayes (Washington) became the first [African-American](/source/African-American) women to win preliminary awards in the pageant, with Lencola taking a preliminary swimsuit award. She was also the first to place among the top five, where she was fourth runner-up.

Sullivan became a news reporter on [KARK-TV](/source/KARK-TV) in [Little Rock, Arkansas](/source/Little_Rock,_Arkansas), and later moved to [New York City](/source/New_York_City). She has also worked for KTTV-TV in [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin,_Texas), and sang with [Stevie Wonder](/source/Stevie_Wonder), [Kool & the Gang](/source/Kool_%26_the_Gang) (for example on the album *Unite*) and the [Lionel Hampton](/source/Lionel_Hampton) Orchestra, among many other things.[2][3][4]

In 2002, Sullivan married Roel P. Verseveldt, a native of the Netherlands, in [Little Rock, Arkansas](/source/Little_Rock,_Arkansas).[5][6] She and her husband have since been involved in international business activities. Among other things, Sullivan also works at [Royal Dutch Shell](/source/Royal_Dutch_Shell) and teaches and guest-lectures at the [University of Groningen](/source/University_of_Groningen), both in the area of diversity and inclusion.[7] She currently lives in [The Hague](/source/The_Hague).

## References

1. ["Encyclopedia of Arkansas"](https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/orean-lencola-sullivan-4836/). *Encyclopedia of Arkansas*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["Former Miss America Runner-up Lencola Sullivan to be Inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame"](https://www.pr.com/press-release/21079). *Pr.com*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["Home 1"](https://501lifemag.com/). *501lifemag.com*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["UNITE_1992"](https://koolandthegang-fansite.jp/unite_1992.html). *Koolandthegang-fansite.jp*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["M08-04 – LENCOLA SULLIVAN COLLECTION — Archives"](https://uca.edu/archives/m08-04-lencola-sullivan-collection/). *uca.edu*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["*Item in Log Cabin Democrat, news source for Conway and Faulkner County, Arkansas; accessed on 11 July 2017*"](http://thecabin.net/stories/091502/wed_0914020043.shtml#.WWVAm_koDz9). *Thecabin.net*. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

1. ["Language and Culture Policy"](https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/organization/quality-assurance/in-practice/language-culture-policy/). *University of Groningen*. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

## External links

- [Lencola Sullivan](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0838213/) at IMDb
- [Miss Arkansas official website](http://www.missarkansas.org)
- [Miss America official website](http://www.missamerica.org)
- [Lencola Sullivan in Arkansas Black Hall of Fame](http://arblackhalloffame.org/honorees/lencola-sullivan/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lencola Sullivan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lencola_Sullivan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lencola_Sullivan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.