Miss Alaska Volunteer learning about Jackson during national pageant
When Katie Schoff takes the stage at the Carl Perkins Civic Center this week, she’s probably on the short list of those who’ve traveled the farthest to perform in Downtown Jackson in any capacity.
Schoff is the titleholder as Miss Alaska Volunteer, and she’s one of 47 women competing to become the inaugural Miss Volunteer America.
Schoff began preparations for the trip to the Hub City with as much knowledge of the local area as most Tennesseans know about Alaska.
“I’d mostly heard of Memphis and Nashville, but I’d never heard of Jackson,” Schoff said during the contestants’ autograph signing at Hub City Brewing on Sunday. “So I found out a little about it beforehand and have obviously learned more since getting here.”
Schoff learned about the Volunteer organization while attending the Sweetheart pageant, and her mother getting to know a contestant’s mother from Tennessee.
“She talked about how great the Volunteer organization is and that we needed to check it out,” Schoff said. “And it’s been so great for us.”
Schoff arrived in Jackson last week and was in town for the Miss Volunteer America Teen Pageant at Liberty Tech High School last weekend.
“That gave me three extra days to get used to the time change and get over the jet lag,” Schoff said.
Alaska is in the time zone behind California, meaning they’re three hours behind Jackson’s Central time zone.
“If you know anything about Alaska and what our seasons are like, we have very long days in the summer and short days in the winter,” Schoff said. “So I think since we deal with that every year, Alaskans are good at just dealing with short-term changes.
“So being able to do this isn’t a huge deal. I’m looking forward to this week because of this organization and all the other contestants here.”
Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Miss Alaska Volunteer learning about Jackson during national pageant
