Tenn., Miss. representatives take home wins in first night of Miss Volunteer America
The inaugural Miss Volunteer America Pageant has begun.
And the first night ended in a similar manner to how the Miss Tennessee Volunteer pageant did 11 months earlier on the same stage at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
Miss Tennessee Volunteer Amelia Collins won the talent competition for the first preliminary night as she did a dance number to a medley of some of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits.
“That choice was nostalgic for me because I remember listening to him and those songs on my way to elementary school when I was young,” Collins said. “So it seemed like the right choice for me as I’m doing my final talent competition at this pageant.”
Collins won both talent and fitness last year at Miss Tennessee Volunteer before winning the state crown to represent in the Miss Volunteer America Pageant this week.
Another representative from a southern state took home the other preliminary crown on Wednesday as Miss Mississippi Rachel Schumaker brought home the fitness win. Since she was announced first, she’ll go down in Miss Volunteer America record books as the first announced winner in the pageant’s history.
She won her state crown in July of last year, but she said she took very few breaks from her training and diet to stay in shape for this pageant.
“I began preparing for this pageant the day after I was crowned Miss Mississippi Volunteer,” Schumaker said. “I took a small break here or there for holidays, but I wanted to avoid a weight roller-coaster getting ready for this.”
Night 2 of the pageant is Thursday at the Carl Perkins Civic Center. Tickets are still available starting at $35. The first-ever Miss Volunteer America will be crowned Saturday night.
Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Tenn., Miss. representatives take home wins in first night of Miss Volunteer America
