By Penny Randall / Special to The Star
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN —
The competition to select the 2011 Mississippi Junior Miss began Thursday night at Meridian's historic Temple Theatre.
The one crowned will be the first Distinguished Young Woman of Mississippi under the program's name change.
With their hot pink and red sunglasses placed slightly on their heads, wearing skinny dark jeans and sparkly tops, 38 young ladies opened the show with a dance number to this year's theme "Our Future's Bright... We Gotta Wear Shades."
Each contestant introduced themselves and the county they represent to thunderous applause from the audience filled with family and friends. State Sen. Terry C. Burton was then welcomed to the stage as master of ceremonies.
"This is the place to be in Meridian tonight," said Burton who introduced last year's winner Katie Thurber from West Jackson County.
"I'm thrilled to be back in Meridian," said Thurber who later in the evening entertained the crowd with a vocal performance.
The contestants were split into two groups — Diamond and Sapphire. The Diamond group presented their 90-second talent performances ranging from clogging and acro-jazz routines to vocal and piano performances.
The Sapphire group proved they were in shape in the fitness portion of the evening exercising to a choreographed routine, which included lunges, push ups, sit ups and fast-paced dance moves. Following the fitness routine, the 16-member Sapphire group changed into their party dresses and took to the stage in Self-Expression. This year's question: "If you had the ability to change one historical event, what would it be and why?"
Answers varied from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the holocaust and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Prior to any of Thursday night's competition, 45 percent of the contestants' scores had already been tabulated. The interview portion counts 25 percent of the score, followed by scholastic at 20 percent.
The evening rounded out with the announcement of the Top Volunteer of the Year, which went to Connie Fox of Lamar County and the Top Program of the Year, which Winston County earned.
The competition continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. when preliminary awards will be given out. Each preliminary award is presented with a $500 cash scholarship.
The finals are Saturday night at 8 p.m. when the top 10 will be named and each will then compete in talent, fitness and self-expression again. The top 10 finalists will each earn $1,000 cash scholarships. Mississippi's Junior Miss 2011 will take home a $10,000 cash scholarship from the Mississippi Junior Miss Scholarship Foundation and a $1,000 cash scholarship from Meridian Coca-Cola.
For ticket information, call the Temple Theatre Box Office at (601) 693-5353.
