Two Crowns awarded in Livingston
LIVINGSTON, ALABAMA: The Miss Tombigbee and Miss Folklife Festival Pageants awarded two crowns on Saturday, January 23, 2010 in Bibb Graves Auditorium on the campus of the University of West Alabama. Saturday was the 10th Anniversary Celebration for Miss Tombigbee and in honor of this wonderful celebration 2 wonderful young ladies get the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Alabama.
The theme for the evening was “Songs of the Statue” based on Academy Award winning songs through the years. To open the pageant Miss Tombigbee 2003 Selena Averett Case performed the National Anthem. As the curtains opened there were 20 young women from around the state in black cocktail dresses ready for the evening. The stage was set with a large version of the Miss America Crown shining over 10 large banners 3 foot by 6 foot with each of the former Miss Tombigbee’s photo and year of service.
The opening number was to the song “The Way We Were” and after the contestants introduced themselves Meri-Glenn Freeman, Miss Tombigbee 2009 was introduced and waved to the crowd. The first phase of competition was the On Stage Question portion of the pageant. Each contestant answered a random current event question. After each contestant finished, Selena Averett Case entertained the crowd. Swimsuit Competition followed with Katie Hilyer from Auburn University winning this award. The emcee introduced the panel of 5 judges.
The talent portion of the pageant is very competitive. There were vocalist, pianist, an original guitar vocal combo, baton twirlers and a variety of dance techniques. At the end of the night Hillary Anderson of Rehobeth, Alabama, a pianist, and Claire O’Rear, a Ballet en Pointe Dancer, from Jasper tied for the talent award.
The final phase of competition was the Evening Wear Competition with a variety of styles and colors gracing the stage with elegance. While the auditors were tabulating the judges score sheets all former Miss Tombigbee were introduced on stage by Pageant Director Carl Sudduth and presented with an official Miss America Charm Bracelet from Ann Hand, the official jeweler for the Miss America Organization.
To close the evening Meri-Glenn gave a farewell speech and a final walk as Miss Tombigbee 2009. Laura Freeman was chosen as Miss Tombigbee’s Outstanding Teen 2010 earlier in the year and she was officially crowned by her sister, Meri-Glenn. Laura will participate in the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in March.
All twenty contestants were again presented on stage with the closing number to the academy award winning song “Thanks For The Memory” from the movie “The Big Broadcast”. As the music softly played the following awards were given:
Swimsuit Winner - Katie Hilyer
Talent Winner - tie between Claire O’Rear and Hilary Anderson
4th Runner up - Julie Meeks (From Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
3rd Runner up - Caroline Clark (From Sylacauga, Alabama)
2nd Runner up - Britney Finley (From Trussville, Alabama)
1st Runner up - Meghan Muncher (From Jasper, Alabama)
Miss Folklife Festival - Hillary Anderson (From Rehobeth, Alabama)
Miss Tombigbee - Claire O'Rear (From Jasper, Alabama)
Claire and Hillary will now compete in the Miss Alabama Pageant in June at the Wright Center on the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama. If you would like to book Claire or Hillary to speak or entertain at your event, please contact the Executive Director, Carl Sudduth (205) 499-1599 or www.misstombigbee.com.
Freeman Crowned Miss Tombigbee
On Saturday, June 28, 2008 the ninth annual Miss Tombigbee Pageant was held in Bibb Graves Auditorium on the campus of The University of West Alabama. 14 young ladies from around the state participated in the pageant, with the theme “Rolling on the River”. Miss Tombigbee 2008 Kimberly Kirby opened the show with “Proud Mary” and the contestants did an opening number and introduced themselves. The emcee was newly-crowned Miss Alabama 2008 Amanda Tapley. The stage was set with a mural of the “Delta Queen” paddle boat on the Tombigbee River with blue gossamer around the mural as clouds and water and the Miss America Crown was suspended above the Delta Queen. The contestants competed in a private 10 minute interview competition with the judges earlier in the day. Next the contestants competed in the on-stage question portion of the competition, answering questions about hot topics in the news. The swimsuit competition was next which resulted in a tie for top honors between Meschelle Stringer of Birmingham and Shellie Street of Mobile. Each contestant then presented a performing arts talent for the audience. The winning performance was a Ballet En Pointe by Meghan Muncher from Jasper. Next, each contestant competed in evening wear. Throughout the evening Miss Alabama 2008 Amanda Tapley and Miss Tombigbee 2008 Kimberly Kirby entertained, culminating in a slide show presentation of Kimberly's year in review followed by announcement of the winner's court. The fourth runner-up was Fielding Stomps of Tuscaloosa, third runner-up was Jaye Herrod from Prattville, second runner-up honors went to Meghan Muncher of Jasper and first runner-up was Shellie Street from Mobile. The new Miss Tombigbee 2009 is Meri-Glenn Freeman of Birmingham, she is a junior at the University of Alabama with a political science and public relations double major. Freeman performed a jazz dance as her talent presentation and her platform issue is "Target Tutoring." Additional information may be obtained at www.misstombigbee.com.
