Jacksonville, AL – As per the director of Strategic Communications for JSU, Buffy Lockette, the Leone Cole Auditorium filled with twinkling lights and sparkling ballgowns as twelve talented women took to the stage for the highly anticipated 2024 Miss JSU Pageant which marked the beginning during the school year’s spring term. The auditorium was filled with excited spectators waiting to watch an evening full of beauty, talent, and the power of inspiration.
Contestants didn’t just competed for the prized crown, but also competed for scholarships for two semesters and the opportunity to represent Alabama in the upcoming Miss Alabama pageant, and various other thrilling prizes. The Vice-President in charge of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Terry Casey, noted that the pageant this year featured one of the largest numbers of contestants in recent times an indication of the increasing interest of students.
A planning group, headed by the Assistant Dean of Students Cody Beck, worked tirelessly in the last few years to improve our Miss JSU experience, according to Casey. “I believe that the interest of students has risen accordingly,” Casey remarked.
Despite a glitch in the plans for hosting the evening due to a car issue The event went on without a hitch thanks to Kate Hamby, JSU digital content manager, acting as the charming host. Former Miss JSUs attended to help out at the event, enhancing the glitz and glamour of the night.
The candidates had to undergo a rigorous evaluation process which included expert judges who evaluated them in categories like Private Interview with Judges evening Gown and the Social Impact Initiative, Health and Fitness and Talent, as well as On-Stage Conversation.
In the midst of a night of intense contest, Grace Ann Lundy, an incoming sophomore studying early childhood or elementary school of Cedartown, GA, emerged triumphant. Lundy not only took home the title but also won the section for talent by showcasing her amazing jazz dance routine in the song “They just keep moving the line.”
Amelia Tucker, a sports management major from Gadsden and who took the title of first runner-up as did Chloe James, a biology major from Attalla was awarded the Darby Angle Acts of Kindness Award. This award, which was created in the name of Miss JSU Darby Angle in the 2019 Darby Angle is conferred upon the contestant who exhibits “true compassion and kindness during the course of competition” determined by the contestants themselves.
The current Miss JSU 2023 Lily Grace Vernon bid an emotional farewell, taking her final walk onto the stage. Even though she only participated for one more pageant prior to being named Miss JSU, Vernon made an impressive top 13 place at the last summer’s Miss Alabama pageant. In her touching address to the crowd she said, “Prior to Miss JSU I didn’t have a pageant experience. This has changed my life. Preparing to compete in Miss Alabama turns you into the most perfect version of you. I would not trade this experience for anything else in this world.”
The night showcased not just the beauty and talent of contestants, but also the long tradition of JSU women’s achievements in the world of pageantry. Seven Miss Alabamas among them Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone McCallum and former JSU Voice professor Teresa Cheatham Crosby, have come from JSU and helped cement the school’s tradition in the world of pageants.
