Hostesses prepare for Miss Mississippi

Published 11:36 am Friday, May 16, 2014

Hostesses for the 2014 Miss Mississippi Pageant are from left, Louise Hall, emeritus, Mary Beth Grogan White, assistant hostess chairman, Pam Dorrell, hostess chairman and Ann Morris, emeritus

During the week of the Miss Mississippi Pageant, 35 local women will volunteer their time and services to act as chaperones, liaisons and just plain mom to the 41 Miss Mississippi Pageant contestants.

“We take the girls to and from the convention center, help take care of any type of costume malfunction and get in touch with a contestant’s mother if needed,” said Pam Dorrell, the chairman of the Miss Mississippi Pageant hostesses.

Hostesses for the 2014 Miss Mississippi Pageant are front, from left, Mechelle Stockett and Dana Tankersley. Back, from left, are Rhonda Minor, Marla Bonelli and Stephanie Stirgus.

Hostesses for the 2014 Miss Mississippi Pageant are front, from left, Carole Simpson, Madge Finney and Betsey Justice. Back, from left, are Linda Banchetti, Judy Ford, Nancy Ballard and Cheri Williams.

Hostesses for the 2014 Miss Mississippi Pageant are front, from left, Lynn Baker, Kristy Brumfield and Debbie Freeman. Back, from left, are Billye Jones, Nancy Bell, Jeanine Hanks and Gwen Edris.

Some of the hostesses are assigned to the hotel where the contestants stay during the week and their job is to check contestants in and out each time they arrive or go, said Dorrell, while other hostesses are used as floaters.

“Floaters get down to the convention center early and are in charge of getting the girls to their interviews,” she said.

A typical day in the life of a Miss Mississippi Pageant hostess begins at 8:30 a.m., said Dorrell and doesn’t usually end until around 10:30 p.m.

Chaperoning the contestants is a 24-hour job for hostesses who stay at the hotel overnight, she said.

Even though serving as a pageant hostess is time consuming and exhausting it is still fun, said Dorrell.

“It’s like a sisterhood between the hostesses,” she said, and added that the women also bond with the contestants.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant is scheduled to run at 8 p.m. July 9 through 12 at the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Mulberry St. Tickets are $125 for all four nights of competition, $30 each for Wednesday and Thursday’s preliminaries, $40 for Friday’s preliminary and $50 for the final competition on Saturday.

Miss Hospitality 2014, Colby Brumfield will represent Vicksburg at the Miss Hospitality Pageant in July at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg. Brumfield will be graduating from Warren Central High School and will attend Mississippi College in the fall. Brumfield’s directors are Sheila and Paige Fowler.

The Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Pageant will also be held in Vicksburg from June 5 through 7 at the Vicksburg City Auditorium, 901 Monroe St. The competition will begin each night at 8. Tickets are $75 for all three nights, $25 each for Thursday and Friday and $40 for Saturday.

For more information or tickets, call 601-638-6746.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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