The Miss Mississippi Corporation offered $698,638 in scholarships and cash this year, up $32,538 from last year.

In-kind awards totalled $581,938, up from last year’s total of $539,092. A total of $116,700 was offered in cash scholarships.

All 45 contestants competing for the Miss Mississippi crown were awarded scholarship money.

Miss Mississippi 2008 Christine Kozlowski will receive a $15,000 scholarship for winning the state title. She will also receive a $200 preliminary swimwear scholarship.

Among the other Top Five contestants:

Miss Mid South Ashley Buckman won $10,000 as first alternate;

Miss Meridian Danielle Smith won a $5,000 scholarship as second alternate;

Miss Deep South Erin Hawley won $3,500 as third alternate;

Miss Alcorn County Alison Parson won a $2,500 scholarship as fourth alternate.

The five other Top Ten contestants each received $2,000. They were:

Miss Houston/North Central Anna Tadlock;

Miss Jones County Kristen Benigno;

Miss Madison County Sarah Beth James, who also won a $500 Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency Scholarship;

Miss Mississippi State University Corie Stanford, who also won $300 as a preliminary talent winner; and

Miss University Mary Brandon Norman, who also won a $500 Helping Hand Pharmacy scholarship.

The $5,000 Cellular South “Viewer’s Choice” scholarship went to Miss Delta State University Lauren Vance. Viewers voted via Cellular South text messages. Vance also received a $500 Entergy Mississippi business scholarship

Seven non-finalists were awarded $700 non-finalist talent awards. The 2008 recipients were Miss Dixieland Danielle Barrier; Miss Itawamba Community College Kacy Coleman, who also won a $500 Betty Jean “Boop” Mims Memorial Scholarship; Miss Magnolia Brittainy Childers, who also won a $300 scholarship for her preliminary talent win Thursday; Miss Mississippi Coast Marie Wicks and Miss Tupelo Meredith Beeman, who each won $300 for their preliminary talent tie on Wednesday; Miss West Central Tiffany Boyte, who also won a $1,000 Rosemary Hayslett Local Pageant Directors Award; and Miss Hattiesburg Jessica Nicole Cofield.

Preliminary swimwear scholarships of $200 each were given to Miss Hinds County Diana Strickland, who also received a $1,000 Mississippi Chiropractic Association Posture Scholarship for the overall swimwear win, and Miss Rankin County Crystal Flores.

Other scholarships awarded were the $2,500 WLBT Broadcast Scholarship to Miss Southern Magnolia Joy Powell; the $1,500 Community Service Award to Miss Historic Crossroads Melissa King; the $1,500 Miss America Organization and Vicksburg Factory Outlets Academic Award to Miss Pine Belt Hilliary Walters, who also received a $500 Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency Scholarship; the $1,500 River Region Medical Center Auxiliary scholarship to Miss Hinds Community College De’Lisha Wiggins; the $1,000 Miss Mississippi Corporation Board of Trustees award to Miss Grenada County Amber Harrison; the $500 Vicksburg Association of Marketing Professionals Scholarship to Miss Flowood Katherine Barkett; the $500 Moss Construction Engineering Scholarship to Miss Leaf River Valley Amarette Aube’; a $2,500 Women-in-Medicine scholarship to Kimberley Perry; a Bill Hallberg Quality of Life Scholarship to Miss Clinton Karmen Todd; and a $500 Good Samaritan Physical Therapy Scholarship to Miss Heritage Kelly Langford.

Each of the 35 non-finalists was awarded a $1,200 scholarship.