Two Vicksburg women, one seasoned competitor and one first-time contestant, will be on stage for this year’s Miss Mississippi Pageant.

“With it being my third year, I feel more relaxed in who I am,” said Miss Heartland Fenly Akers, the 21-year-old daughter of Tom and Lynda Akers.

Akers, who was fourth runner-up in the 2010 contest and hasn’t missed a pageant since she was 5, says she is performing the same dance routine and using the same music as last year — with some tweaking.

“My dad is a big believer in don’t mess with success,” she said.

First-year competitor Miss Vicksburg Elyssa Lassiter said she won the Miss Senior pageant at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, “but that was more like a review the student body voted on.”