Preliminaries close with veterans winning talent, swimsuit

Published 1:42 am Saturday, June 27, 2015

HIGH-FIVE: Friday night preliminary competition winners Michaela Moore (left) and Hannah Roberts high five down stage at the end of the show. Moore’s singing won talent and Roberts won swimwear wearing a white two-piece suit.

The final night of the Miss Mississippi Pageant preliminaries came to a close Friday night with two veteran competitors winning in the talent and swimsuit phases of the competition held at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Miss Leaf River Valley Michaela Moore won the talent preliminary competition.

The 20-year-old Biloxi native performed “They Just Keep Moving the Line” from the musical-drama television series “Smash.”

“The song is about striving to reach your goal and always trying to be better and having to improve and be a better person. I really felt like that applied to my progression in the pageant over the past three years,” Moore said.

Moore said in the past two Miss Mississippi competitions she performed opera.

“I feel like this song was along the lines of musical theater and that is my true love,” she said, and added, “I am just over the moon now.”

Wearing a two-piece white swimsuit, Miss University of Southern Mississippi Hannah Roberts is a double preliminary winner. She was also the talent preliminary winner in Wednesday night’s competition.

The 21-year-old Mount Olive native said she does not diet to stay fit.

“I try to eat out as little as possible and cook for myself at home. As far as workouts go, I do a lot of weight lifting. For along time I thought skinny was what meant pretty, but now I have more of a healthy mindset, and I proudly weigh 135 pounds,” Roberts said.

Roberts said young girls today should focus on being healthy and not focusing on the number on the scales.

“Weight is so subjective,” she said.

This is Robert’s third year to compete in the Miss Mississippi Pageant.

Miss Mississippi 2015 will be crowned in a live televised broadcast tonight at 8 on WLBT-TV3.

Preliminary scores in talent, swimwear and questions, including on-stage and off-stage interviews are combined to make a composite score, which determines the top 10. Those women will compete in every category except private interview.

The preliminaries began Wednesday night. Talent winners received a $500 scholarship and were Miss University of Southern Mississippi Hannah Roberts, Miss Tombigbee Alivia Paden Roberts and Miss Leaf River Valley Michaela Moore. Swimsuit winners received a $400 scholarship and were Miss Hattiesburg Ivey Swan, Miss Riverland Laura Lee Lewis and Miss University of Southern Mississippi Hannah Roberts.

Tickets are $50 for Saturday. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit missmississippipageant.com.

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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