Miss Mississippi Emmie Perkins speaks at Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce luncheon

Published 3:22 pm Thursday, July 21, 2022

The newly crowned 2022 Miss Mississippi Emmie Perkins sang Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” for the talent portion of the competition, which was held in June.

And on Wednesday, during the monthly Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Perkins, whose Social Impact Initiative is “Music is Medicine” shared a bit of her “story” by listing 10 song titles.

“It’s a playlist of my life story,” Perkins said, that represents who “Emmie is.”

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From a piano Sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach played while still in her mother’s womb, to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley, which garnered Perkins first place in an Elvis competition to “There She Is” made famous by Bert Parks for the Miss America pageant, Perkins described how each of the songs she selected embodies her story.

Perkins, who represented Mississippi State University in the 2022 competition, is majoring in biological science and minoring in music. It was during her studies that she recognized there was a connection between the two.

“I realized there was a huge correlation between the brain and the healing power of music, thus sparking the inspiration for my personal platform, “Music is Medicine,” Perkins said.

Since 2019, when Perkins began promoting “Music is Medicine,” she said her platform has grown to where she is now working with groups in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, and is continuing to partner with additional organizations as well.

Currently, Perkins has already traveled 4,000 miles across the state since winning the title a month ago, and she said she will continue logging in the mileage since one of her goals while serving as Miss Mississippi is to visit a school in each county where a school is located.

In addition to promoting her platform in elementary and high schools, Perkins said she is working to get “Music is Medicine” on college campuses. She said she is also “vamping up” her website that includes educational resources and making positive playlists for communities to listen to.

“My dream is to supply everyone with music that I possibly can,” she said, which includes expanding “Music is Medicine” at the Miss America Competition.

The national competition will be held in December at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

Perkins said she was still in the “planning stages,” of preparing for the national competition but has decided to sing a different song from the one she performed in the Miss Mississippi Competition.

“We have begun the process of exploring those (song) options. We definitely want to go with something kind of modern and fitting for the world we live in and that has an important message for all to hear, just like ‘The Story’ did,” she said.

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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