Miss Mississippi: A Legacy of Talented Performers with Holly Brand Joining the Ranks

Published 12:00 pm Saturday, March 11, 2023

: Former Miss Mississippi Holly Brand sings at Vicksburg’s Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza in 2021. Brand is a contestant on the current season of NBC's reality singing show "The Voice." (File/The Vicksburg Post)

It is no surprise to me that former Miss Mississippi Holly Brand made it through the blind auditions on “The Voice.”

I say this not because I know how talented she is, but because I know the caliber of talent that shows up on the Miss Mississippi stage.

I remember the year Cheryl Prewitt was crowned Miss Mississippi.

At the time – 1979 – the pageant was held at the Vicksburg City Auditorium and, when Prewitt performed, the crowd went wild. Not only was the noise of the clapping deafening, the audience was stomping their feet so hard it felt like the building was shaking.

Prewitt went on to win the Miss America crown and afterwards she became a Christian evangelist, author and professional musician.

More recently there has been Jasmine Murray.

She, too, garnered emotion from the audience when she took to the stage. Like Brand, Murray also competed in a televised singing reality competition — the eighth season of “American Idol,” and made it to the top 13.

Murray has since signed to one of Christian music’s most established labels, Fair Trade Services, and among others has recorded a song she co-wrote with Jeff Pardo and Tony Wood, entitled “Fearless.”

Then of course there is our most famous Miss Mississippi — Mary Ann Mobley — the first Miss Mississippi crowned in Vicksburg. Mobley also went on to win the title of Miss America in 1959.

Obviously, I was not around to attend the Miss Mississippi Competition held in 1958, but later I did get to see Mobley perform in reruns of films she starred in with Elvis Presly.

Mobley also made numerous television appearances that included “Perry Mason,” “Love American Style” and “Designing Women” just to name a few.

Brand has worked hard to propel herself to the next level of her career, and no doubt there have been many in the community who have supported her in her journey.

Vicksburg is fortunate to be home to the Miss Mississippi Competition, where many young women — and there have been others — have gotten their start.

Brand might be a Mississippi girl, but she is also a product of the Miss Mississippi Competition — an organization that Vicksburg can be proud to say we support.

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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