This past Saturday, the torch was passed down for the 70th time! Callie Compton was crowned Miss Memphis 2017 and was greeted with tears of joy and thunderous applause as she was crowned the 70th Miss Memphis. I've known Callie for years now, and to say that I'm elated that she was selected for the job, is an understatement. Almost 30 former Miss Memphis title holders gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the organization on Saturday. It was such a pleasure to see all these former titleholders that came back to celebrate the legacy of this incredible title. One particular woman that I've always admired, Mrs. Anita Knight Heiskell, attended the pageant and performed alongside her Miss Memphis successors.
For those of you that don't know Mrs. Anita, she was Miss Memphis 1981, and was the first ever African American to be crowned Miss Memphis. She went on to compete at the Miss Tennessee pageant, taking home a swimsuit preliminary win and overall fourth runner up at the pageant. Seeing women like Mrs. Anita come back made me reflect on what the organizaiton is all about. She has mentored young women like myself in this program, given back to the scholarship fund, and come back to show what the Miss America Organization has done for her. I was introduced to this fabulous lady at the Miss America pageant a couple of years ago. She was so elegant and classy, and, before I even knew that she was a former titleholder, I thought to myself, that's what I want to be like one day, along down the road. I - hopefully - aspire to be as graceful as Mrs. Anita, as confident and as poised, and as elegant. She has stayed in incredible physcial shape, and yet has moved on into the world to raise a family, while still giving back to the program that shaped and molded her into the woman that she is today. One of my favorite ways that Mrs. Anita mentors women is through her daily etiquette tips on facebook. (She has a page full of tips to check out here!) I love that this incredible role model still fosters elegance and class in young women in the Miss America Organization- because that's really what this organization is all about, isn't it? It's about being a role model for life, not just for an appointed time while a woman wears her given crown and sash. The Miss Memphis legacy is all about fostering elegance, beauty, grace, poise, philanthropy, and service. It's an honor to be in the lineage of this legacy and to watch it grow this year, in the ever so capable hands of the 70th Miss Memphis, Callie Compton.
1 Comment
11/17/2017 04:39:28 am
Very Informative and useful.. Keep it up the great work
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