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Locals vie for coveted title

Jul 16, 2009

Three local girls will compete for the coveted title of Miss Mississippi along with 44 other contestants in a series of preliminary competitions beginning Monday, concluding with the new Miss Mississippi crowned on Saturday, July 18.
Contestants began arriving today at the Vicksburg Convention Center and began a whirl of events to continue throughout the week. The new Miss Mississippi will go on to vie for the title of Miss America
The pageant will be aired live on WDAM, 8 p.m. Saturday.
This year’s host and hostess for the event are Michael Young and Taryn Foshee.
Local girls participating in the pageant are Maggie Evans, Kristen Benigno and Tiffany Magee.
Evans, 21, is a 2006 graduate of Heidelberg Academy and currently holds the title of Miss University of Southern Mississippi where she attends college and is majoring in biological science licensure.
She plan to obtain a master’s degree in secondary science education and to one day teach junior high or high school level science. For the past two summers she has attended the Leadership Training Camp hosted by the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Her platform is Raising Awareness for Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and adopted this objective upon learning an 11-year-old boy from her hometown of Bay Springs was in need of a bone marrow transplant. She, along with the Mississippi Marrow Donor Program, hosted a bone marrow donor registry drive at the USM campus and had more than 176 people register. She plans to continue her work in promoting bone marrow donor registry and hopes to help the program grow in participants.
Kristen Benigno, 20, is a 2007 graduate of West Jones High School and is currently attending the University of Southern Mississippi where she is majoring in speech communication. She currently holds the title of Miss Southern Magnolia.
She plans to obtain a master’s degree in public relations and would like to someday travel the world as a motivational speaker, inspiring young people to dream big and be the best they can be. While at USM, Benigno, a Laurel native, has been involved in Freshmen Associates, SGA Cabinet, GEWW Crew and Eagle Connection. She is also a Leadership Scholar and on the Dean’s List.
Her platform is Building Character and Self-Esteem in Young Girls, and hopes to help young people reflect on the impact of their decisions and introduce them to positive role models. Benigno also enjoys sharing a message of hope and inspiration to girls in fourth through seventh grades and is striving to reverse the trend of low-self esteem and raise the confidence of this impressionable age group. She has shared her message with more than 1,000 young girls in school districts across South Mississippi. She would like to increase self-esteem, self-worth and leadership skills in young girls.
Tiffany Magee, 18, is a 2009 graduate of South Jones High School and attends Jones County Junior College. She is a native of Ellisville and holds the title of Miss Jones County.
She plans to major in pre-physical therapy, and work toward her doctorate degree. She plans to work as a physical therapist with an emphasis in pediatrics. Magee graduated high school with Magna Cum Laude Honors and was given the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi’s Honor Society.
Magee’s platform is Advancing the Lives of Disabled Children. She was inspired to develop this platform by a young family member with Down’s Syndrome and it is an issue that is dear to her heart. She wants to make families with disabled children aware that there are support groups that aid and support these families. She is assisting in an effort to give these targeted children the essential skills to live a normal life. For the past several years she has volunteered with ARC, Association of Rights for Disabled Citizens. She has organized fundraisers in her hometown for the organization. On the statewide level, she wants to partner with the ARC program and continue to make families aware of the opportunities available for their children.

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