LITTLE ROCK -- Tuesday was the opening night of the 81st Annual Miss Arkansas Pageant at Robinson Center.
Miss Lights of the Delta Alexis Ungerank won the preliminary Artistic Expression in Talent Award and Miss Historic Batesville Claudia Raffo won the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit preliminary award.
For winning talent, Ungerank received a $2,000 scholarship donated by the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation. Raffo received a $1,500 scholarship for winning swimsuit, donated by Brittany and Clay Combs.
Emcees for this year's Miss Arkansas Pageant are KATV's Chris Kane and Miss Arkansas 2009 Sarah Slocum Collins. Katie Bailey Harris, Miss Arkansas 2007, is serving as mistress of ceremonies for the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen Pageant. Miss Arkansas 2006 Amber Bennett Bynum, of Rogers, assisted with onstage questions and co-emceed the swimsuit portion of the competition. Miss Arkansas 2018 Maggie Benton, of Jonesboro, and Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen 2017 Aubrey Reed, of Russellville, were on hand to present the awards.
The 37 Outstanding Teen contestants are competing for nearly $33,000 in scholarships and the chance to represent Arkansas at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando, Fla., in August.
Miss Greater Jacksonville's Outstanding Teen Tori Kisor and Miss White River's Outstanding Teen Ciara Callicot tied for the talent preliminary. They will receive a $100 scholarship given by the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen Organization.
Miss Metro's Outstanding Teen Abigail Davis won the evening gown preliminary. She will receive a $100 scholarship given by Rusty and Lori Hart. Davis is the daughter of Mark and Tammy Davis of Little Rock. Her platform is "A Better Heart for a Better Life."
Kisor performed a lyrical dance to "This Is Me" as her talent, and Callicot performed a jazz dance to "Le Jazz Hot" as her talent.
Miss Arkansas Alpha Awards were also given out, presented to first-time Miss Arkansas contestants that garnered the most points in their respective groups each night.
Alpha Award winners announced at the conclusion of Tuesday night were Ungerank, receiving a $500 scholarship from Brent and Dave Rowe, and Miss Southern Arkansas University Raegan Grubbs, receiving a $500 scholarship from Zenstudio.
Grubbs, from Delight, is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University and will pursue her master's degree at the University of Arkansas in the fall.
The Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen Pageant also recognizes alpha award winners each night.
On Tuesday, the Alpha Fitness Award went to Miss Heart of the Ozarks Outstanding Teen Kassidy Bell, the Alpha Evening Gown Award went to Miss Southeast Arkansas Keller Bigham, and the Alpha Talent Award went to Miss Greater Jacksonville's Outstanding Teen Tori Kisor. Each of these ladies will receive a $100 scholarship given by the Miss Arkansas Executive Directors Association.
Additional Miss Arkansas Scholarship winners announced were:
ā¢ Miss Southwest Arkansas Julie Williams, who received the Alpha Arrival Award and a scholarship given in the amount of $500, provided by Kristin Chase.
ā¢ Miss Southwest Arkansas Julie Williams, who received the Alpha Interview Award for the Alpha Group and a scholarship in the amount of $500, provided by Cindy Thyer.
ā¢ Miss Greater Hot Springs Tiffany Lee, who received the Healthy Lifestyle Platform Award and a scholarship in the amount of $500, provided by Sharon Turrentine.
ā¢ Colin Keady, who received the Inspirational Male Scholarship chosen by the reigning Miss Arkansas, provided by the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation.
ā¢ Miss White River Gracie Stover and Miss Apple Blossom Kelley Brown, who both received the Loren McDaniel Confidently You Scholarships in the amount of $500 each. These were provided by Melissa and Kevin McDaniel.
ā¢ Miss River Delta Ellie Stafford, who received the Social Media Promotions Scholarship in the amount of $1,000, provided by the Miss Arkansas Pageant.
ā¢ Miss Apple Blossom Kelley Brown, who received the Michael Hargrove Nursing Scholarship in the amount of $500, provided by Holly Hargrove.
Awarded Tuesday at the Rotary Club No. 99 lunch were the Service Above Self Scholarships. Each group's winner will receive $1,000 provided by the club. Winners were, from the Mu Group, Miss Southwest Arkansas Cameron Willis; from the Alpha Group, Miss White River Gracie Stover; and from the Sigma Group, Miss Historic Batesville Claudia Raffo. One of these three will receive an additional $3,000 for the Overall Service Above Self Award. This will be announced Saturday night on KATV.
Inducted into the Miss Arkansas Hall of Fame were Simone Mullinex Sellstrom and Michelle Parham Rudolph.
Other competition winners announced Tuesday were:
ā¢ The Miss University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Pageant, chosen as the Miss Arkansas Local Pageant of the Year.
ā¢ Patti Tackett, chosen as the Miss Arkansas Pageant Volunteer of the Year.
ā¢ Carol Martin, chosen as the Miss Arkansas Local Executive Director of the Year.
ā¢ Danielle Fusco and Jessica Ray, chosen as the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen Local Executive Directors of the Year.
Competition continues with preliminaries at 7 p.m. today. Final competition for the Outstanding Teens will be held Friday. The crowning for Miss Arkansas 2018 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Visit http://www.ticketmaster.com or the Robinson Center box office for ticket information.
Entertainment on 06/14/2018