For the first time since 2008, one young woman will hold the title of Miss VSU.  Thirteen young women will vie for the coveted crown, but only one will become the face of the university.

The Miss VSU Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Whitehead Auditorium.

Alisha Stabler, director of the Miss VSU Pageant, has put in a lot of hard work to make sure the pageant is a success.

According to Stabler, she wouldn’t have made it this far without an extremely helpful franchise committee that has helped out– from finding sponsors to heading up volunteers.

“ A lot goes into planning a pageant, and with this pageant being the first in a few years they wanted to make sure everything went well so that it will continue to be an annual event,” she said. “We all have had so much fun planning this event this year and with all the student involvement and support, I would hate to see it go by the wayside again.”

Not only is this the first year since 2008 that VSU has had a Miss VSU pageant, this is also the first year since 2006 that the pageant has been a preliminary for Miss Georgia.  The winner of Saturday’s pageant will go on to represent VSU in the Miss Georgia competition.  That winner will move on in the hopes of becoming Miss America. 

“This is a great marketing tool for Valdosta State University as there are no longer many Miss Georgia preliminary pageants located in South Georgia,” Stabler said.

According to Stabler, a few students expressed interest in bringing the pageant back to campus.

 “We held an interest meeting this past spring and had an overwhelming amount of students interested so we decided to move forward to look at the possibility of bringing the pageant back,” she said.  

Everything fell into place for the pageant to be an annual campus sponsored event.  The Student Life office has been responsible for making sure that Stabler and her committee were in line with regulations for Miss Georgia as well as with the Miss America organization. With a lot of hard work over the past few months, they are all excited about hosting the pageant Saturday.

The Miss America organization focuses on providing scholarships to young women and motivating them to reach their academic as well as personal goals.  The organization requires each contestant to choose a platform they are passionate about to bring awareness to that cause or organization.  The winner advocates for her chosen platform during her reign whether it is as Miss VSU, Miss Georgia or Miss America. 

Contestant platforms for this year’s Miss VSU pageant include: distracted Driving, childhood cancer and poverty.

The pageant will consist of an opening number, on stage question, a swimsuit judging, talent and evening gown competition.

 Stabler explained that the contestants will be judged on five categories.  The first category is the interview, which will take place the day of the pageant and will count for 25% of their score.  The onstage question, which will count for 5% of the total score, will be the first competition attendees will see.  Other categories include, fitness in swimsuit which will count for 15%, evening wear which will count for 20%, and talent, the largest percentage, accounting for 35% of the contestants overall score.

Preliminary winners of the interview and talent categories will receive a $200 scholarship.  The 2^nd runner up will receive a $500 scholarship, and the 1^st runner up will receive a $750 scholarship.  The crowned Miss VSU will win a $2,000 scholarship.

 “We are trying to keep the pageant fun and high energy,” Stabler said.

 “We have incorporated a performance by VSU student, Vicorie Brown, and the Valdosta School of Ballet.  There is a People’s Choice winner that will be chosen by the students and attendees.  There are buckets set up in the Student Union from 11-2 p.m. this week where students can cast their vote by donating monies to the contestant they think deserves to win.  All money collected from the People’s Choice buckets will be donated in the contestant’s name to the Children’s Miracle Network–the national philanthropy of the Miss America organization.

Students can purchase tickets from the Student Life Office in the Student Union, Event Services in the University Center, or in downtown Valdosta at City Market.  Tickets are $5 for students and children and $10 for adults.  If you are not able to purchase a ticket early, tickets will be sold at the door beginning at 6 p.m.  Monies collected from ticket sales will help send Miss VSU to the Miss Georgia competition in June 2013 and help begin planning for the 2013 Miss Valdosta State University Pageant.

There are also Miss VSU pageant t-shirts available for sale for $10 in the Student Life office.

This year’s contestants are a diverse group of intelligent young women with talents ranging from singing, dancing, dramatic monologue and even comedy.  Each contestant brings their own personality and passion to the competition making this event one to remember.