Miss Mississippi College 2013 Pageant Set for January 31

2012 Miss Mississippi College Taylor Townsend

A half-dozen students will compete for the title of 2013 Miss Mississippi College, including a hometown contestant from Clinton.

With the theme of the “Roaring Twenties” the annual pageant is set for Thursday evening January 31 at Swor Auditorium on the Clinton campus. The pageant begins at 7 p.m. The winner punches her ticket to compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant later in the year in Vicksburg.

Judges will select the successor to 2012 Miss MC Taylor Townsend of Flowood. A sophomore and future physician, Taylor will be thousands of miles away in England to take part in the university’s London Semester. But she found the perfect replacement to crown the 2013 Miss Mississippi College that night.

Jackson Prep educator Dr. Cindy Townsend, a former Miss MC winner will take on those pageant duties.

Family friends like Mississippi College graduate student Courtney Lange say it will be a special occasion for Dr. Townsend to return to her alma mater and take part in the pageant once again.

“Not only is it a testament to the relationship between mother and daughter, but also between the family and the university,” says Lange, a public relations officer at Holmes Community College.

Taylor’s father is Dr. Bill Townsend, vice president for university advancement at Mississippi College, his alma mater.

The pageant’s sole hometown contestant is Sarah-Kate Rowan, a freshman nursing major and Clinton High School graduate.

“I always enjoyed pageants growing up and it’s been a dream of mine to one day go to Miss Mississippi,” Sarah-Kate said.

Being involved with the pageant is a great way to get more involved in campus life, said the Laguna social tribe member.

Other contestants include Hannah Fletcher of St. Francisville, Louisiana, a Laguna social tribe member; Nikki Rhead of LaPorte, Texas, a member of the MC Lady Choctaws soccer team; Kelly O’Mahoney, an interior design major and Lady Choctaw soccer player from Mandeville, Louisiana, MC junior Courtney Parella and senior English major Tori Crosby of Gulfport, a former Choctaws cheerleader.

Tickets cost $7 and can be purchased at the door. MC juniors Ashley Dillard and Caleb Jett will share master of ceremony duties.

For more information on the pageant, contact Dannie Woods, assistant director of student life at drwoods@mc.edu.