By Staff
From special reports
July 13, 2001
A new Miss Mississippi will be crowned Saturday night in Vicksburg, with the final round of competition being shown locally at 8 p.m. on WGBC Channel 30.
Three contestants from the area are among the 39 hopefuls competing for this year's crown and the right to represent Mississippi in the Miss America Pageant later this year.
Nina Simmons, 20, of Newton, is competing as Miss Forest. She is a graduate of Newton High School and attends Mississippi College. She is a communications major.
Kim Blackwell, 20, of Union, is competing as Miss Dixie. She is a student at Meridian Community College and a graduate of Union High School. She is majoring in broadcast communications.
Megan Tramill, 18, of Newton, is competing as Miss Morton. Tramil is a graduate of Newton High School and a student at East Central Community College. She is a pre-med major.
The preliminaries for the Miss Mississippi Program began Wednesday at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Michael Young and former Miss Mississippi Rebecca Blouin will serve as hosts.
Reigning Miss Mississippi Christy May will be on stage nightly, along with feature entertainers Mark Evans and Ashley Thompson.