Elizabeth Anne Woody had never taken part in a pageant before entering Greenwood’s Miss Hospitality competition, but she made the most of it.
The 18-year-old Pillow Academy senior was crowned the pageant winner during the River to the Rails festival earlier this month and received a $500 scholarship. She will represent the city at the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Pageant, which will be held July 27 through Aug. 2 at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg.
Woody said she was glad she decided to participate.
“It was nerve-wracking, but it was a lot of fun. I’m excited about going to the state pageant,” she said.
The mission of the Miss Hospitality Pageant is to honor young ladies and use them to promote tourism, industry and economic development in Mississippi.
At the local pageant, which was held April 11 at The Alluvian, Woody and the other contestants had a five-minute panel interview with the pageant judges and also were asked to prepare and recite a 20-second commercial promoting Greenwood.
Woody’s commercial focused on the town’s many attractions including blues music, historic downtown, Viking Range Corp., restaurants and Southern charm.
“I tried to say a little bit about each part of Greenwood,” Woody said.
She said she entered the event because she has lived in Greenwood all her life and figured she knows enough about the city to serve as a good representative.
“The judges were really impressed with her poise, and they could sense that she had a genuine love for Greenwood,” said Paige Hunt of the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau, who served as director of the pageant.
In addition to the panel interview and 20-second commercial, the state pageant will include a one-on-one interview, an evening gown competition and a 90-second speech on “How would you promote our state to a visitor of Mississippi?”
To get ready for the state competition, Woody said she will probably take the advice she received from Betsy Nelson, last year’s Greenwood Miss Hospitality, and hire a pageant coach, who will help her prepare by assisting with wardrobe choices and practicing public speaking.
Hunt said pageants require a number of skills that many people do not think about.
“The girls who go to these pageants really do want to do well, and the pageant coaches help them hone their natural abilities,” Hunt said.
Woody is the daughter of Gary and Cindy Woody of Greenwood. She has one older brother, Thomas Woody, 19, who is a student at the University of Mississippi.
She is involved in many extracurricular activities including basketball, tennis, cheerleading, Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Astra Club, Crown Club, Jets Club, Math and Science Club, PAC Teens, Stock Market Club and Spanish Club. She is also active in the youth group at St. John’s United Methodist Church and enjoys painting in her spare time.
Some of the honors and awards Woody has received in high school include Altrusa Club Student of the Month, Rotary Club Student of the Month, 2007-08 Miss Pillow Academy and Best Personality, 2008 MPSA Class AAA Basketball All Tournament Award and All Conference Honorable Mention. She also participated in the Lions Club Youth Leadership seminars.
She has volunteered for many local events and organizations including the 300 Oaks Road Race, River to the Rails, canned food drives, Beacon Harbor, Golden Age Nursing Home and the Angel Tree.
After graduation, she plans to major in pharmacy at the University of Mississippi.
For more information about the Miss Hospitality Pageant, visit www.misshospitality.com.
