Miss Mississippi Hannah Perrigin wins 2024 Volunteer America pageant in Jackson, Tenn.
A nearly full house at the Carl Perkins Civic Center watched Miss Mississippi Volunteer Hannah Perrigin take home the crown and a $50,000 scholarship on the final night of competition.
Perrigin comes as the second winner of the new annual Miss Volunteer America pageant with inaugural winner MVA Alexa Knutsen 2023 passing down her crown.
The University of Mississippi graduate says that winning MVA comes as a result of "three years in the making to become a woman that can hold a title and have a platform that reaches the entire country."
"I'm wide-eyed and bushy-tailed for the year ahead at what all we're going to accomplish," Perrigin said.
Perrigin explained that through the help of her nearly 30,000 social media followers, she believes she can brings a level of exposure over the next year to causes near and dear to her, such as advocating for at-risk youth.
In reflecting on her week leading up to the big win, Perrigin says she trusted God's timing and routinely reminded herself that "if it's meant for me it will happen."
"When I was standing on the side of the stage going to compete for evening gown, I said 'effortless, just be effortless Hannah' So I think that approach did help me capture the crown because I was just being myself and I think that the judges saw that and now I have this opportunity to show America who Hannah Perrigin is," she said.
In addition to a composite score worth 25%, the winner was judged in each category totaling 25% each: Talent, Fitness & Health, and Evening Gown.
After the first phase of the night, Fitness & Health, 12 contestants were chosen to move on to the Talent component. Following the Talent competition, a lucky 10 were selected to advance to the Evening Gown portion of the evening.
With pageant co-host Jay DeMarcus on piano, Knutsen did a closing ballet performance of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” prior to the commencement of the Evening Gown phase.
More:Miss Volunteer America pageant returns to Jackson for second year, all states participate
Once the final five made it to the final round before the crowning, each contestant was asked a different question on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to social media’s effect on mental health.
Preliminary night award winners are as follows:
Night 1
- Miss Indiana Volunteer Stevie Griffin won Fitness & Health
- Miss Georgia Volunteer, Victoria Hill won Talent
Night 2
- Miss Kentucky Volunteer, Noelle Thompson won Talent
- Miss South Dakota Volunteer Hillary Beecher won Fitness & Health
Night 3
- Miss Missouri Volunteer, Hannah Perrigin won Fitness & Health
- Miss Missouri Volunteer, Faith Whatley-Blaine won Talent
For their work throughout the week, the following six non-finalists were recognized prior to the crowning:
Miss California Volunteer Cassie Roby
Miss Minnesota Volunteer Shana Dukes
Miss Montana Volunteer Liliana Johnson
Miss North Dakota Volunteer McKayla Montgomery
Miss Ohio Volunteer Brittney Herman
Miss Oregon Volunteer Bailey Aldrich