Starting Sunday, Miss Hospitality contestants will attend social events, do community service projects, and attend rehearsals and competitions culminating in the crowning ceremony July 21.
And Marion County’s represenative, Meredith Bass, is working hard to make it to top spot at the competition in Hattiesburg. She’s anticipating a fun week.
“I know that one day we have an activity with the Spirit Girls from Forrest General Hospital. We get to hang out with them and we’re mentors for them. It will be really cool,” Bass said. “We also have rehearsals for the and we’ll be getting all of our choreography together for that.”
The public is invited to meet the contestants at the Miss Hospitality autograph party at the Hattiesburg Zoo on Friday, July 20 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Bass, the daughter of Mike and Melanie Bass of Columbia, is a 2015 Columbia Academy graduate and a senior at Mississippi State University.
Guests will enjoy entertaining productions on both Friday and Saturday evenings during the competition. The finale is set for Saturday at 8 p.m., where the top 10 contestants will compete for the crown.
Tickets to the 2018 Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition are available online at HattiesburgSaenger.com or by calling the Saenger Theater Box Office at (601) 584-4888. Tickets can also be purchased at the Saenger in advance or at the door.
The theme for this year’s program is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
“It will be really fun,” Bass said. “I’m really excited to get to know the rest of the contestants.”
Bass has been writing a speech about Mississippi and a commercial about Marion County, as well as studying economic details about Marion County and Mississippi.
“I’ve been learning all I can as far as statistics and information about that. It’s been really interesting to learn more about our county and our state,” she said.
Bass said the information will be beneficial as panelists interview the contestants.
“One of the interviews will be about myself and my personal application, but the other interview could be about anything,” she said. “It could be about various things in Mississippi. Economic, tourism and different topics could be discussed.”
For the first time, the competition has added a Little Miss Hospitality between 6 and 10 from her hometown to mentor throughout her reign. Little Misses will appear on stage during competition and be invited to official events. Marion Jordan will serve as Little Miss Hospitality for Marion County.
Many people from Columbia and Marion County have offered “tremendous amounts of support.”
“They’ve been great and I’m really excited about the rest of the week, too,” Bass said. “We’ve had a social media contest that we’ve done this year and it is exciting to see everyone’s comments about wishing me well and wishing me luck. It’s been really nice. I’ve enjoyed it.”
Pictured Above: Meredith Bass of Columbia will be competing at the Mississippi Miss Hospitality pageant in Hattiesburg this coming week. | Submitted Photo
