For the 55th consecutive year, the Miss Missouri Pageant is being hosted in Central Missouri’s Mexico.
Night one of the competition kicked off on Wednesday. Dana Keller, Executive Director of the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce, told Missourinet the event came to town in 1970 and the economic impact on the community is just tremendous.
“We fill up all of our hotels,’ said Keller. “All our restaurants are busy. Gas stations have people coming in and out. It’s terrific for Mexico, but you know, once we reach capacity it also spilled out into the, you know, Fulton, Kingdom City, Columbia area, I think in overnight stays.”
Last year, an estimated 1,700 people attended Miss Missouri in Mexico for all four nights of the competition. Keller said the Missouri Military Academy has hosted the event for many years and this year a special guest is a judge.
“You know just that academy being able to host an event so large is such an asset to our community. And we are thrilled to death to have Debbye Turner back,” Keller said. “She was a wonderful, wonderful Miss Missouri. A wonderful Miss America.”
The Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for young women in the state of Missouri. Last year, the organization provided $85,000 in scholarships to the delegates competing for the Miss Missouri and Miss Missouri Teen titles.
A new Miss Missouri Teen will be crowned on Friday night. A new Miss Missouri will be crowned on Saturday night.
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