The Miss Alabama Organization celebrated in style May 21 at The Club in recognition of its 100th anniversary.
The milestone occurred last year, but due to COVID limitations, the celebration was rescheduled for this year.
Twenty-seven former Miss Alabama titleholders, including Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone and Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs, were present, as was Miss America 1987 Kelly Cash of Tennessee and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2022 Marcelle LeBlanc of Birmingham. Other attendees came from as far away as the West Coast.
Presented around the perimeter of the Gold Room were mannequins wearing wardrobe pieces brought by the various Miss Alabama titleholders for display. Before the seated dinner, attendees were able to visit with the former titleholders and take photos.
The large crowd in the grand ballroom included many local and state volunteers, current and former titleholders and contestants and their families, scholarship donors, sponsors and many others.
The evening’s program began with a video welcome and greeting from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.
The program was a walk down memory lane and consisted of live talent presentations as well as videos from the Miss America competition. A grand 5-tier anniversary cake featuring a Miss Alabama crown at the top was created by chef Michael Glenn. A photo gallery of each Miss Alabama titleholder lined the ballroom of The Club.
Miss Alabama volunteers Judy Tedford and Lynn Martin created two large quilts made from each pageant’s commemorative T-shirts going back four decades. These quilts are being auctioned to raise money for scholarships for this year’s candidates. The quilts will be awarded to the highest bidder at the Miss Alabama competition, which takes place June 29 to July 2 at Samford University’s Wright Center. Tickets for this year’s pageant, “A Centennial Celebration,” are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 205-871-6276.
The nonprofit Miss Alabama Organization is one of the largest scholarship programs within Miss America, awarding well more than $100,000 annually in cash scholarships in addition to in-kind tuition scholarships from colleges and universities across the state.
Among those attending were Nan Teninbaum, president and CEO of the Miss Alabama Organization, with husband, Phil; Amanda and Daniel LeBlanc, Tammy and Rick Towns, Irene Collins, Lindsay Kessler, Betty and Don Mosely, Lori and Sean Adams, Monica and Scott Smith, Lisa and Chris Meadows, Virginia McDorman, Amie Beth Shaver, Tricia and Jeff Tapley, Amanda and Bronson McGriff, Rebekah and Todd Harmon, Anna Bella Foster, Kimberly and Brad Stockard, Abbie Stockard, Madeline Rigdon, Anna Kate Lucas, Nora Chapman, Roye Annette Flowers, Daphne Gray, Stephanie Ward, Betty Ponder, Frank Kanelos, Layla and Dewayne Hamilton, Susan Downs, Jean Ingram, Frank Carnaggio, and Amanda and Ryan Tice.
