On Sunday, four young women at a Chattanooga pageant will be one step closer to becoming Miss America.
The four title winners -- Miss Chattanooga, Miss Tennessee Valley, Miss Scenic City and Miss Metropolitan -- will be eligible to compete in the Miss Tennessee pageant, which chooses the state's representative at Miss America. Scenic City Pageants, which is presenting Sunday's pageant, has produced four out of the last nine Miss Tennessee winners, said Rodney Hullender, pageant co-director.
Last year, 17 young women competed in Scenic City Pageants, which advances four title winners to the Miss Tennessee pageant. This year, 16 were confirmed as of Friday, Hullender said. Despite a stagnant economy, interest in the program remains consistent, he said.
A contestant can spend $500 to $600 on an evening gown for the local pageant and upward of $1,000 on a gown for the state pageant, Hullender said. However, there are ways for women to save on dresses, such as by borrowing them or wearing their old prom dress, he added.
Chandler Lawson, who won Miss Chattanooga last year and is competing again Sunday, said potential contestants may not realize they can fundraise to pay the required $100 donation to the Children's Miracle Network.
Lawson, a Coffee County, Tenn., native who was first runner-up at the Miss Tennessee pageant last year, has reused and borrowed dresses and said that pageants haven't stressed her financially.
"Everything I've spent I've gotten back in scholarship money," she said.
Hullender stressed that the pageants, part of the Miss America Organization, give out scholarships. In the last 10 years, he said, the local program has helped young women win $150,000 to further their education.
"I'm afraid sometimes that gets downplayed," Hullender said, adding that the pageants often get confused with Miss USA, which is strictly a beauty pageant.
Lawson said that the scholarship and community-service aspects of the Miss America Organization pageants are particularly appealing.
When she was in high school, the 6-foot, 21-year-old University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior started a nonprofit organization called 5loaves4kids to address childhood hunger, and she has been able to promote the organization and its cause through the Miss America Organization.
"It's not a beauty pageant," she said. "It has a lot of merit."
The pageant starts with a closed interview in which contestants are asked questions about topics such as current events and politics, Hullender said. The public portion of the pageant starts at 4 p.m. at Chattanooga State Community College.
"I'm really excited," Lawson said. "It's always a fun time."