Hederman places Third Alternate in Miss Hospitality competition

Hederman places Third Alternate in Miss Hospitality competition

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Sara Hederman said competing in Miss Hospitality was unlike anything she has ever done, and she made a lot of good friends and memories in the process. 

Her first pageant competition ever, she placed third alternate overall. 

“I grew up playing sports, so this competition was something new,” said Hederman, a 2020 Jackson Prep graduate who was captain of the archery team, ran track and participated on the Pacers dance team and the show choir. “It was overall a great week.”

She is the daughter of Doug and Blair Hederman of Ridgeland.

As part of the completion at the Historic Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg, contestants volunteered at Forrest General Hospital where they packed bags for some cancer patients and also packed food for the nonprofit organization Extra Table.   

“We also painted bowls for a company called Empty Bowl,” Hederman said. “Painting the bowls was a lot of fun, and it was what I enjoyed the most out of all the volunteering we did.” 

The most challenging part was preparing for the interviews and her Mississippi speech that focused on Ridgeland tourism to draw people to visit Mississippi. 

Her favorite parts of the Miss Hospitality Contest were the dance numbers, evening gown competitions, and getting to present her written commercial about Ridgeland.

Hederman, being in the top five winners overall, received an estimated $1,000 in scholarship monies, a prize basket from Hattiesburg businesses, and another cash prize that she will receive in the mail within the next few days. 

“I plan on using all of the money I won for school,” said Hederman, an exercise science major. “I am a rising sophomore at Ole Miss and plan on using this money solely for that.”

Hederman will continue working with Ridgeland as an ambassador and she is looking forward to attending different events and festivals. 

“This experience pushed me into an area I’ve never experienced before, and I learned so much about Mississippi and myself throughout the competition,” Hederman said. “I look forward to working more with Ridgeland.”

Her mother, Blaire Hederman, said she and the rest of her family was thrilled her daughter’s hard work paid off. 

“Since Sara had never entered a competition like this, we didn’t have any other expectations other than her to do her best,” Blaire Hederman said. “Of course, she was nervous, but she was well prepared.”

Blaire Hederman said the interviews and speech about Mississippi counted for a lot of the scoring, and that her daughter studied details, facts and figures on tourism and economic development in Mississippi. 

“Sara also practiced her speech a lot so that she would be more comfortable and could enter those areas of the competition with confidence,” Blaire Hederman said. “We’re all very proud of her.”

To learn more about Miss Hospitality, visit https://misshospitality.net/.






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