For Immediate State-Wide Release
April 26th, 2020
Miss Tennessee Organization
Memphis, Tennessee -
Due to the COVID 19 crisis, and wanting our candidates to have the best possible experience, including competitions in front of a live audience, the 2020 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition, licensed under the Miss America Organization, has been rescheduled for August 2nd-8th at the Cannon Center For The Performing Arts, here in Memphis, Tennessee. This will be the first time in over 65 years that the historic Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition will be held in the Bluff City!
The Miss Tennessee Organization’s Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chair Joseph Albright since December 2018, unanimously agreed to the commitment to hold the competition across the entire State of Tennessee instead of home-basing in just one area of the state as had been the previous practice. This was to ensure that Miss Tennessee was showcased to the entire State of Tennessee.
Last year, the competition was held for the first time in Knoxville at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Brianna Mason, was crowned the first African-American Miss Tennessee on June 29, 2019. She competed for the title of Miss America on December 19, 2019, in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Memphis, has deep roots in the Miss Tennessee and
Miss America Organizations and we feel it is only fitting to bring the competition to the Bluff City for 2020! Miss America 1947, Barbra Jo Walker, was the first Tennessean crowned Miss America as she represented the City of Memphis. At that time there was not a state-level competition. Kellye Cash, Miss Tennessee 1986 / Miss America 1987 was a student at the then Memphis State University (The University of Memphis) and living with her family in Memphis when she was crowned both Miss Tennessee and Miss America.
We want to thank Mayor Jim Strickland and his staff, the City of Memphis, Memphis Tourism, the Cannon Center, the Sheraton Hotel, and the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce for their support in this endeavor to bring the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition to Memphis.
Donations to the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit, are 100% tax deductible and the funds are solely used to affirm the Miss America Organization’s Mission Statement: “To prepare great women for the world, and to prepare the world for great women.” - If interested in contributing please contact: Katherine Tosh, Chief Operations Officer, Katherine.Tosh@MissTennessee.org
The Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition, Inc., a 501(c)4 non-profit, is one of the most recognizable brands in America, working to empower young women through education and service. Miss Tennessee / Miss America candidates contribute tens of thousands of community service hours annually and have raised over $18 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Miss America scholarships since 2007.
Joseph Albright, CEO/Board Chair
Miss Tennessee Organization
Joe.Albright@MissTennessee.Org