This is the start of a busy week for Brandi Dial.
There's a meet and greet, rehearsals and on Wednesday, it gets down to business.
Dial is one of 36 contestants vying for the Miss Tennessee crown.
The Miss Tennessee 2003 competition will be held June 18-21 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, 400 S. Highland Ave., Jackson. The preliminaries will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday with the finals at 8 p.m. Saturday. Ticket prices are $50 for all nights with single nights available during the week of the pageant. For ticket information, e-mail MissTnEd@aol.com.
The Contestant Meet and Greet is from 2-4 p.m. today in front of Kirkland's at Old Hickory Mall.
Dial, the 20-year-old daughter of Roger and Tina Norquist of Troy, is a sophomore at Dyersburg State Community College. She won the Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival crown on Nov. 15, 2002. Her Miss Tennessee competition schedule is evening wear on Wednesday, talent on Thursday and swimwear on
Lindsey Harper |
Friday.
She isn't the only contestant with local connections vying for the Miss Tennessee crown.
Lindsey Harper, 20, of Trenton, will be competing as Miss Madison County. She is a student at Belmont University in Nashville. Her platform is "Substance Abuse: With Choices Come Consequences." Her competition schedule is evening wear on Wednesday, talent on Thursday and swimwear on Friday.
Brittney Eskew, 24, of Nashville, will be competing as Miss West Tennessee. A graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, she is the daughter of Jane Eskew of Dyersburg and Brent Eskew of Flora, Ill. Her platform is "Domestic Violence." Her competition schedule is talent on Wednesday, swimsuit on Thursday and evening wear on Friday.
Dial e
Brittney Eskew |
ntered her first pageant her senior year at Obion County High School.
"I won and that's how it started," she said.
"It got in her blood," said Teresa Johnson, who co-directs the Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival/Miss University of Tennessee-Martin pageant with her husband Harold. He is a teacher at Dyer County High School. She is an instructional librarian at the DSCC Learning Resource Center.
"I started competing in preliminaries to Miss Tennessee because of my mom," Dial continued. "She heard about the scholarship money involved. I realized I enjoyed it, was good at it and wanted the scholarship money too. I haven't had to pay for three semesters (of school) because of Miss Tennessee."
The Miss Tennessee pageant is a preliminary to the Miss America pageant. Young ladies can compete every year from the age of 17 to 24, unless they win the title. From preliminaries to Miss Tennessee alone, they can win from $200 to $2,000. In addition, they receive $1,000 from the Miss Tennessee pageant.
"Then there are other things like their community program, the ad book, Miss Congeniality. They could not do a thing and come back with up to $4,000," Johnson said.
While the scholarship money helps with college, she noted there are some lifelong lessons.
"What they learn from interviewing can get them any job on the planet because of the skills learned," Johnson said. "It's a wonderful way to develop skills they might not otherwise had the opportunity to develop. It really puts them on the road and gives them the money to get there through college."
This is Dial's second year to compete at Miss Tennessee. Her first time was last year as Miss Volunteer.
"I can honestly say that from that first pageant to this year, my self-confidence has increased," she said. "I've learned that my opinion matters."
For pageant contestants, an opportunity to express their opinion is through their platform. Dial's is "Inclusion for All Students."
"You'll find the girls pick a platform that is close to their heart," Johnson said.
Her sister, who was hit by a car when she was 5, inspires Dial's choice.
"She had lots of problems. She was in a coma for three months. She had to (relearn) everything," she said. "My parents were determined that she'd have a normal life and not sit in a class where she was held back by (others') expectations. I worked in CDC classes because of her and learned those kids have something to offer. Our parents kept telling her she could do anything. She graduated with honors and is going to Dyersburg State, majoring in psychology. She's a walking example."
While this week will be a busy one, it will be easier because Dial knows what to expect.
"The whole week was like something I've never experienced anywhere else," she said of last year. "I expected something totally different. It was so laid back and people were encouraging you to do your best. It was like a big sleepover for an entire week. We had fun. The week goes by and you're constantly on the go. The people involved in Miss Tennessee help calm you down -- that officials had that much trust in 34 girls to spend their time like that."
Last year, Dial and her mother got some tips from Linda Shumate, the mother of past Miss Tennessee Alli Shumate. The group also got some tips from Valli Kugler, who went on to win the crown in 2002.
"I depended a lot on the directors last year because they'd been there before," Dial said. "They're surrogate parents."
"Part of our job is to prepare the girls" from picking gowns to being there during pageant week, Johnson said. "Every night is as stressful as the main night. It's important as a director to give support."
The Johnsons became involved with pageant through Martin's Soybean Festival.
"We lived in Martin and they wanted a float in the area parades, so we needed a Miss Soybean," Johnson said. "I decided if we were going to do it, it needed to be done the right way and made it a Miss Tennessee preliminary."
The first pageant was held in 2000. Of the three winners, two have been second runner-up to Miss Tennessee. In 2002, the Johnsons were asked to be directors of the Miss UTM pageant and saw Kugler go on to win the Miss Tennessee crown and Harper, as Miss Soybean, win first runner-up.
"Miss Soybean has placed every year," Dial said. "That shows what a consistency they have and what good directors they are."
"It's them, not us," Johnson said. "Brandi will do very well."
Dial has sung most of her life. It's pretty much how she got into pageants.
"My senior year in high school, it was pageant time and I could sing or be in it," she recalled. "Mom said I was going to be in it. And when it came down to the crowning, I won the thing. I was as shocked as anybody."
For Miss Tennessee, she'll perform Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing."
"I've always like Martina McBride. I think she's an artist who won't perform a song unless she feels it in her heart," she said. "It was my sister's favorite so I decided to do it. It's a song that means a lot because she followed her dream despite of what the guy in the song says."
While Dial never dreamed of being in a pageant while she was growing up, she remembers always watching the Miss America pageant on television.
"We always rooted for Miss Tennessee," she said.
While Kelly Carter Cash of Milan won the crown in the late 1980s, Dial had never seen anyone get as close when Stephanie Colburn won second runner-up in 2001.
"I wasn't into pageants at the time," she said, but "I remember that moment."
A year later, Dial won second runner-up to Kugler at the Miss UTM pageant.
"Pageants aren't what the stereotypical person would think," Dial said. "Everyone of those girls is like me -- she's trying to find a way to get to college. When Valli won last year, it opened up a lot of doors for people. Last year, I won the title in Nashville; this year, everybody knew and that made it special. This year I've had a lot of hometown support."
Preparing for the pageant has meant a lot of study.
"I've been watching CNN and FOX News, reading newspapers trying to keep up (on current events)," Dial said. "It's been crazy because you don't know what current-event questions will come up."
She's also researching soybeans.
"I know that question will come up at some point," she said.
She's also been singing. Earlier this year, she performed at a pageant in Union City. She sang "God Bless the USA."
"Everybody was standing, singing along," she recalled. "They couldn't have lighters in the auditorium, so everyone had their cell phones on. It was an awesome experience."
While Dial will be wearing the Miss Soybean Festival crown, she'll also be representing DSCC, where she's majoring in nursing. She plans on specializing in pediatrics and working at a research hospital.
"They really do stress the school," Johnson said.
"I thank Dyersburg State so much for supporting me," Dial said, noting she's "adopting" one of her pageant answers from biology professor Dr. Brian Wells.
"No matter how bad A&P got, he always said, 'Have a great day because you'll never have another one like it.' That was an 8 a.m. class so that (statement) made the rest of my day," she said.
But the biggest support, she said, has come from her mom.
"I thank her so much. She's been there for everything," she said. "Behind every Miss Tennessee, there's a hardworking mom."
Along with that support, Dial also has the lessons she learned last year.
"Miss Tennessee is a big deal but don't stress your life over it," she said. "I'm taking a lot of confidence that I'll do well. I'm taking a lot of friendships because half of the girls are returning; it'll be a reunion. I'm getting excited to see who'll be there.
"I'll be taking who I represent as well -- Dyersburg State and the Soybean Festival," she continued.
She also knows that when it comes time to crown the winner, "nothing can prepare you for that moment, even in the preliminary," she said. "At Miss Soybean, when they called the first runner-up's number, I had to look at mine. It's so overwhelming."
