Flashing lights, cheers from the crowd, the soft grip of her runner up’s hand and a pounding heart are the only things Miss Mississippi Volunteer Hannah Perrigin remembers as a crown was placed on her head July 9.
Miss Mississippi Volunteer pageant, only two years old, was founded by former Miss Tennesse Allison DeMarcus whose husband Jay DeMarcus is the bassist for Rascal Flatts. It hosts teens ages 13 to 17 and adults ages 18 to 25.
A Columbus native, Perrigin, 24-year-old, spent her life fostering a love of fitness and wellness alongside an intense devotion to the world of pageantry. She grew up constantly competing in school pageants before carrying that passion over to her college career.
While Perrigin pursued a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies at the University of Mississippi, she competed in the University of Mississippi Parade of Beauties. Determined to take the title, Perrigin competed for three years before finally claiming the title of Ole Miss Most Beautiful in 2019.
“That title opened up the door for me to be able to compete on a larger scale. I was presented with the idea that you can either compete in the America organization or the USA organization so that is how this whole thing transpired was winning that title at Ole Miss,” Perrigin said.
She began her preparation for the 2022 Miss Mississippi Volunteer pageant in April after finishing as first runner-up at Miss Mississippi USA for the past two years.
“I was coming pretty much hot off of that pageant but I believe in the saying if you stay ready you never have to get ready,” Perrigin said.
She immediately got to work meeting with her walking coaches, doing mock interviews, planning out wardrobe styling and — for her first time ever in pageanting — preparing a talent.
“This pageant is the first pageant I have competed in that has a talent portion. I met with a dance coach and we got a dance together. Once I got the talent down, I paid my entry fee and crossed my fingers and hoped for the best,” Perrigin said.
Once she arrived at the Performing Arts Center in Tupelo, Perrigin competed in the private interview, talent, fitness and wellness in swimsuit, evening gown and an onstage question only asked to the top 5. After a week-long competition, July 5-9, Rachel Shumaker crowned her successor, Perrigin.
“It was incredible. I was the first so I was not crowned by a title holder so my entire year I had nobody to look to to say how to do it. I was fine with being the first, but I got really excited to see someone else get the opportunities down,” Shumaker said. “The only thing better than getting Miss Mississippi Volunteer was getting to hand it down to someone else.”
Perrigin won $40,000 in cash and scholarship money and intends to use it to pursue a master’s degree in food and nutrition to launch her own business in the fitness industry called “Strong not Skinny.”
“I love using that hashtag on social media platforms, because I believe it is important to encourage women to not try to shrink themselves to fit any mold society tells them they should fit into but instead they should want to feel strong and empowered,” Perrigin said.
The new titleholder credits success to non-stop perseverance and the unconditional love of her family, specifically her grandmother. When Perrigin was only 13 years old, her grandmother uttered a simple phrase that she has carried with her throughout life: “Be a light.”
“She has been my strength through competing and has driven me to want to be successful for her so I can live out her legacy,” Perrigin said.
Miss Mississippi Volunteer will spend her reigning year working with the Mississippi Highway Patrol on its D.R.I.V.E campaign. Perrigin will travel to schools across the state to speak with teens about safe driving practices and preventative measures.
“The ultimate goal is to decrease teen fatalities in our state by speaking to them directly. I think they are more receptive to hearing what someone closer to their age has to say,” Perrigin said.
She will also “further the S.E.R.V.E. mission of the Miss Mississippi Volunteer and Miss Volunteer America organizations” in her new role.
Shumaker — the first ever Miss Mississippi Volunteer — will aid Perrigin in transitioning into her new role so that her reign can be “as uniquely Hannah as it can be.”
“This was meant to be my yes,” Perrigin said. “Perseverance is key when it comes to pageants because you are gambling on yourself and putting it all on the line for the opinion of others. You really just have to believe in your purpose.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.