HOT SPRINGS — Two college communication majors from the Three Rivers Edition coverage area used their skills and talents to promote themselves well enough to earn top awards in the 79th Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant.
Miss University of Arkansas Savannah Skidmore of Calico Rock was named first runner-up in the pageant, which featured 42 contestants and culminated July 9 at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena in the Hot Springs Convention Center. She received a $10,000 scholarship sponsored by Charles and Susie Morgan of Little Rock.
Miss Arkansas State University Bailey Moses of Cabot was named third runner-up in the pageant. She received a $6,000 scholarship sponsored by the Former Miss Arkansas Association.
Each contestant won other awards as well.
Following is a brief look at these two young women:
Savannah Skidmore
Skidmore, the 21-year-old daughter of Jerry and Kim Skidmore of Calico Rock, will be a senior this fall at the University of Arkansas, where she is majoring in broadcast journalism.
“It was fantastic,” she said of her placing in the annual pageant. “I was elated with being named first runner-up.
“This was the second year for me to compete in the pageant,” she said. “Last year, I was not even in the Top 15, so you can imagine my excitement as I kept hearing my named called. My whole family was there to share the honor with me.”
Skidmore will graduate in spring 2017.
“I want to be a TV reporter and anchor,” she said. “I had not really planned to go to graduate school, but with this scholarship money I received, I can afford to do so. And if I come back to the pageant next year and win, I will have enough scholarship money to go to the grad school of my dreams.
“I do plan to compete in a preliminary pageant next year,” she said. “We’ll just see what happens.”
Skidmore also won the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit Preliminary Award on July 8; she received a $1,000 scholarship for that achievement.
“That win was pretty cool for me,” she said. “I’ve always been fit and into athletics, so it was good to win. I worked hard for it; I worked with a coach for four or five months. It was my goal to win the preliminary. … It was awesome to accomplish it.”
Skidmore said she won $2,500 as the winner of the Miss University of Arkansas pageant, which is a preliminary to the Miss Arkansas pageant.
“So I am very excited about all the scholarship money I have received this year,” she said.
Skidmore’s talent in the competition was a vocal rendition of “Finding Wonderful.” Her platform is “Speak Up Now: Suicide Prevention and Awareness.”
Skidmore said her family recently suffered the effects of a suicide.
“My family lost an uncle to suicide in 2013,” she said. “I was a freshman in college. It was such a shock for my family. It really hit home for me.
“I focus on the prevention and awareness of suicide. It can happen to any family. I have been speaking about it on the U of A campus. Next year, I want to take my platform out into the [public] schools. I don’t give up my title at the U of A until October, and even after that, I want to continue to speak out about suicide and the importance of awareness and prevention, whenever possible.”
Skidmore said growing up in the small town of Calico Rock in Izard County was unique.
“I didn’t realize how unique it was until I got to college,” she said with a laugh. “I am a small-town girl and proud of it. It’s what made me who I am.”
Skidmore graduated from Calico Rock High School in 2013. She played sports, basketball in particular, and was a member of most every club available on campus — from FFA to choir.
“Basketball is pretty much the center of Calico Rock,” she said. “We are a small school, 1A, so we don’t have football. … We just have basketball. My team went on to win the state high school championship, so that was pretty neat.
“I will forever treasure growing up in Calico Rock,” she said.
Bailey Moses
Moses, the 21-year-old daughter of Jeff and Marsha Moses of Cabot, will be a senior this fall at ASU, majoring in strategic communications with a double emphasis in public relations and social-media management with a minor in marketing.
“I am very excited about being the third runner-up. Any scholarship money is much appreciated,” she said.
“I competed in the Miss Arkansas pageant the last two years and received first runner-up two years in a row, and this year, I am the third runner-up,” she said.
“Being in the Miss Arkansas organization has shaped my dreams and aspirations. As my next career, I would love to be the spokesperson for a nonprofit such as the Children’s Miracle Network or CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates for abused or neglected children),” Moses said.
“During the pageant, I had the opportunity to talk with some of the sponsors and really enjoyed learning about their marketing strategies,” she said, adding that she would like to develop her own marketing organization and “give back” to the Miss Arkansas organization in some way.
Bailey said she is in the first graduating class of students at ASU who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in strategic communications with an emphasis in social-media management.
“As an outsider looking in, social media (cellphones, Facebook, etc.) is great fun, … a good way to keep up with family and friends,” she said. “But it can be used as a tool by businesses to market themselves or their products. It takes a lot of study to learn how to create a brand without spending thousands of dollars. That’s what I am learning, and I hope to be able to show businesses how to use social media to its fullest potential.”
Moses grew up in Cabot and graduated from Cabot High School in 2013.
“It’s my hometown,” she said. “I am a small-town girl. … I have deep pride in the [Cabot] Panthers.”
Moses said she was very shy growing up.
“My parents worried about me; they thought I would never outgrow it. I remember my first job in ninth grade was with Radio Disney. I stepped out of my comfort zone to apply for the job … and got it,” she said.
“We were to travel across the state, bringing new movies and music to little kids. I was so terrified that for my first show, my mom allowed me to miss school so I could practice my lines. … I think I had three sentences to say,” Moses said.
“I would go over and over and over my lines. … I was still petrified, but I finally got through it,” she said. “And now when I get up onstage at the Miss Arkansas pageant, I am able to relate my opinion on whatever subject without any problem.”
Bailey said she stepped out of her comfort zone once again when she was in high school.
“I became involved in theater. I was a dancer, but during my senior year, I stepped out of my comfort zone and auditioned for a part in a play,” she said.
“I got the lead role in Thoroughly Modern Millie and had to act, sing and dance,” she said laughing. “And the singing role was that of a soprano.
“All of those experiences have helped me develop self-confidence.”
Moses performed a contemporary tap dance to “Story of My Life” for her talent during the Miss Arkansas pageant. Her platform is “Suitcases for Kids: Advocacy for Foster Care Children.”
She said she had a personal experience with the foster care system when she was younger.
“When I was 14, my cousin ended up in the back of a school bus, and they gave her three weeks to live. Even though she was given only three weeks to live, she was put into foster care and placed into the arms of my aunt and uncle,” Moses said.
“She survived and is now 20 years old and doing well,” Moses said. “I saw the hope and caring that is in the foster care system, despite any faults it might have.
“I was too young to do anything about it then, but I now volunteer for CASA in Lonoke County. I see these children bring what little possessions they have with them in a suitcase or even a cardboard box, thus the name of my platform, ‘Suitcases for Kids.’”
Moses said she can’t make a “rational decision” right now about entering the Miss Arkansas pageant next year, but she “probably” will try to find a preliminary pageant to enter, hoping to make it back to the Miss Arkansas stage.
In addition to winning the $6,000 scholarship as the third runner-up in this year’s pageant, Moses also received the Miss Arkansas Quality of Life Award and a $2,000 scholarship on July 9; the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit Preliminary Award on July 6, which meant another $1,000 scholarship; and the Service Before Self Award and a $250 scholarship on July 7.