SAVVY ON THE SPOT

PHOTOS: Miss Arkansas greets VIPs, takes off on whirlwind tour

After a brief news conference on July 9, Savvy Shields, who not even an hour before was crowned Miss Arkansas 2016, paused outside a VIP reception at the Hot Springs Convention Center to greet her parents, Todd and Karen Shields of Fayetteville, and her brother, Dane, and to pose for a few photos. Once inside, surrounded by former Miss Arkansas winners, she said a few words of thanks and with smiles and hugs made her way around the room greeting friends, family and guests.

[GALLERY: Click here for photos from the reception]

The next day Shields was flown to Washington for a week of orientation and to start prepping for the Miss America pageant on Sept. 11 in Atlantic City, N.J. Since her return, the University of Arkansas art major has been on a media tour, participated in the Miss America Lottery where she picked her placement for the Miss America Competition and has been visiting sponsors.

The VIP reception was one of two that day sponsored by the Miss Arkansas Pageant and the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation. The events provided pageant officials, judges, former Miss Arkansas winners and pageant sponsors a chance to mingle with the newly crowned Miss Arkansas.

The Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation is a volunteer-staffed nonprofit that raises money for the Miss Arkansas Pageant. This year's Miss Arkansas Golf Classic, sponsored by the foundation, raised $60,000 to fund scholarships for the contestants.

-- Story and photos by Cary Jenkins

High Profile on 07/24/2016

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