Even though she grew up in the tiny Izard County town of Calico Rock, Savannah Skidmore is known across her home state: She was Miss Arkansas in 2016, stepping up to the state title and all its perks and responsibilities when Savvy Shields was crowned Miss America.
But once was not enough for the Fayetteville resident. In November, the first-year law student at the University of Arkansas won the Miss Arkansas USA Pageant, and now, she's in Reno/Lake Tahoe, Nev., competing for the Miss USA crown — or applying for the job, as she puts it.
The pageant airs at 7 p.m. Thursday on FOX. The winner will go on to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant.
"I'm having the time of my life at Miss USA, and I can't wait for the final night of competition," Skidmore, 24, told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wednesday. "But no matter what happens, it will have been my greatest honor to represent Arkansas, my hometown and my family and friends on the Miss USA stage."
A watch party for the competition will be held Thursday evening at Calico Rock Elementary School.