Women representing Atlanta took home the Miss Georgia and Miss Georgia’s Outstanding Teen crowns Saturday night.
Victoria Hill, a 20-year-old Reinhardt University student, won Miss Georgia. Hill, who competed as Miss Capital City, won talent and on-stage question awards in the preliminary stages of competition earlier this week. This was Hill’s second time competing for the crown; she was third runner-up in 2018’s pageant.
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READ | Miss Georgia 2019: Meet the contestants competing for the crown
MORE | Miss Georgia's Outstanding Teen 2019: Meet the contestants
Mary Wilhelmina Hodges, a 14-year-old from Louisville, won Miss Georgia’s Outstanding Teen. The “little sister” pageant is held annually alongside Miss Georgia.
Hodges, who competed as Miss Greater Atlanta’s Outstanding Teen, also won talent and on-stage question awards during preliminaries. She also won on her second try, competing first in 2018 but not making the top 15 during the final night of competition that year.
The 2019 competition was the 75th Miss Georgia, the anniversary of an institution that has drawn young women for decades.
Miss Georgia has historically been one of the state pageants with the largest number of contestants - more than 50 in 2017 and 2018 - and among the states considered most competitive by those who follow the Miss America Organization closely. Two Miss Americas have come from Georgia, including Betty Cantrell, Miss America 2016, and 21 more Miss Georgias - nearly a third of those crowned - have made the top 15 or higher at the pageant.
Hill, a vocal performance student at Reinhardt, sang a classical aria for her talent, imbuing the performance with character and attitude.
Her social impact initiative is advocating for children in the foster care system. During Saturday’s competition she discussed working with a foster home for girls and seeing the impact mentorship has on them. She repeatedly expressed her wish for there to be more foster homes ready to take in children in Georgia, as many foster children are awaiting home placements.
Hodges performed a high-energy tap routine to a remix of the classic song “Boogie Shoes.” Hodges stomped, spun and mugged for the camera through the fast-paced 90-second performance, showing impressive dance skill and immense personality.
Hodge’s social impact initiative is “Take Ten,” a program that encourages people to block out small periods of exercise throughout their day in order to get the 60 minutes of daily exercised recommended by many health professionals.
The runners-up to Miss Georgia were:
Alexa Gilomen, Miss Cobb County, first runner-up
Kelsey Hollis, Miss Warner Robins, second runner-up
Holly Haynes, Miss Historic Buford, third runner-up
The runners-up to Miss Georgia’s Outstanding Teen were:
Destiny Kluck, Miss Historic Buford’s Outstanding Teen, first runner-up
Megan Wright, Miss Rome’s Outstanding Teen, second runner-up
Hope Fowler, Miss Capital City’s Outstanding Teen, third runner-up
Grace Gebara, Miss Northwest Georgia’s Outstanding Teen, fourth runner-up.
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