The second Miss Southern Hospitality brought in more than $3,000 for band boosters this past weekend with two young women earning the new title of Miss Southern Hospitality and Miss Southern Hospitality Teen.  

The preliminary competition to Miss Alabama took place at Hartselle High School Aug. 26 and allowed 14 young women the opportunity to compete for scholarships and to represent Hartselle at the statewide competition. 

Reagan Hanson was crowned Miss Southern Hospitality and Laura Kate Hall was crowned Miss Southern Hospitality Teen. The young women will compete in the Miss Alabama competition as representatives of Hartselle. Susan Persall is the organizer of the annual event, and said each of the young ladies will be a great ambassador for the city.  

Laura Kate Hall will go on to compete in Miss Alabama Teen and is campaigning on the merits of pet adoption.

Reagan Hanson will compete for the title of Miss Alabama and is campaigning on the benefits of early volunteerism in elementary school students.

“They will be great candidates. Each of them have competed before, and bring experience to the competition,” Persall said.  

Each of the candidates campaign on a social issue of their choosing. Hall is covering the merits of pet adoption while Hanson is championing the benefits of early volunteerism in elementary school students. Persall said the competition went well and that all of the participants would have been great options for Hartselle.  

“They all seemed like really good candidates. The judges seemed like they were really pleased with them,” Persall said.  

This year Miss Southern Hospitality also welcomed their first Rising Stars segment for younger competitors. Each of the four girls that took part in the competition will have the opportunity to shadow one of the winners.  

“They were all really sweet. They each had a crown and was assigned to an older contestant to be able to walk out on the stage. They were super cute,” Persall said.  

Persall said the competition also brought in a significant amount of funds for the band boosters this year after only bringing in a couple hundred the first year. She said the combination of entry fees and admission brought in approximately $3,200. The judges and auditor also refused payment, donating their earnings back into the proceeds.  

“We had a really great day,” Persall said. “We’re certainly looking forward to hosting it again next year.”