Annie Woodmansey of Pierre

2018 Miss SD and Miss Outstanding Teen SD candidates (photo credit to Miss SD Pageant)

 

Sixteen young women from across the state–including Annie Woodmansey of Pierre– are competing in Hot Springs June today, tomorrow and Saturday for thousands of dollars in scholarships and the role of Miss South Dakota. The new Miss South Dakota will take home at least $9-thousand in scholarship money and will represent South Dakota at the Miss America Pageant.

The Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen competition will be held in conjunction with the Miss South Dakota Pageant.

The pageant theme this year is “The Power in Me.” The pageant celebrates its 72nd and final year in Hot Springs, as one of the two longest-running state pageants in a single location nationwide. The pageant will be in a new home next year, and the host city will be announced at the pageant finals Saturday night.

The pageant will feature Miranda Mack of Redfield, Miss South Dakota 2017. Miranda represented South Dakota at the Miss America Pageant last September in Atlantic City. She spent the year advocating for her personal platform of “Music for Life” – promoting the importance of music education in schools.

The public has a chance to choose one of the Top 8 Finalists by voting in the People’s Choice Contest. Votes cost $1 each and proceeds will provide scholarships through the Miss SD Pageant and the SD Scholarship Foundation. Vote at: https://www.misssd.org/peoples-choice.

The young women competing are (name, age, title, hometown, talent, and platform):

Annie Woodmansey, 21, Miss Once Upon a Festival, Pierre, Talent: Operatic Vocal, Platform: Fine Arts for All Hearts

Alexandra Smiley, 24, Miss Rushmore, Kadoka, Talent: Gymnastics, Platform: Buckle Up

Amber Hulse, 19, Miss Christmas in the HiIls, Hot Springs, Talent: Piano/Vocal, Platform:  Operation Overload: A College Debriefing

Cameron Schroder, 20, Miss Wheel Jam, Huron, Talent: Musical Theatre, Platform: Green Print: Simplifying the term “Going Green”

Carly Goodhart, 22, Miss Rolling Plains, Sisseton, Talent: Dramatic Monologue, Platform: It Took Three: A Promotion of Heart Health

Carrie Wintle, 24, Miss State Fair, Iroquois, Talent: Classical Rock Piano, Platform: Money $heep

Chesney Garnos, 22, Miss Mitchell, Presho, Talent: Self Written Monologue, Platform: Break the Chains

Evy Johnson, 23, Miss Central States Fair, Firesteel, Talent: Operatic Vocal, Platform: Hidden Treasure: Valuing the Elderly

Heather Egbert, 21, Miss USD, Vermillion, Talent:  Baton Twirling, Platform:  Four Pads of the Paw:  A Call to Responsible Pet Adoption

Jackie Bossman, 23, Miss Sioux Falls, Humboldt, Talent: Lyrical Dance; Platform: The Democracy Project

Kaitlin O’Neill, 21, Miss Siouxland, Aberdeen, Talent: Irish Dance, Platform: The More You Know: ADHD

Miranda O’Bryan, 20, Miss Missouri Valley, Martin, Talent: Gospel Vocal, Platform: A Family for Everyone

Rachel Black, 19, Miss Clay County Fair, Rutland, Talent: Hula Hoop, Platform: Abolishing the Darkness: Teen Depression

Rachel Evangelisto, 21, Miss Rapid City, Rapid City, Talent: Piano, Platform: American Legion Auxiliary: Promoting YOUth in Government

Samantha Gervais, 21, Miss Brookings, Currie, MN, Talent:  Fingerstyle Guitar, Platform: Healthy Habits Help

Sarah Scott, 22, Miss SDSU, Forest Lake, MN, Talent: Dance, Platform: Food for Thought

Showtime is 6:00 p.m. on June 14, 15, and 16 at the Mueller Center in Hot Springs. A pageant parade will take place through downtown Hot Springs on Saturday the 16th at 10:00 a.m.

Tickets are available at https://www.misssd.org/buy-tickets.

The new Miss South Dakota will compete at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2018. The Miss America Pageant finals will air on ABC on Sunday, September 9.

More information about contestants, the pageant, and pageant tickets is available at misssd.org.