Shelby Thompson

Paperwork is now being accepted for the Miss MTSU and Miss Murfreesboro Scholarship Pageants, which will be held starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Oakland High School theater, 2225 Patriot Drive.

The deadline for paperwork to be submitted is Monday, Feb. 17, but event officials say the earlier the submission the better for planning purposes.

Email missmtsuscholarshiporg@gmail.com with questions or for paperwork and ticket information, or call Patty Drewry, a volunteer and member of the Queens Committee that helps produce the pageants, at 615-210-5717. Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for students with a valid ID.

Both Miss MTSU and Miss Murfreesboro pageant winners will advance to the Miss Tennessee Pageant and receive a $500 scholarship award. The combined pageants serve as an official preliminary to the Miss Tennessee pageant.

To be a contestant for the titles of Miss MTSU and Miss Murfreesboro applicants must meet the following criteria:

• be a female and a U.S. citizen;
• high school graduate or equivalent by June 30, 2014;
• no younger than 17 on Jan. 11, 2014, and no older than 24 by Dec. 31, 2014; and
• not be married, never have been married, never have had a marriage annulled, never cohabitated or have had a child.

Miss MTSU also must be a student at Middle Tennessee State University, and Miss Murfreesboro must be a resident of the state of Tennessee or attend a university in the state of Tennessee.

Shelby Thompson of Franklin, Tenn., Miss Tennessee 2013, will be performing and signing autographs for those attending the pageants. As Miss Tennessee, Thompson serves as Gov. Bill Haslam’s official spokeswoman for Character Education and travels 70,000 miles speaking to 40,000 children about trustworthiness, the Character Education trait.

Throughout her year of travels across the state, Thompson also serves as a national spokeswoman for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Official Friends of Children’s Hospital Board Intern, Volunteer Tennessee’s Honorary Board Chair, as well as the Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network for the state of Tennessee, home to five Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.