Christine Kozlowski has been named Miss Mississippi. The Miss Mississippi Pageant was held at the Vicksburg  Convention Center in June, and now Kozlowski will compete for the title of Miss America.

The Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium, a VenuWorks-managed, multi-purpose venue in Vicksburg, Mississippi, hosted the Miss Mississippi Pageant during the last  weekend of June.  The five-day even drew an estimated 7,000 people and generated approximately $1.33 million for the local economy. “It’s the  single biggest event that we do,” said Larry Gawronski, Executive Director, Vicksburg  Convention Center and  Auditorium.  “And as long as we continue to host it, it is an annual event that we can look forward to. “Most people think it’s just a pageant.  We look at it as big business.”

Christine Kozlowski, a 19-year old Nutrition/Dietetics major at the University of Southern Mississippi, is the 2008 Miss Mississippi and will compete for the title of Miss America in January in Las Vegas. The Miss America Pageant was first held in 1921, but has long since abandoned being merely a “beauty contest.” In fact, the Miss America Pageant is the largest provider of college scholarships for women in the United States, and the Mississippi pageant follows in that tradition. Mississippi is a national leader of the Miss America Organization in scholarship provisions—awarding than $690,000 in college scholarship funds this year, including $15,000 awarded to Kozlowski for winning the title.

Having the event in Vicksburg promoted both the city as a destination and its convention center.  “The entire state gets to see part of Vicksburg,” said David Blackledge, Executive Director, Miss Mississippi Pageant.  “It gives us a chance to showcase everything we have here.”  

The Miss Mississippi Pageant, held at the Vicksburg  Convention Center and Auditorium, drew an estimated 7,000 people and generated approximately $1.33 million for the local economy.