The Choctaw Plaindealer

Choctaw County's Junior Miss, Chelsea James, packed her bags and left for Meridian, Miss. on Sunday, July 22, to compete for the title of Mississippi's Jr. Miss.

However before packing her bags she debuted her Junior Miss wardrobe in a trunk show held at the Choctaw County Library to preview the outfits she will wear throughout the week. She modeled her orientation outfit, interview suit, and talent dress, pajama party attire, and western wear for a western themed party.

She also performed her talent during the trunk show. She will be singing "Stormy Weather" in the Junior Miss Talent Competition.

Chelsea says she really enjoys the song she chose for her talent because it is a fun song that was a challenge to learn and master.

During the week leading up to the program, Chelsea will spend time learning the routines, practicing for the big event and getting to know the other contestants.

On Sunday she arrived in Meridian for orientation and settled in with her host family. She along with the other contestants will stay with host families in the Meridian area during the week leading up to the program.

According to former Choctaw County Junior Miss titleholders, Paige Draper and Lauren McDaniel, staying with host families was a unique part of the experience that they will never forget.

Draper said, "The host families go out of their way to make us feel at home in their homes. Each night our host mom would cook a dessert for us and when we came back from a tiring day of practice we would sit around the table enjoying our dessert and talking about the day."

Along with practicing the girls will spend time going to parties, the water park at Philadelphia, and will also build lasting friendships with each other.

In the weeks prior to the Junior Miss program, Chelsea spent time working on what she considers the toughest part of the competition, the interview.

"I would say the toughest part of the competition is the interview. At first I was intimidated by the thought of answering the judges questions in a personal interview, but now after working on my interviewing skills I feel ready for any question the judges may ask," she said.

Each contestant's interview score accounts for nearly one-quarter of her total score, which includes fitness, talent, academics, and among others self-expression.

Chelsea feels the most prepared for is the physical fitness routine.

She said, "I love to exercise and I workout daily. I enjoy coming up with new exercise routines and I am excited to see what we will learn for the Junior Miss Program."

For several months now Chelsea worked with Shirley McGaugh, Interview Coach for the local Junior Miss Program, to sharpen her interviewing skills. During her trunk show she answered potential interview questions to help her practice interviewing.

Chelsea expressed the important role the Jr. Miss program has played in the past months of her life. According to her, being Choctaw County's Jr. Miss has enabled her to grow as a person and learn that even as a young person she can make a difference in her community.

She also thanks the community for the support it has shown her during the past months and weeks leading up to her departure to compete for the title of Mississippi's Junior Miss.

She will compete in preliminary areas of the competition on Thursday, July 26, and Friday, July 27. Finals, where the top ten will be announced, begin on Saturday, July 29.

Cutline - Choctaw's Junior Miss, Chelsea James, will compete for the title of Mississippi's Junior Miss this week with preliminaries beginning on Thursday. She is pictured here in the dress she chose for the self-expression category.