Miss Hartsville wins Miss South Carolina

Miss Hartsville 2009 Kelley Annette Sloan is the new reigning Miss South Carolina. She was crowned Saturday, July 4, at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg and will represent South Carolina in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in Las Vegas, Nev., in January 2010.
For the first time in the Miss Hartsville Pageant’s 70-year history a local queen won the state title.
“It is such an honor to be the first Miss Hartsville to win Miss S.C.,” Sloan said.
Sloan said in a telephone interview on Monday about her win, “I was shocked.” She said she was so excited that once they put the sash on her she started her walk without her crown. She had to stop for Miss South Carolina 2008 Anna Perry to place it on her.
This was also the first time that the Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen pageant preliminaries and finales have been combined. Ali Rogers, Miss Laurens County Teen, was crowned Miss South Carolina Teen. She is a 17-year-old from Laurens.
Sloan, a 24-year-old magna cum laude graduate of Coastal Carolina University, is from Gray Court, S.C. She is a 4-K teacher in Clinton.
Sloan said she won’t be returning to the classroom this year, and if she wins Miss America in January, it will be two years before she returns to the classroom as a teacher. However, she said she will still be working in the classroom as she promotes her platform of Communities in Schools.
In an interview at The Messenger in April while in Hartsville visiting area schools, Sloan said her platform as Miss Hartsville was Communities in Schools, a non-profit organization which provides opportunities for at-risk student to help them succeed in their education endeavors. She will continue to promote Cities in Schools and the Miss America platform of Children’s Miracle Network.
Her goal as Miss South Carolina is to raise $100,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network by reaching 100,000 people who will give just $1 each.
“I think I can reach 100,000 people,” Sloan said. “It is very feasible.”
For her talent, Miss Hartsville sang “For Once in My Life.“
Sloan said she will definitely be singing in the Miss America Pageant but she isn’t sure if she’ll sing the same song. She said she has several options in mind.
The first night of preliminaries she competed in a swimsuit competition but didn’t win, but she returned more determined the next night. When she didn’t win that night she was a little discouraged until a friend reminded her that another queen had won without winning a preliminary.
She said that motivated her to keep her head up.
Sloan won overall evening gown, which was announced Saturday. She also had the highest score of all the contestants in that category. As Miss South Carolina, Sloan will receive a $15,000 scholarship.
Ashley Byrd, co-director of the Miss Hartsville Scholarship Pageant, said the Pee Dee was represented well in this year’s pageant with Miss Capital City Morgan Dampier of Hartsville earning third runner-up, and Miss Darlington Terrilyn N. Stephens a top 10 finalist.
The Miss Darlington Scholarship Pageant, under the leadership of Will Isgett, was also named one of the five best pageant productions in the Miss South Carolina Organization for 2009.
“We worked really hard to make the Miss Darlington Pageant one of the best in the state of South Carolina,“ Will Isgett said. “We will continue to do our best and are already planning to make the 2010 production even better.“
Byrd said others who represented Hartsville and went on to win Miss South Carolina, but never while holding the title of Miss Hartsville, were Mary Gainey and Janet Powers, both of Hartsville, and Marian McKnight, a Coker College student, who became South Carolina’s first Miss America.
Byrd said the pageant committee is planning a homecoming in Hartsville for Miss South Carolina in the next few weeks where merchants and the citizens of Hartsville will be invited to attend.
The new Miss South Carolina has already made television appearances, held a press conference and had her first official photo shoot.
On Monday Sloan said she was excited to be going home to sleep in her own bed and see her puppy. Then it will be a whirlwind of activities as Miss South Carolina.
The new queen said her parents have been calm throughout all of the excitement and have been there for her all the way.
She said every morning since the crowning she awakes and asks her mom, “Am I really Miss South Carolina?” And she assures her she really is.
The top 11 vying on stage Saturday night for the Miss South Carolina title were, in order of performance, Sloan, Terrilyn Stephens, Miss Darlington, of Summerville who performed “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D Flat Minor” on the piano; Suzannah White, Miss Greater Carolina of Fountain Inn who danced to “Mack the Knife;” and Ellen Neely, Miss Lexington County Peach Festival, a double preliminary winner, who performed a classical ballet en pointe entitled “The Sawn.” She won talent and swimsuit preliminary awards. Also, Morgan Dampier, Miss Capital City, of Hartsville, was a talent preliminary winner, who played “Amazing Grace” on the saxophone. Kristina Kendrick, Miss Midstate danced to “Hot Honey Rag” and Elizabeth Tate, Miss Greater Greer, a double preliminary winner, played “Cubana” on the piano. She won talent and swimsuit preliminary awards. Desiree Puglia, Miss Greater Mauldin, danced to “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Danielle Wilson, Miss Charleston County, a preliminary swimsuit winner, performed a contemporary ballet to “Sabre Dance.” Tiona Lee, Miss Laurens County, a preliminary swimsuit winner, danced to “Pump It” and Maggie Hill, Miss Greenville, a talent preliminary winner, sang “Je Veux Vivre”.