June 4, 2007

Miss Wallace State Ashley Kraft to Compete in Miss Alabama



HANCEVILLE, Ala.--The 86th Miss Alabama Pageant kicks off with
preliminary competitions on Wednesday, June 6, through Friday, June 8,
at Samford University in Birmingham. Three nights of preliminary
competitions will result in the selection of the top 10 contestants who
will compete on Saturday night, June 9, for the opportunity to represent
Alabama in the next Miss America Pageant.



Miss Wallace State Ashley Kraft of Vinemont is among 50 contestants from
around the state who will compete for the title of Miss Alabama 2007.
She arrived at Samford University on Sunday for a week of activities and
competitions that will culminate in the crowning of the new Miss
Alabama. Miss Alabama 2006 Melinda Toole, who finished fourth runner up
in the Miss America Pageant, will be the featured performer at the
event.


Ashley Kraft of Vinemont will represent
Wallace State in the 2007 Miss  Alabama
Pageant this week in Birmingham.


Competition for Kraft begins on Wednesday morning with a 12-minute
private interview with the judges. She will be on stage Wednesday
evening for the swimsuit competition. On Thursday evening, Kraft will
participate in the evening wear and onstage question portion of the
competition. On Friday evening, she will perform her talent, which is a
flute selection titled "Supercalifragilisticexpialidociaus."



Each young woman selects an issue or program to promote during her year
of service. Kraft's platform is "Big Brothers/Big Sisters." The
21-year-old is a registered nursing major at Wallace State.



The Miss Alabama Pageant consistently ranks in the top 10 among state
pageants in the Miss America System for the amount of cash scholarships
and In-kind scholarships awarded to all participants. Cash scholarships
to be awarded to contestants competing this week total $100,000 and
in-kind scholarships from Alabama's colleges and universities total over
5 million. The Miss America Pageant is the largest provider of
scholarships to young women in the world. More than $31 million is
awarded to young women on the local, state and national level. This
year's Miss Alabama will receive a $10,000 cash scholarship in addition
to thousands of dollars in gifts and merchandise, an apartment, and use
of car for a year and fuel for the entire year.



Local directors for Miss Wallace State are Suzanne Harbin and Rob
Metcalf.



Nightly competitions in the Miss Alabama Pageant will be held in the
Wright Center at Samford University at 7:30 p.m. Ticket information can
be obtained by calling the Miss Alabama Office at 205-871-6276.



Miss Wallace State 2007 Ashley Kraft.

  Kristen Holmes
  Director, Communications and Marketing
  Wallace State Community College
  P.O. Box 2000
  Hanceville, AL 35077
  256/352-8118
  E-mail: Kristen.Holmes@WallaceState.edu