State beauty pageants are taking place all over the country this season, which means the some of the most talented beauties in the state are competing for a chance to win the crown. This past weekend, the Miss Georgia USA Pageant was held in McDonough, GA at the Henry County Performing Arts Center. The event was produced by Greenwood Productions and hosted by Miss Georgia USA 2005; Tanisha Brito Chea, and Miss Georgia USA 2015; Brooke Fletcher.
In the ‘Miss’ category, the pageant consisted of three days where over 50 contestants were able to show their skills in the interviews, overall fitness, and evening gown attire. After getting to know each contestant on a more personal level, the judges watched the preliminary competition.
The following day, the Top 16 finalists were announced and moved on to compete once more and secure a spot in the Top 5.
Once the hosts announced the Top 5 finalists the crowd went wild. Rachel Russaw, Karson Annslee Pennington, Vanessa Van Dyke, Natalie Bode, and Ariana Blaize made it to that tier of the competition. After each contestant answered an on-stage question the group of five was narrowed down to just two; Rachel Russaw and Vanessa Van Dyke. As the two young Black women held hands waiting to hear who would be crowned Miss Georgia USA, both embraced each other and showed support.
At that moment Rachel Russaw was crowned and the entire venue cheered and embraced her, but both contestants left a lasting impression on women everywhere.
Russaw will now prepare to compete for the Miss USA competition and potentially even go on to compete in Miss Universe.
