BROOKINGS – Fifteen young women from across the state will compete June 3-5 for thousands of dollars in scholarships and the role of Miss South Dakota.
The new Miss South Dakota will take home at least $8,000 in scholarship money and will represent South Dakota at the Miss America Competition. Nearly $35,000 will be awarded in scholarship funds to the women competing this year.
Preliminary competitions will be June 3 and 4, and finals will be held June 5, all at 6 p.m. The pageant finals on June 5 will be livestreamed. The Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen competition will be held June 5 at 1 p.m. All competitions are at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center, on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings.
The theme this year is “C’mon Get Happy.” The competition celebrates its 74th anniversary and returns to Brookings after a one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pageant will feature Amber Hulse of Hot Springs, Miss South Dakota 2019. Amber represented South Dakota at the Miss America Competition in December 2019 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. She spent the year advocating for her social impact initiative, “Operation Overload” – focused on guiding youth through the career planning process by helping students meet their full potential and realize opportunities for further education and career goals.
The pageant’s silent auction, which raises funds for scholarships, has gone online this year, and is available at http://bit.ly/2021SDauction.
The candidates will be judged on a private interview with the judges (35%), talent (35%), evening wear/red carpet (15%) and on-stage interview (15%).
The young women competing are (name, age, title, hometown, talent, and social impact initiative):
• Annie Woodmansey, 24, Miss State Fair, Pierre; talent: flute; social impact initiative: Fine Arts for All Hearts
• Baylee Dittman, 25, Miss Central States Fair, Spearfish; talent: musical theatre; social impact initiative: Breaking the Barcode: Ending Human Trafficking
• Breanna Bossman, 19, Miss Rapid City, Humboldt; talent: dance; social impact initiative: Drive Smart, Drive Safe, Drive Secure
• Breanna Remington, 18, Miss Fall River Balloon Festival, Hot Springs; talent: pop vocal; social impact initiative: Get Involved: Encouraging Kids to Become Great Leaders
•Calli Mah, 21, Miss Hot Springs, Mitchell; talent: vocal; social impact initiative: Harmony in Humanity
• Carly Goodhart, 25, Miss Brookings, Sisseton; talent: vocal; social impact initiative: Women’s Health: The Industry and Everyday
• Courtney Remick, 23, Miss Siouxland, Prior Lake, Minnesota; talent: original monologue; social impact initiative: Prepared Not Scared: Emergency Education
• Emma Salzwedel, 20, Miss USD, Sioux Falls; talent: stand-up comedy; social impact initiative: The Stereotype Effect: Embracing You
• Hunter Widvey, 22, Miss Missouri Valley, Rapid City; talent: vocal; social impact initiative: More than Four: Childhood Cancer Awareness
• Kaitlin O’Neill, 24, Miss Dakota Plains, Groton; talent: ballet; social impact initiative: Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy You
• Maleah Eschenbaum, 21, Miss Railroad Junction, Aberdeen; talent: ASL translated song; social impact initiative: More Than Looks
• Margaret Samp, 19, Miss Rushmore, Sioux Falls; talent: classical vocal; social impact initiative: Beyond Dyslexia
• Megan Clark, 19, Miss Christmas in the Hills, Huron; talent: vocal; social impact initiative: IVF for “ECK”: National Infertility Awareness
• Miranda O’Bryan, 23, Miss Rolling Plains, Martin; talent: musical theatre; social impact initiative: Page Turners: Fall in Love with Reading
• Sylvie Larson, 24, Miss SDSU, Harrisburg; talent: clarinet; social impact initiative: Mindset Matters: Applying the Strength You Already Possess
Ticket information is available at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/MissSouthDakota/6063. Livestream information available at: http://bit.ly/MissSDlive.
More information about candidates, the competition, and all events is available at misssd.org.
