June 30, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cassidy Grimes, Public Relations Director
251-438-3621 | 251-593-1780 | cassidy@ajm.org

MINNESOTA’S JUNIOR MISS NORA ALI NAMED AMERICA’S JUNIOR MISS 2007

The 50th Annual America’s Junior Miss National Finals were held Saturday, June 30, at the Civic Center Theater in Mobile, AL. The Class of 2007 competed for a share of over $150,000 in three days of competition.

• The Spirit of Junior Miss $1,500 scholarship was awarded by the AJM Council to Mary
  Catherine McAnnally of Alabama.
• The Second Runner-up was Nevada’s Junior Miss, Chantel Hopper. She received $17,000 in college scholarship money for this honor. She also won awards during the preliminary competition in interview, talent, fitness, and scholastics. In all, Chantel Hopper received $21,000 in cash scholarships for her awards.
• The First Runner-up was Pennsylvania’s Junior Miss, Karin Tsai. She received $25,000 in college scholarship money for this honor. She also won awards during the preliminary competition in scholastics, talent, self-expression and interview. She also won a scholarship for the Be Your Best Self Essay Award. In all, Karin Tsai received $30,000 in cash scholarships for her awards.
• The title of America’s Junior Miss 2007 was awarded to Nora Ali, Minnesota’s Junior Miss. She received a $50,000 cash scholarship, in addition to the $4,000 in scholarships that she won in scholastics, talent, self-expression, and interview during the preliminary competition. She is the daughter of Zaki and Mahfuza Ali of Mendonta Heights, and is a 2007 graduate of South St. Paul High School. Nora plans to attend Harvard in the fall to prepare for a career in Business Management or Finance. She will depart for a media tour in New York City in a couple of weeks, and will also make appearances at various places throughout the country promoting the Be Your Best Self program.
• Other finalists were: Alabama’s Junior Miss Mary Catherine McAnnally, Connecticut’s Junior Miss Lexi Novak, Louisiana’s Junior Miss Heather Badeaux, Vermont’s Junior Miss Alexandra Larrow, and Virginia’s Junior Miss Rachel Gillette. Each received a $5000 cash scholarship.

The preliminary competitions were held on Thursday and Friday evening. During the first and second preliminaries, the following scholarships were awarded:

• The $1000 Calagaz Scrapbook Scholarship was awarded to Washington’s Junior Miss, Lexie Fairbanks.
• The Daily Journal Award for $1000 was awarded to Mary Catherine McAnnally, Alabama’s Junior Miss.
• Louisiana’s Junior Miss, Heather Badeaux, was awarded the Colonial Mall Community
  Service Award for $1500.
• Keelan O’Connell, Texas’ Junior Miss, was awarded the $1000 scholarship from Wintzell’s Oyster House for the My Town Award.
• Three Be Your Best Self Awards were awarded to the following contestants: Mary Catherine McAnnally, Alabama’s Junior Miss; Paige Ledger, Iowa’s Junior Miss; and Karin Tsai, Pennsylvania’s Junior Miss. Each recipient was awarded a $1000 scholarship.
• Five scholastic scholarships at $1,000 each were awarded to the following participants: Louisiana’s Junior Miss Heather Badeaux, New Jersey’s Junior Miss Elizabeth Wendel, Minnesota’s Junior Miss Nora Ali, Nevada’s Junior Miss Chantel Hopper, Pennsylvania’s Junior Miss Karin Tsai.
• Five $1,000 scholarships were awarded to the following contestants for the Interview category: Nevada’s Chantel Hopper, Minnesota’s Nora Ali, Louisiana’s Heather Badeaux, Pennsylvania’s Karin Tsai, and Tennessee’s Hannah Disterdick.
• Fitness awards at $1,000 each went to South Carolina’s Junior Miss Brooke Beard, Nevada’s Junior Miss Chantel Hopper, Connecticut’s Junior Miss Lexi Novak, Oregon’s Junior Miss Mallory Peebles, and North Carolina’s Junior Miss Jane Chaffee.
• Five contestants received $1,000 scholarships for the Self-Expression category: Kansas’ Junior Miss Jammie Layman, Pennsylvania’s Junior Miss Karin Tsai, Minnesota’s Junior Miss Nora Ali, Alabama’s Junior Miss Mary Catherine McAnnally, Wisconsin’s Junior Miss Kaila Mattson.
• Alabama’s Junior Miss Mary Catherine McAnnally, Minnesota’s Junior Miss Nora Ali, Nevada’s Junior Chantel Hopper, Pennsylvania’s Junior Miss Karin Tsai, and Massachusetts’ Junior Miss Becky Geggatt each received a $1,000 scholarship for the talent portion.

Major sponsors for 2007 are the City of Mobile, Mobile County, and the Mitchell Company. Category sponsors are Alabama Power, Encore Rehabilitation, Mobile Gas, Regions Bank, and Wintzell’s Oyster House.

For more information on America’s Junior Miss, please contact Cassidy Grimes, Public Relations Director, at 251.593.1780 or cassidy@ajm.org, or visit www.ajm.org.

-AJM-