Pearl River County’s Junior Miss, Kasey Charlene Mitchell, and Picayune’s Junior Miss, Julie Ann Hall, will be competing against eachother and 43 other girls in the 2007 Mississippi Junior Miss pageant.

The pageant is being held this Thursday, July 27 through this Saturday, July 29 at the Hamasa Temple Theatre, located at 2320 8th St., in Meridian.

This is the Missisippi Junior Miss program’s fiftieth year spotlighting outstanding achievements of the state’s best and brightest high school girls. Since the first program in 1958, the Junior Miss program has $87.7 million in scholarships across the country at the local, state, and national levels.

Kasey is the daughter of Donald and Melonie Mitchell of Picayune. She attends Picayune Memorial High School, where she is the varsity pitcher for the fastpitch softball team, president of the speech and debate team, junior class president, FBLA State Parliamentarian, Student Council Vice President, and Juniorettes Service Club Vice President.

Kasey enjoys playing violin, watching NASCAR, playing softball, acting, and shopping. She will be playing “Toccata in D Minor” on the violin for the talent portion of the contest.

She wants to one day attend college at Mississippi State University or Louisiana State University and become an environmental engineer.

Kasey said she is most proud of her generation because of “their ability to pull together for a common purpose. After Katrina, students from all over the country really worked hard to help out schools that were affected.”

“This is so different from my life on the softball field. I’ve had to learn more about makeup and girly things. But I’ve learned that it all takes a lot of work and I’ve met some really great people through this experience,” Kasey said.

People wanting to send encouragement to Kasey should do so at: Kasey Mitchell, Pearl River County’s Junior Miss, c/o Temple Theater, 2320 8th St., Meridian, MS 39301. Emails may be sent to kaseymitchell@msjrmiss.com.

Julie is the daughter of Kenneth P. and Nancy Ann Hall of Picayune. She has a 17-year-old twin, Douglas Ryan Hall.

Julie also attends Picayune Memorial High School, where was the 2005 to 2006 FBLA State President, junior class secretary/treasurer, president of the Picayune Service Club and a member of the speech and debate team, Student Council, and varsity swimming and tennis teams.

Julie enjoys traveling, shopping, swimming, watching movies, being a lifeguard and playing tennis. She will be performing a monologue from “Waiting for the Parade” for the talent portion of the contest.

She wants to one day attend the University of Mississippi and become a corporate lawyer.

Julie said she is most proud of her generation for “the fact that most students of my generation are confident that they will be attending college after high school.”

“I just feel so grateful to have this experience. I’ve dreamed of doing this since I was a little girl. It’s a dream come true,” Julie said.

People wanting to send encouragement to Julie should do so at: Julie Hall, Picayune’s Junior Miss, c/o Temple Theater, 2320 8th St., Meridian, MS 39301. Emails may be sent to juliehall@msjrmiss.com.

Both local contestants would like to thank the pageant’s national sponsors, which include Tyson Foods, the City of Mobile, Bomvile country, Regions Bank, Mobile Gas and the America’s Junior Miss Council, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens. They would also like to thank any programs that made contributions to the America’s Junior Miss Scholarship Foundation and the operations of America’s Junior Miss pageant.