Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Almost Midnight
Magical reign nears end for Miss Arkansas
The days are counting down to the end of her reign as Miss Arkansas, and University of Arkansas student Savannah Skidmore admits she is “kind of sad, but I think only because it’s been such a good year. Being Miss Arkansas is something that’s hard to give up.”
The year has been the same whirlwind it is for every Miss Arkansas, but Skidmore didn’t start her reign the way most do. She was first runner-up at the Miss Arkansas Pageant last July and took over the title when Savvy Shields was crowned Miss America on Sept. 11. Although a little late, the job still came with all the perks — $25,000 in scholarship money, more than $75,000 in awards, wardrobe and gifts, the apartment, a car and the task of traveling the state until she crowns her successor June 17 in the pageant’s new home, Robinson Auditorium in Little Rock.
Toni Bahn, who was Skidmore’s pageant director as Miss University of Arkansas, remembers watching the Miss America Pageant with her queen and Skidmore’s mom, Kim.
“When they started announcing runners-up, Savannah and I grabbed hands like they do on TV,” Bahn says. “When they said ‘Arkansas,’ Savannah collapsed in my arms. Her mom and I started crying. We knew that we were sitting with the next Miss Arkansas!”
Skidmore has taken her reign seriously as a chance to further her platform, an issue-oriented statement every Miss America system contestant makes. Skidmore’s comes from a very difficult time for her family. When she was a freshman in college, her uncle committed suicide. “Speak Up Now: Suicide Prevention and Awareness” aims to “educate people on the warning signs that someone may show when having life-ending thoughts and to break through the stigma surrounding suicide in order to reach those who are suffering,” she explains.
“I think my platform chose me with the timing,” she says of losing her uncle not long before she started competing for Miss Arkansas. “It was fresh on our hearts and in our minds.
“The most inspiring part of having this platform, especially in middle schools and high schools, was getting to share my story with students, and that opened them up to come up to me afterward,” Skidmore remembers. “I have cried with students, hugged students, helped them know where to find resources around them. I heard stories from students all over the state, even my peers, college students who have lost best friends, parents. Having the title of Miss Arkansas makes you a presence and gives you entry you might not have as a regular civilian.”
Skidmore will remember lighter moments of her reign, too: Getting to lead the Hog call on the football field before the UA-Florida game — her boyfriend is a Razorback football player — signing autographs and taking pictures in fast food drive-throughs and answering the “Are you really Miss Arkansas” question whenever she went out in sweats, wearing her glasses and a ponytail.
“My car has Miss Arkansas written on the side,” she says, laughing.
Skidmore says she’ll be “finding myself outside of life as Miss Arkansas” when she returns to the UA to finish her final two semesters in broadcast journalism.
“I don’t know exactly what that entails right now, but I’ve told several people in the Miss Arkansas organization they’re not getting rid of me. I’ll definitely be volunteering my time. Everyone in this organization is family, and you really feel it when you become Miss Arkansas.”
See the list of NWA Miss Arkansas contestants on page 11.