Belue represents Lowndes Co. and Little at Miss Hospitality competition
As this week’s Mississippi
Miss Hospitality competition concludes during today and tomorrow’s on-stage events, Carly Belue, representing Lowndes County, is working hard to not only promote her own community but also to represent Lake Little who was selected as Starkville’s Miss Hospitality before her death as the result of a tragic plane crash earlier this month.
Charity, friendship and community were three areas of Little’s life that she dedicated her time and heart to serving, and while the girls only met for the first time at their local title crowning in March, Belue said Little’s dedication and loving spirit were easy to see.
“She was way ahead of me,” Belue said. “She was already prepared and ready for this. Just in that short time together, you could just tell how genuine and kind she was. This competition and what the pageant stood for meant something to her.”
Paige Crane, director of communications and digital strategies for Visit Hattiesburg, said the organization is working to honor Little and her memory in several ways, most notably the naming of the Spirit of Hospitality award after her.
“That award is a scholarship prize voted on by the contestants,” Crane said. “We chose that award because we really felt like Lake embodied what hospitality was and made connections wherever she went. The person who is typically chosen for that award is the person who connects the girls all week and makes true friends.”
Alongside the naming of the award, Crane said the contestants, staff and board members are wearing pilot wings that have the Miss Hospitality crown on them and #livelikelake on the bottom.
“It was a way to keep her spirit with us in every thing that we and the contestants do this week,” Crane said. “We also have an in memory page in the program.”
Belue said the competition is not the same without Little by her side, especially since the pair had bonded through several practice interviews and meetings before the state competition.
“As far as doing this without Lake, it’s hard,” Belue said. “But I have her pin that we were getting together, and I have been wearing it all week on my shoulder.”
While the competition is centered on promoting one’s community and the economic development and tourism of Mississippi, Belue said she is using this time to become a better person and honor Little in the process.
“I have been trying to be the person she was,” Belue said. “She never left anybody out, and she was always there to make sure nobody felt left alone. I have been trying to be like Lake all week and really push to be my best self here for her. I have been trying to have fun for her.”
Belue’s goal of serving and loving others as Little had has come to fruition through a series of events hosted by the Miss Hospitality organization. During the past week, Belue has volunteered at the Edwards Street Fellowship, where the girls bagged 1,800 pounds of rice and beans for their food pantry, and Main Street Bookstore in downtown Hattiesburg, where the contestants painted bowls for an annual fundraising event in Hattiesburg.
“It was really fun,” Belue said. “We got to see