Haas paints her way into preliminary talent award | Collierville Independent

Representing the Town of Collierville, Jessica Haas, 22, placed in the Top 10 of the 2013 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant on Saturday in Jackson.

Before a packed house at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, the recent Memphis College of Art senior wowed the audience with her speed painting talent.

To the music “Glory of it All” she painted a four-foot by five-foot canvas with colors of yellow, red, blue and black.

Near the end of the song, she flipped the canvas to reveal a portrait of Jesus Christ. She accomplished this feet in under 90 seconds. The audience cheered and the judges awarded her the preliminary talent award.

The Saturday night event concluded a week-long set of preliminary competitions where she competed in interview, on-stage question, swimsuit, talent and the evening gown competition. Miss Capital City Shelby Thompson captured the 2013 Miss Tennessee title.

Thirty-six young women competed in this 61st year for the Miss Tennessee Pageant.

Also on stage at this year’s pageant was Collierville resident Chandler Booth. Booth won the Miss Collierville’s Outstanding Teen title in February and then the state Miss Tennessee’s Outstanding Teen title in March. As the statewide teen representative,

Booth performed on stage throughout the week. She received standing ovations both nights for her performance of “I Will Always Love You.”

Collierville and the Memphis community will have the opportunity to hear Booth this weekend at the Star Spangled Salute at the Harrell Theatre and then again on Wednesday, July 3 as she performs the National Anthem at the Collierville Independence day Celebration at Cox Park to kick off the fireworks.

Since winning the title of Miss Collierville in February, Haas has brought home $3,500 in college scholarships which will help finish her college education. After finishing art school, Haas hopes to attend a seminary and study theology. The Miss America Organization is the largest scholarship program for young women in the U.S.

Rich in history and social significance, the Miss America Organization has maintained a tradition for many decades of empowering American women to achieve their personal and professional goals, while providing a forum in which to express their opinions, talent and intelligence.

Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance .

Locally, the all-volunteer Miss Collierville Scholarship Organization is presented in part by the Collierville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department. The Miss Collierville Organization has two programs for young women.