The Miss Missouri Scholarship organization will crown its 94th Miss Missouri after a week of preliminary competition that will feature a private interview with the judges, talent performances, on-stage question and fitness.

It also marks the 55th anniversary of Mexico hosting the competition. During Miss Missouri 1970 Marcia Mossbarger’s reign, the pageant moved from St. Charles to the Missouri Military Academy campus in Mexico thanks to the work completed by the Mexico Jaycees.

The anniversary week will feature a variety of surprises for the audience as past favorites will come back to the Miss Missouri stage to perform their award-winning talents. Some of the featured performers are forever Miss Missouri Shelby Ringdahl, Mary Bauer Niswonger, Kim Kirchner, DJ Jones and Kari Gai Rich. In addition, forever Miss Missouri and Miss America Debbye Turner Bell will return as a judge.

The preliminary competition begins tonight and will continue through Friday when the delegates compete in two separate competition groups: Sigma and Alpha. On Saturday, the judges will crown the winner. Reigning Miss Missouri Ashley Berry will have her final walk before crowning a new winner. Berry, the daughter of Mark and Amy Berry of Clinton, is a student at the University of Alabama where she studies news media and political science.

This year’s class competition class includes Miss Audrain Halie Hebron. She is the daughter of Mark and Michele Hebron of St. Paul, Missouri, as well as a forever Miss Missouri’s Teen 2020. Hebron is a graduate of the University of Southern Illinois Edwardsville where she earned a degree in digital art.

For the talent portion of the competition, Hebron will perform a musical theater dance. She will also use her interview and on-stage question time to highlight her social impact initiative, which is “Art RX.”

“Art Rx: Art For All is a nonprofit organization that I founded to promote the tangible health benefits of art while reminding the public of the joys of creating,” she said in a news release.

Hebron will be joined on stage by Miss Brick City Amanda Kelley. She is the daughter of John and Natalie Kelley of Knob Noster. Kelley is a student at the University of Phoenix where she is working toward a degree in business administration.

For the talent portion of the competition, Amanda will perform a HerStory. She will also use her interview and on-stage question time to highlight her social impact initiative, which is “Speak Up; Speak Now,” which focuses on domestic violence education, advocacy and awareness.

Tickets for the 2025 competition are currently on sale through the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce office, located at 100 W. Jackson Street, or by calling 573-581-2765.

The Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for young women in the state of Missouri. Last year, the organization provided $85,000 in scholarships to the delegates competing for the Miss Missouri and Miss Missouri’s Teen titles.