As part of a statewide day of service, Mississippi’s First Lady Elee Reeves will be in Vicksburg on Saturday to volunteer with visiting royalty.

Reeves, in collaboration with Miss Mississippi 2021 Holly Brand, Keep Mississippi Beautiful and Volunteer Mississippi, will begin the day of service at the Vicksburg Convention Center and work to clean the surrounding streets in the downtown Vicksburg area.

Reeves and Brand will be joined by the 31 candidates competing in this year’s Miss Mississippi Competition, with each young woman representing her individual hometown, city and community.

“I’m incredibly excited to help host this day of service,” Reeves said. “Volunteerism is key to bettering the lives of others and helping to foster a stronger sense of community.”

In recognition of the First Lady’s announcement of the cleanup effort that will take place in downtown Vicksburg, the governor, in a proclamation, declared June 18, 2022, as “Mississippi Serves – A Day to Volunteer” and is encouraging all Mississippians to volunteer for a service project across the state on Saturday and to make volunteer service as part of their daily lives.

David Blackledge, who serves as the executive director for the Miss Mississippi Corporation said, “We are very grateful that the Governor and First Lady have chosen to honor the Miss Mississippi Corporation and our Miss Mississippi, Holly Brand, by providing a statewide day of service called Mississippi Serves in Vicksburg on June 18, 2022. We are also excited to have our First Lady, Elee Reeves, and our Miss Mississippi candidates join us in Vicksburg to kick off this statewide event.”

Preliminary competitions for the Miss Mississippi Competition begin Wednesday, and Blackledge said the day of service clean-up effort will serve as a worthwhile project for the candidates to participate in before the competition gets underway.

For anyone interested in participating in the day of service or learning more, email ann.beard@govreeves.ms.gov.