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Maddie Reeves, and First Lady of Mississippi Elee Reeves, collect litter in the 1300 block of Washington Street in downtown Vicksburg on Saturday. The pair are pictured with Miss Natchez Trace 2021 Alyssa Rogers, right. (Photo by Anna Guizerix | The Vicksburg Post)

Maddie Reeves and Elee Reeves, First Lady of Mississippi, present a proclamation as part of festivities on Saturday morning. (Photo by Anna Guizerix | The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. guides First Lady Elee Reeves through downtown Vicksburg as part of clean-up efforts on Saturday. (Photo by Anna Guizerix | The Vicksburg Post)

Miss Mississippi 2021 Holly Brand, center, visits the sign-in table to get her litter collection assignment on Saturday. (Photo by Anna Guizerix | The Vicksburg Post)

Miss Mississippi candidates exit the Vicksburg Convention Center and prepare to collect litter as part of a city-wide cleanup event.

Miss Mississippi candidates exit the Vicksburg Convention Center and prepare to collect litter as part of a city-wide cleanup event.

The hair was high and the ladies wore neon yellow on Saturday as this year’s Miss Mississippi candidates joined forces with First Lady Elee Reeves and Miss Mississippi 2021 Holly Brand to clean up the downtown Vicksburg area.

Reeves and Brand partnered with Keep Mississippi Beautiful and Volunteer Mississippi for the day of service, which began at the Vicksburg Convention Center and extended to surrounding streets in the downtown Vicksburg area.

To kick off the event, Reeves and her daughter, Maddie, presented a proclamation signed by Gov. Tate Reeves that declared June 18, 2022, as “Mississippi Serves — A Day to Volunteer.”

“It is an honor to be here in Vicksburg and to work with this group of women this morning,” Reeves said. “It is my hope that this day will become a statewide day of service.”

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. also joined in on the fun, accompanying Reeves on her route through downtown Vicksburg and cleaning up litter with the 31 Miss Mississippi candidates.

Flaggs said he was proud of Vicksburg’s role in the Miss Mississippi competition and thankful for the ladies who gave back to the community as part of the volunteer event.

“It’s a great thing for Vicksburg, great to have the First Lady of the state come over and provide community service in our city,” Flaggs said. “And it’s great for tourism as well. This is our biggest draw to Vicksburg. Miss Mississippi has been held here for years, and it continues to be a draw.

“We are honored to celebrate some of the most beautiful, most talented and most intelligent young women in our state.”

Preliminary competitions for the Miss Mississippi Competition begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Click here for a comprehensive preview of the Miss Mississippi 2022 festivities.

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