Three young women with Vicksburg ties will compete for the Miss Mississippi crown this year.

Miss Vicksburg Robyn Aryelle Ford, Miss Riverbend De’Lisha Wiggins and Miss Mid South Fenly Akers will vie for the chance to head to the Miss America Pageant, set for Jan. 20 in Las Vegas.

Making a comeback to the state pageant this year is Miss Vicksburg. The local pageant was canceled in 2008 after its former director retired and no successor could be found.

Ford, 20, of Brandon, the daughter of Robert and Joycelyn Ford, entered the Vicksburg pageant because the Miss Flowood pageant, for which she had initially registered, was canceled due to lack of competitors. She and another Flowood competitor received permission from Flowood and Vicksburg directors to compete in the Miss Vicksburg pageant, held in February.

“Vicksburg is a great city with so much history, and it’s a great honor to represent it,” said Ford.

A communications and public relations sophomore at Mississiippi State University, Ford has prepared for the pageant by changing her lifestyle, she said, including her eating habits. She also exercises.

“I don’t eat ice cream anymore,” Ford said, laughing.

A former 2007 Miss Mississippi Teen America, not affiliated with the Miss Mississippi Corporation, Ford has competed in pageants since her freshman year in high school. This is her first year to try for the Miss Mississippi title.

She will perform a jazz dance. Her platform is Building Self-Esteem,  Confidence and Grace in Middle-School-Age Girls.

Returning to the Miss Mississippi stage for the second year is Wiggins, 20, of Vicksburg, the daughter of Melvin Wiggins and Yolanda Martin. She won the Miss Riverbend pageant in February, a “sweeps” event, meaning it was open to any girl who placed in the top five of a non-sweeps pageant without winning.

Wiggins competed in 2008 as Miss Hinds Community College, where she attended. She will enter Delta State University in the fall and study nursing.

Wiggins has been in pageants since age 5.

“I’m in it for the experience. I love to be on stage and meet all the girls from different places,” said Wiggins, who won the 2006 Miss Vicksburg Outstanding Teen title. That pageant is a precursor to Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen contest, which is operated by the Miss Mississippi Corporation.

Wiggins will sing “Listen” by Beyonce, from the soundtrack to the movie “Dreamgirls.” Her platform is the March of Dimes, an organization for which she has helped coordinate fundraisers.

Competing for the first time in the state pageant is Vicksburg native Akers, the daughter of Tom and Lynda Akers, who won the 2007 Miss Vicksburg Outstanding Teen Pageant.

Akers, a broadcasting and public relations student at Mississippi State, has been preparing for the pageant by reading headlines in local and national newspapers.

“You have to be well-rounded,” said the 19-year-old. “I balance my time and be the best that I can be.”

Akers says she’s “very excited to be in the pageant, period. I’ve come to watch the pageant year after year, and now it’s interesting to be on stage on the other side.”

Akers’ platform is Capturing Little Moments…Big Magic with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a program she hopes to establish in Vicksburg. “Being an only child, I didn’t have a sibling to bond with and it’s an opportunity to impact children’s lives,” she said.

Her talent is dance.

Pageant week kicks off Sunday, when contestants arrive at Vicksburg Convention Center for registration. Preliminary competition begins Wednesday night and runs through Friday, with the crowning next Saturday night. A parade and autograph parties, plus other events, will fill the week.

*

Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com