When Miss Mississippi Hannah Roberts was a little girl, she would parade around her grandmother’s living room in sash hoping to win the family’s makeshift Miss America crown.

“We would sit and watch it wearing homemade sashes made out of ribbon that said Miss America on them. After Top 10, we all drew a name and that’s who you got to be in the Top 10,” Roberts told members of Vicksburg Lions Club in her first public appearance after placing second in the national pageant.

“If you won, you got a fake plastic crown. We grew up doing this at my house. It was a big, big tradition in the Roberts household.”

Sunday Roberts got to fulfill her childhood dream, even if she finished just short of wearing the real Miss America crown as she finished as first runner-up to Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell.

“I tried really hard on Saturday night not to think about it because I was going to be in it,” she said.

Lions Club members said they felt Roberts should have taken home the title after Cantrell stumbled over an interview question.

“Many people in Mississippi think the judges made a mistake and you should be Miss America,” Lions Club member Joe Loviza said.

On stage, it is very hard to hear questions or announcements by presenters, Roberts said.

“A lot of our reactions were delayed because of it. You have to watch closely,” she said.

The televised portion of the contest only takes a few hours. Preparation takes weeks and competition began a week from Monday.

“I started off running and the entire two weeks I was there was an absolute marathon every single day,” Roberts said. On the Monday before the pageant, all 52 contestants go through a judged interview process. Within a matter of a few minutes, Roberts said, she answered 30 questions.

“That 10 minute interview is the most important thing you do all week,” Roberts said. The next few days bring preliminary contests in swimsuit and eveningwear, which are misunderstood by the public, Roberts said.

“I’m always intrigued by how you judge the swimsuit and eveningwear,” Lions Club member Dr. Walter Johnston said to Roberts.

Swimsuit competition judges confidence and physical fitness. Eveningwear is all about the contestants confidence on stage, she said.

“For evening gown, they really don’t care what you wear. You would wear a sack if you look confident in it,” Roberts said.

Then comes the preliminary talent contest. Only a handful of finalist get to present their talent live on stage at the Miss American Pageant.

During the telecast, contestants are required sit on stage in talent attire, Roberts said. Because of the quick turn-around she had about a minute to change clothes and her hairstyle and get her violin plugged into the audio system.

“I ran out on stage for talent without about 10 seconds left to spare. My dress was not zipped. My violin was not plugged in and my shoes were not on. A lot goes into this that you don’t get to see during commercial breaks. There’s a lot of frantic running around,” she said.