Victoria Cirilli
Contributor
The Mr. and Miss Sound of the South pageant was held Sunday, Sept. 24 in the Claudia Crosby Theater as a fundraiser for Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma’s philanthropy as well as promotion for the band program.
The crowning winner and new Mr. Sound of the South, Garrett Jackson, a freshman theater major from Monroeville, participated in the pageant representing the color guard section.
“For six years it’s been my dream to be in Sound of the South and to be Mr. Sound of the South,” Jackson said. “To be able to have [younger band members] look up to me is just a dream.”
The 2017-2018 Miss Sound of the South is Chrystalyn Springs, a junior psychology major from Wetumpka, who represented the dance line.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it. I just came out here to have fun and enjoy (the pageant) and meet new people,” Springs said in response to her crowning.
According to her supporters, this was her first pageant competition ever and she was excited to be representing the band program in this honor.
“It was really cool to see personal friends go out there and have fun knowing that they didn’t have prior experience. I was so impressed with Chrystalyn..she deserved to win,” said Sarah Jones, a sophomore broadcast journalism and political science double major from Alabaster, who went to the pageant to support her fellow Sigma Alpha Iota members and other friends in the marching band.
The only qualification to be in the pageant is to be a current member of the marching band. Each instrument section nominates a contestant, but there are self-nominated individuals as well.
The pageant was co-hosted by the two masters of ceremonies: last year’s Miss Troy University, Mary Beth Moore, a junior dance major from Alabaster, and Markel Patterson, a senior criminal justice major from Smiths Station.
The pageant consisted of two equally weighted portions— the onstage interview question and evening wear, where contestants are judged based off of their poise and appearance.
A highlight of the event was during the questions portion of the pageant, where contestants picked their question from a bowl to be read aloud by one of the two masters of ceremonies. One contestant received the question, “If you could change one thing about Troy University what would it be?” Her answer, “Parking,” gained much approval from the crowd.
Three judges, all chosen by Moore, deliberated on the different sections. According to Christopher Wallace, a senior music education major from Montgomery, the judges were all seasoned pageant professionals, some with ties to the music department.
Wallace is the Kappa Kappa Psi representative who organized this event alongside Julia Orcutt, a junior biomedical science major from Helena, who was Tau Beta Sigma’s representative. This annual event is sponsored by these brother and sister Greek band organizations for their shared philanthropy, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to which benefits of the pageant fundraiser go toward.
Their philanthropy is especially meaningful as a former brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, Steven Dobarzynski, passed away of Leukemia on March 25, 2002. This impacted the band members at the time, so they began philanthropic efforts to support this cause. All profits made by the organization’s events each year go toward the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
The Mr. and Miss Sound of the South pageant is Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma’s biggest fundraiser of the fall semester. The groups also have an annual Step for Life fundraiser, a step show open to participation by all organizations on and off campus, that will take place in the spring.
“We will also be having mini-fundraisers in the fall such as a Krispy Kreme Donut sale, raffle, and possibly a headshot photoshoot session for interested students,” Wallace said.
