HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) July 17, 2022- As the tiara was placed on the head of Hannah Grace Crain from Hernando, she cemented herself and her town in the history books.
Crain and Ellis Ann Jackson of Starkville were holding hands on center stage when Crain was announced as the 2022 Miss Hospitality, becoming the first winner from Hernando in the program’s history.
“I had a few older ladies approach me in church when I announced to my town that I was going to be representing us and they were all saying things like, ‘I represented Hernando,’ and I asked them when and they started listing off like 1980 and I stopped listening then,” said Crain. “It’s been so long and so I felt almost like when I came here, I brought them with me. Like, they were on my shoulders and so I knew this was the chance to bring Hernando back.”
Crain wowed the judging panel with her confidence and elegance while on stage, along with her intelligence and demeanor while answering on-stage questions.
Those factors and more made her the definitive pick for the crown.
“I think we all came into the night not sure what was gonna happen, but she rose,” said Dohn Dye, director of Partnerships with the Miss USA organization and member of the judging panel.
“She was amazing, articulate, well spoken, confident, calm, and she’s going to do an amazing job representing the state of Mississippi.”
While Crain is aware of how busy she is about to become, she is ready to get the ball rolling.
“I’ve heard it’s going to be a fun and a great year and I’m really looking forward to just getting out, exploring the state, and learning even more about it,” said Crain.
In addition to Miss Hospitality, Crain is set to start her freshman year at the University of Mississippi.
In Oxford, there she will be enrolled in the honors college and university choir. Crain said she plans to major in psychology with minors in intelligence/security studies to pursue a career as a federal agent/investigator.
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