Twenty-two-year-old Scarlotte Deupree, Greenville’s reigning Miss Camellia, was named the new Miss Alabama from a pool of 50 young women in the state competition held on June 15 in Birmingham.

Deupree, a graduate student at Samford University, is a native of Vestavia Hills and a five-year veteran of the Miss Alabama scholarship program.

As Miss Alabama, Deupree will go on to represent the state in the Miss America program with its finals slated for September 21 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. &uot;We are all so excited for her,&uot; notes Greenvillian Wendy McDougal, a co-creator of the Miss Camellia program.

Deupree was awarded a $10,000 cash scholarship with her title and received an additional $2,000 as the Community Service Award winner.

&uot;We are so proud of the fact that Scarlotte, a strong advocate of literacy programs, won both the state and national awards for community services for her efforts,&uot; says McDougal. McDougal says Deupree plans to focus her efforts this year on women and literacy.

A dynamic vocalist, the vivacious Deupree performed &uot;Holding Out for a Hero&uot; from the Broadway musical &uot;Footloose&uot; for her talent at the state program. Contestants are evaluated on interview skills (40 percent), talent (30 percent), evening gown and swimsuit (each category, 10 percent) and a composite score of 10 percent.

The Miss Camellia scholarship program will celebrate its 4th anniversary in July, serving as the only Miss Alabama/Miss America preliminary in this part of south central Alabama. It received recognition as the most outstanding preliminary in the entire state this year.

McDougal is extremely proud of how far the program has come in a few short years.

&uot;Many thanks go to our two main corporate sponsors, LV Stabler Hospital and Terminex, along with all our other scholarship sponsors and everyone who has supported this effort in Greenville…we will have a strong contingent of Greenville folks heading to Atlantic City in September, you can bet,&uot; notes McDougal.

Herself a former Miss Alabama (1991), McDougal knows the road to Miss America will be a demanding one for Deupree. &uot;It’s not all glamorous…in some ways it’s like a fairy tale, yes, but you are also suddenly thrust into the position of being a role model with many, many eyes looking at you. You have to hit the ground running…being Miss Alabama is pretty much a full-time job,&uot; she explains.

One of Deupree’s duties will be serving as the mistress of ceremonies for the upcoming Miss Camellia program scheduled for July 13 at 7 p.m. at the Ritz Theater. She will be available afterwards to sign autographs and pose for photographs with her fans.