Emily Tucker wins pageant's talent award
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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Emily Tucker
Goldsboro's Emily Tucker received the Talent Award during the second night of preliminary competition at the Miss North Carolina pageant on Thursday.
Thirty-seven contestants will compete for the state title on Saturday in Raleigh.
The 24-year-old, a former Miss Goldsboro now serving as Miss Greater Sampson County, performed the French opera aria "Robert, toi que j'aime," by Giaccomo Meyerbeer. For the preliminary win, she will receive a $500 scholarship.
This marks a repeat of last year's trip to the state pageant, when she also won the talent portion for her group of competitors and was chosen as one of the top five for the Quality of Life Community Service Award for her platform. She received the latter again this year during Wednesday evening's first round of preliminary competition.
The winner of the community service award, like the ultimate outcome of the contest, will be announced on Saturday night.
Beth Stovall, the reigning Miss North Carolina, also from Goldsboro, also took a moment during Thursday night's festivities to acknowledge several guests from her hometown.
But first, she shared her pedigree of having attended Rosewood Elementary, Rosewood Middle and Rosewood High schools and the significance of the art program.
Her platform has been centered around the importance of keeping music and arts programs in public education.
"The main mission is to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to fall in love with art like I did," she said, recognizing three former art teachers "for helping me to become the woman that I wanted to be -- Lisa West, Melissa Riser (both from Rosewood Middle) and Lori Strickland (Rosewood High)."
Both Miss Tucker and Beth Stovall, the reigning Miss North Carolina, have fared quite well at preliminary contests and the state pageant.
But the similarities don't end there for the opera singers who graduated from Wayne County high schools.
Miss Stovall, a 2011 graduate of Rosewood High School, was Miss Goldsboro 2013 and Miss Greater Sampson County the following year. She placed in the Top 10 both years at the Miss North Carolina pageant, receiving the preliminary talent award during each attempt. She also won the swimsuit award last year.
Miss Tucker, a 2009 graduate of Eastern Wayne High School, succeeded Miss Stovall as Miss Goldsboro 2014 and then as Miss Greater Sampson County this past year. She was also in the Top 10 at last year's Miss North Carolina.
Will she continue the streak and be the next Miss North Carolina?
Stay tuned.
Tonight's preliminary competition will be streamed live at 7 p.m. on TWCSportsChannel.com.
The pageant will air Saturday night at 7 p.m. on Time Warner Cable.