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Chelsea High School’s Ali Mims was named the first runner-up for Miss America’s Teen 2025 on Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando, Florida. (Contributed)

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. – Almost 10 months after fulfilling her childhood dream, Harpersville native and Chelsea High School senior Ali Mims walked away with more glory at Miss America’s Teen 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

Mims earned first runner-up at the competition on Saturday, Jan. 4 after winning Miss Alabama’s Teen in March 2024.

Mims competed against 50 other teens from around the country during the week-long competition, all culminating in the finals portion at the Walt Disney Theater.

For her, the high honor is the culmination of years of competition, while also spending numerous hours serving, training, learning and having fun.

Ashlee Elliott, producer for Miss Alabama’s Teen, stated how amazed she was by all of the contestants in this year’s field, but also how proud she was for how this year’s competition went overall.

“Miss America’s Teen brings some of the most competitive, most outstanding young ladies from across the nation every year. It’s always a very competitive competition. Just being named in the top 11 is a huge honor, so to be named Top Five and to be the first runner-up to America’s Teen is quite the honor,” Elliott said.

The pageant commenced on Tuesday, Dec. 31 with the teen preliminaries, where Mims completed a private interview with the judges and walked in the evening gown preliminary.

Mims, along with Miss Maryland’s Teen and Miss Mississippi’s Teen, exited the evening gown showcase as the three winners, each earning a $3,000 scholarship for the achievement.

On Thursday, Jan. 2, she took the stage again for the teen talent portion of the competition, where all of the participants showcased their individual talents to the judges and audience. Mims performed “O Mio Babbino Caro,” a solo soprano aria by Giacomo Puccini from his opera “Gianni Schicchi.” Her performance propelled her into the top 11.

Mims also worked heavily on her philanthropic service initiative, “Joyful Noise.” Through it, she is able to raise the money necessary to purchase musical instruments and place them in special needs classes.

Mims’ placement in the Miss America’s Teen competition, like the other finalists, earned her $10,000 in scholarship money, which was administered by the Miss America’s Scholarship Foundation Inc., going towards the institution of her choice for collegiate education.

“I think there’s a lot of financial pressure that comes along with furthering your education, especially when you’re someone like Ali with such talent and such big dreams and aspirations,” Elliott said. “For us, as well as for Ali, that’s just furthering her collegiate future where she’ll now be able to think about a master’s degree and beyond and not have to wonder, ‘Where is this funding going to come from?’”

Mims is a leader across Shelby County and a graduate of Youth Leadership Shelby County’s 2024 class.

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