COLUMBIANA – Registration is currently open for the 2019 Miss Shelby County and Miss Shelby County Outstanding Teen Pageants, which will be held on the evening of Friday, July 20.

According to Pam Oliver of the Vignette Club of Columbiana, which sponsors the pageants, the Miss Shelby County winner will be eligible to receive a scholarship covering four years of tuition from the University of Montevallo, a scholarship covering two years of tuition from Jefferson State Community College and $3,500 in cash.

The winner of the Miss Shelby County Outstanding Teen Pageant will also be eligible to receive $500 in cash.

Oliver said this is the first year that Miss Shelby County the and Miss Shelby County Outstanding Teen Pageants will be open, meaning that any woman who works, lives or attends school in the state of Alabama can compete.

During the pageants’ first few years, entry was limited to women who lived, worked or attended school in the county, but entry was later extended to include women from bordering counties as well.

“It just brings in a lot more contestants,” Oliver said. “A lot of preliminaries are like that.”

Oliver said the Miss Shelby County Pageant is a preliminary to the Miss Alabama Pageant, and hopefully, the Miss America Pageant.

“This is part of the journey to Miss America,” Oliver said.

For more information about the pageants or about registration, visit Missshelbycounty.com.