Alyse Eady, Miss Arkansas (video)

"It was such a surreal moment. I've seen the crowning video and it doesn't feel like it's me," says Eady. "I'm still so excited about it and I'm honored to be Miss Arkansas 2010."

In her first televised interview, the 22-year-old Eady spoke to Alyson Courtney on "Today's THV This Morning" about how much she owes to the Boys and Girls Club, which is her platform.

"I've been a member since I was six years old and it's been nice to have a place to go where you know you belong," says Eady. "I know that they made me into the leader I am today."

Eady says she's wanted to be Miss Arkansas since she was a little girl. She remembers former women in the role visiting her hometown.

Eady says, "It means so much because I've seen the development of my life and my growth, just being able to express myself and feel like I belong, and know that the Boys and Girls club always being my home away from home."

Eady will also collect a 20,000 scholarship and more than 50,000 worth of awards, gifts and clothing.

The 22-year-old Eady graduated from Ouachita Baptist University and works for The Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Among her goals, Eady wants a career as a Public Relations Specialist and to become a National Spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.



Other Ouachita connections at this year’s Miss Arkansas pageant included:

• Cortnie DeVore, a senior musical theatre major from Beebe, who served on the Miss Arkansas Court of Honor.
• Lacy Fleming Glover, a 2004 Ouachita graduate, who was Miss OBU 2004, Miss Arkansas 2004 and 3rd runner-up to Miss America. She served this year as a pageant co-emcee.
• Lauren Davidson Greenhaw, a 2004 Ouachita graduate, who was Miss Arkansas 2002. She also served as a pageant co-emcee.
• Jane Chu, a 1979 Ouachita graduate, served this year as a Miss Arkansas judge. Chu, who is the president and CEO for the Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts in Kansas City, was Miss OBU 1979, finished in the Top 10 in the 1979 Miss Arkansas pageant and won the Coleman Dairy Overall Talent Award.