Sophia Wooten, Miss Northwest Georgia, was crowned Miss Georgia 2026 on Saturday night at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, taking the $25,000 top scholarship and the right to represent the state at the Miss America competition in September. Melony Tidmore, Miss Capital City’s Teen, won the Miss Georgia’s Teen 2026 title the same evening.
The 81st annual Miss Georgia Scholarship Pageant ran from June 17 to 20 at the RiverCenter’s Bill Heard Theatre, drawing 99 contestants from cities, counties, regions, colleges, universities, and festivals across Georgia. Fifty-two women competed for the Miss Georgia title, while 47 teens competed for Miss Georgia’s Teen. Over $85,000 in educational scholarships was awarded during the week of competition, according to the pageant’s official results.
Sophia Wooten Crowned Miss Georgia 2026
The final night of competition unfolded on June 20, capping four days of preliminaries and finals at the Bill Heard Theatre. Wooten, who carried the Miss Northwest Georgia local title into the state competition, was named the winner after the field of 52 was narrowed through the week. Tidmore took the Teen crown in the parallel 47-contestant field the same night.
News Leader 9’s Ben Stanfield and Miss Georgia 1998 April Brinson Turner served as this year’s emcees. The competition included talent, evening gown, on-stage interview, and a presentation of each contestant’s community service initiative. Pamela Strivling, Miss Georgia 2000, spoke about the young women competing during the preliminary rounds at the RiverCenter.
The Miss America, Miss Georgia organization is the largest scholarship organization for women in the world so when you see these young women on stage what excites me the most is you look at the future and I think that these girls and women are so driven, they’re so dedicated that it’s really just amazing to see that that still exists and to know that so many of these girls have incredible futures.
Pamela Strivling, Miss Georgia 2000, spoke during the preliminary rounds at the RiverCenter. The remarks were reported by WTVM.
The winner of the Miss Georgia title serves as the public face of the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition, promoting the organization’s mission and leading a community service initiative of her own. Wooten will carry both duties into the year ahead, with the national competition in West Palm Beach, Florida, waiting in September. The title comes with a packed schedule of appearances, speaking engagements, and travel across the state.
A Stage in Columbus and a Field of 99
The Bill Heard Theatre at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts has hosted the Miss Georgia competition for years, anchoring the four-day event in uptown Columbus. The 81st annual competition returned to the venue from June 17 to 20, for four days of competition, scholarships, and community impact, according to the RiverCenter’s event listing for the pageant.
Ninety-nine contestants competed across the two titles: 52 in the Miss Georgia division and 47 in the Miss Georgia’s Teen division. They represented cities, counties, regions, colleges, universities, and festivals from across the state, per the full list of 2026 Miss Georgia contestants on the organization’s website. The field competed for educational scholarships and the right to represent Georgia at the Miss America and Miss America’s Teen competitions.
The competition has been a fixture in Columbus for years, running its annual competition out of the RiverCenter. The venue hosts four days of preliminaries and finals each June, drawing contestants and their families from across the state. The competition format includes talent, evening gown, on-stage interview, and the community service initiative presentation, with contestants scored across all four categories before the final night narrows the field.
The 99-contestant field made this year’s competition one of the largest in recent memory. Contestants ranged from middle school students to recent college graduates, with the Teen division drawing students from schools across the state and the Miss Georgia division drawing students from universities including the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern University, Mercer University, and Auburn University.
Meet the New Miss Georgia
Wooten, who carried the Miss Northwest Georgia local title into the state competition, is a 21-year-old University of Georgia student. She grew up in Peachtree City, a Fayette County community south of Atlanta. Her community service initiative, AccessAbility: Disability Advocacy in Education, centers on disability advocacy inside the education system. Her talent in the competition was vocal performance.
Wooten’s year ahead will include a dual role: serving as the public face of the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition while also preparing for the national stage. The Miss America competition will be held in September in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Wooten will carry Georgia’s banner into the field of state titleholders. The national pageant is the next major milestone in the scholarship competition’s annual calendar, and the months between now and September will be spent on preparation, appearances, and advocacy work tied to her AccessAbility initiative.
Wooten is the latest titleholder to emerge from the organization’s local pageant system, which includes titles for cities, counties, regions, colleges, universities, and festivals across Georgia. The organization’s website lists dozens of local titles that feed into the state competition each year, with contestants earning their local titles through regional competitions before advancing to Columbus. She will continue her studies at the University of Georgia while serving as Miss Georgia, splitting time between Athens and the title’s travel schedule. The Georgia pageant scene also includes the parallel Miss Georgia USA system, as seen in the year-after coverage of Miss Georgia USA Savannah Miles.
The Runners-Up and the Semifinalists
First Runner-Up Aleks Arwood, who carried the Miss Gwinnett County title, built her competition around the Aveline Project community service initiative and a ballet en pointe talent. Second Runner-Up Anna Kate Robinson of Miss Rome centered her package on the Nothing Beats a Healthy Heart initiative and a tap dance. Third Runner-Up Megan Wright of Miss Capital City paired the Wright Response: Learn, Train, Save a Life initiative with a vocal performance.
Fourth Runner-Up Kaitlyn Tanner of Miss Georgia Southern University brought The H E A R T Initiative and a piano talent to the stage. The remaining eleven semifinalists each received $500 scholarships, completing a division that awarded scholarships to all 15 finalists.
| Placement | Name | Local Title | Hometown | School | Age | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Sophia Wooten | Miss Northwest Georgia | Peachtree City | University of Georgia | 21 | $25,000 |
| First Runner-Up | Aleks Arwood | Miss Gwinnett County | Thomasville | University of Georgia | 23 | $6,500 |
| Second Runner-Up | Anna Kate Robinson | Miss Rome | Wrightsville | University of Georgia | 21 | $3,000 |
| Third Runner-Up | Megan Wright | Miss Capital City | Calhoun | Georgia Southern University | 23 | $2,000 |
| Fourth Runner-Up | Kaitlyn Tanner | Miss Georgia Southern University | Douglas | Georgia Southern University | 20 | $1,000 |
The remaining eleven semifinalists in the Miss Georgia division were:
- Jordan Kulah, Miss Atlanta
- Abigail Parham, Miss Carroll County
- Anika Roessel, Miss Cherokee Rose
- Dominique Verville, Miss Cobb County
- Jessica Roberts, Miss Coweta County
- Logan Marshall, Miss Flint River
- Sarah Jane Houston, Miss Greater Atlanta
- Emily Emmons, Miss Historic Gwinnett
- Shelby Smith, Miss Macon
- Sophia Tang, Miss Southeast Georgia
- Ana Chambers, Miss Thomasville
Melony Tidmore Takes the Teen Crown
In the Teen division, Melony Tidmore, Miss Capital City’s Teen, won the $5,000 top scholarship. Tidmore is 17 years old, attends Liberty University Online Academy, and lives in Powder Springs. Her community service initiative, Dance: A Movement towards Better Health, and her ballet en pointe talent rounded out her competition package.
The four Teen runners-up were Sydney Snyder of Miss Empire of the South’s Teen, Kameron Griffith of Miss Rome’s Teen, Landry Wolf of Miss Atlanta’s Teen, and Ansleigh Rose of Miss Gwinnett County’s Teen. They earned $2,000, $1,000, $750, and $500 respectively for their community service initiatives and talents.
Like the Miss Georgia division, the Teen field competed in talent, evening gown, on-stage interview, and community service initiative, with the 47 contestants judged separately from the senior division. Tidmore will represent Georgia at the Miss America’s Teen competition in September in West Palm Beach, Florida, alongside Wooten at the senior level. The remaining eleven Teen semifinalists were:
- Cambri Battle, Miss Cumberland Island’s Teen
- Caroline Surratt, Miss Flint River’s Teen
- Madison Walker, Miss Greater Atlanta’s Teen
- Angelice Wood, Miss Henry County’s Teen
- Mary Margaret Cooper, Miss Historic Gwinnett’s Teen
- Sophia Jenrette, Miss Houston County’s Teen
- Londyn Rodgers, Miss Macon’s Teen
- Amelia Bell, Miss Middle West Georgia’s Teen
- Maggie Miller, Miss Northeast Georgia’s Teen
- Amelia Hussong, Miss Northwest Georgia’s Teen
- Katherine Meng, Miss Presidential Pathway’s Teen
The Scholarship Pool and the Road to Miss America
The Miss Georgia 2026 judging panel included Carolyn Sapp Daniels, Miss America 1992; Catherine Liang, Miss California 2022; Randy Pruett of Texas; Tori Jackson of Mississippi; and Leonardo Powell of North Carolina. The panel judged contestants across all four competition categories: talent, evening gown, on-stage interview, and community service initiative. The final night narrowed the field from 15 semifinalists to the top five and then the winner. The Miss Georgia’s Teen panel included Shilah Phillips, Miss Texas 2006; Liz Jarvis Fabian of Georgia; Dr. Larkin Page of Louisiana; David Botkins of Virginia; and Demetria Thomas of Georgia.
Across both divisions, the pageant awarded more than $85,000 in educational scholarships. The Miss America and Miss America’s Teen competitions will be held in September in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Wooten and Tidmore will represent Georgia at the national stage. The national pageant is the next major milestone in the scholarship competition’s annual calendar, and both titleholders will spend the summer preparing for the competition.
Wooten and Tidmore will appear on the 2026 Miss America state delegates page as Georgia’s representatives as the September competition approaches. The Georgia pageant scene has produced other history-making moments, including Bella Bautista’s entry into the Miss Georgia USA competition. The 81st annual competition added another chapter to that pipeline, with two new titleholders now carrying Georgia’s banner into the national competition.
The pageant has now concluded its 81st annual competition. Wooten and Tidmore carry the Miss Georgia and Miss Georgia’s Teen titles into the year ahead.
- 81 years of the Miss Georgia Scholarship Pageant
- 99 total contestants across both divisions
- $85,000+ in scholarships awarded
