HOT SPRINGS -- Red, white and blue confetti exploded into the air and some in the room broke into screams Saturday when Savvy Shields was proclaimed as the 2016 Miss Arkansas.
At the end of her walk around the stage at Bank of the Ozarks Arena, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, the other contestants ran to her, screaming her name and engulfing her in hugs.
"Savvy! I'm so happy for you!" one girl yelled.
The competition began July 3. The women were separated into three groups for preliminary contests. Preliminary winners were announced throughout the week, and contestants received over $121,000 in scholarships collectively.
Shields, the daughter of Todd and Karen Shields, won the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit and Artistic Expression in Talent preliminary categories earlier in the week.
Because of a tie, judges selected 11 women instead of 10 to compete Saturday night.
Shields, 21, is from Fayetteville and attends the University of Arkansas. She is a senior art major, and she also has the Miss Heart of the Ozarks title.
Her platform is "Eat Better, Live Better," a campaign to encourage healthy living.
In addition to the Miss Arkansas crown, Shields received awards Saturday evening for overall best evening gown, sporting a black velvet dress, and for best overall swimsuit.
She performed a jazz dance to "They Just Keep Moving the Line" for the talent portion of the contest. She said she has been dancing since she was 3 years old and dancing on the Miss Arkansas stage fulfilled a longtime dream.
For the final portion of the contest, the top five participants each answered an interview question. The answer was worth 20 percent of the points needed to win, whereas in the past it was worth 5 percent.
Community leaders from around the state submitted video questions to the pageant, and each of the top five finalists pulled white envelopes with their questions out of a glass bowl.
Shields' question was about how to teach children to use technology while keeping their imaginations intact.
"It is so tempting to use these to hinder our imaginations," she said, advocating for parents to teach their children to balance the two.
Others in the top 11 were Stoni Butler, 22, of Camden; Maggie Benton, 21, of Jonesboro; Destiny Quinn, 21, of Jonesboro; Samantha Hudon, 24, of Hot Springs; Jennifer Ulloa, 22, of Jonesboro; Caitlyn Cook, 23, of Conway; Bailey Moses, 21, of Cabot; Savannah Skidmore, 21, of Calico Rock; Brooke Cornelius, 22, of Hope; and Ashton Purtle, 20, of Russellville.
Skidmore, a University of Arkansas journalism major with a focus in broadcast, was the first runner-up.
Shields will leave for Washington, D.C., today to meet the other Miss America contestants and begin preparing for September's competition, which will be held in Atlantic City, N.J.
"I feel very undeserving and very grateful," she said.
Metro on 07/10/2016