Christine Williamson

The Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant is always held the third week of June. The third week of June had become one of the most important weeks of the year for Christine Williamson, and she prepared for it since she was seventeen when she competed in her first pageant.

Six years later, at the age of twenty-two, Christine Electra Williamson stood hand in hand with Samantha Havenstrite on the Carl Perkins Civic Center stage. Crowned by Caty Davis, Christine was given a first class ticket to Miss America.

Christine had put six years of her life into becoming Miss Tennessee, with her first year as Miss Memphis. It took six preliminary pageants for her to get her first local title that took her to Miss Tennessee, she was eighteen and a freshman at the University of Mississippi. She didn’t place that first year, but knew that she wanted to keep going. She learned a lot as Miss Memphis, specifically that she may have been a little over her head. That didn’t stop her though, it only made her work harder.

Her next local title was Miss Smoky Mountains in Johnson City, which was a long way from her home town of Memphis. That year taught her the commitment that competing was. She learned how much planning it takes to travel all across the state and the sort of responsibility that would one day rest on her shoulders. At Miss Tennessee, she placed 2nd runner up. That year she went to Miss America to cheer on Hannah Robison.

Her next title was Miss Mountain Empire also in Johnson City. She placed 3rd runner up at Miss Tennessee, and she says, “ I was devastated that year- I felt like I’d gone backwards- I thought I’d still worked hard, what had I done wrong?” She took a look at herself and reevaluated her goals, only to decide that she would keep going.

“I wanted this job, and my desire to achieve my dreams was stronger than my fear of failure.”

Christine came back and won the title of Miss Scenic City, one of the most coveted local titles in the state. That year she graduated from the University of Mississippi debt free with the more than $49,000 in scholarships she had earned through competing in pageants at that point in time.

A few months later,she placed 1st runner up, so with the $10,000 that she earned she decided to pursue higher education.

Within two weeks Christine moved to Chattanooga and applied for the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. She says this was one of the biggest risks that she had ever taken and it was all on a whim. Right before she moved to Chattanooga, Christine was diagnosed with severe ADHD, dyslexia, and an auditory processing disorder. She got her acceptance email while she was driving to her new apartment in Chattanooga and says that UTC was so accommodating and really helped her understand how she learns best.

She won the title of Miss Chattanooga and put everything into understanding the role of Miss Tennessee as much as she could on the local level. She frequently visited Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, interned with her personal platform’s office, and worked every single day to prepare herself for the job of Miss Tennessee.

And it all paid off.

Christine Electra Williamson was crowned Miss Tennessee 2018 in Jackson, Tennessee.

Christine had spent years preparing for what she thought it would be like to be Miss Tennessee, and before she even competed on the Miss America stage things changed.

In 2018, the iconic Miss America pageant changed. This change was not easy on Miss America 2018, Cara Mund. For months, she struggled in silence being bullied and belittled by the new leadership who claimed to fight for empowering women and giving them a voice. Just before the Miss America Pageant, where Cara Mund would pass on the crown, she published a letter to her “ Miss America Sisters” detailing the experience that she has had under the new leadership. Cara Mund wasn’t the only person who felt the effects.

Tennessee was one of the many states who signed a petition for the new leadership to step down after reading Cara’s letter and see the way that the pageant that they loved so dearly was headed. However, the petition did not change anything, and instead state licenses were revoked from organizations that had been sending girls to Miss America for years if they continued to push back against the new leadership and the new Miss America. This didn’t happen before the annual pageant though.

Even before the petition, while preparing for Miss America, the contestants were blindsided. One of the many changes of the pageant included the loss of the swimsuit portion, which was actually how Miss America started, which contestants where not given ample time to adjust to, since that meant reworking the scoring of each category.

In the middle of all of this, Christine. She says that the Miss America 2.0 competition in September of 2018, just over two months after she had been crowned, was unlike anything she had done with the organization before. At Miss America Orientation, Christine says that titleholders were told that they would be informed of the areas of competition and the rules ahead of time, but that was not the case.

She says the removal of lifestyle and fitness category was “implemented so quickly and in such a disjointed way that it didn’t seem to have much planning or thought behind it.” This was also done under the guise that this is what contestants wanted, but Christine says that she was never asked, and none of her sister crowns in the class of 2018 were either. Taking the place of the lifestyle and fitness competition was the Onstage Question Preliminary Award, which was announced on the last day of preliminary competition. As in, during Miss America competition week after the regular categories had been judged. Contestants at that point were not informed how that would be scored or any other details.

“We were constantly told about empowerment and our voices being heard… but we were never given an opportunity to make our voices heard, to have an open discussion or to even hear why the leadership made the decision in this time frame. It’s always funny to me that I was silenced for so long by an organization that touts their mission of “empowerment” and creating leaders. “

Christine is very clear when she says that she is not bitter about the results. She believes Nia Franklin is a fantastic representative. With that being said, Christine feels like she still has more questions than answers. She wonders if she even had a shot at the crown to begin with.

Christine may not have won the title of Miss America, she may not have even had a chance, but she was recognized for her work she had done with the crown and even before it. She was a Quality of Life Award Finalist and she won the Women in Business Scholarship Award.

After Miss America, Tennessee’s franchise license was revoked and Christine was not informed or contacted when this happened, or over three months later when new state leadership was appointed. One more time, Miss Tennessee’s crowning leadership, who had been there with her since she was 17 and who she now regards as family, was forcibly removed from the organization and no one thought to inform her.

The new leadership, appointed in December of 2018, showed no attempt to communicate, much less support Christine, for the rest of her year of service. The new ownership and contract actually did not include rights to Christine or her ability to serve, but still they used her name, images, likeness, “and more” for advertising. This was done without consent and still without any attempt at contacting her.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, the new state leadership made jokes about causing harm to Christine. An anonymous number sent her screenshots of a group chat of new leadership making jokes about “defrocking” her. She also details the aggressive language they used. When Christine’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter, for her own safety, she notes, they continued outreach and communication.

Christine also notes the physical and emotional pain that her friends and colleagues went through as well. She specifically mentions how little regard the new national leadership had for Cara Mund and how much they hurt her. “They completely disregarded the effort she had put in to attain this incredible honor as well as the volunteers and the women competing that they were hurting in the process.”

“I would not have my legacy be known as one of someone who backed down and agreed when things got hard.”

The role of Miss Tennessee includes attending local pageants, workshops, and other Miss America state events. After new leadership took over, Christine was no longer invited or even informed about these events. Christine was especially upset about missing workshop weekend, which is where Miss Tennessee gets to address all the contests of that year’s pageant, and tell them about how special holding the title is. She says that while she was a contestant it was very impactful for her, and at 18 she began planning what she would say when she got her chance to stand at Miss Tennessee’s podium. Unfortunately, she never got that opportunity. When she found out about not being invited to attend Miss Tennessee 2.0’s workshop weekend, she was devastated and retreated with her mom to the beach. She says that if she had to miss the event that she had looked forward to for six years, she was going to do it on the beach.

Christine said it best, “The point of the year as a state titleholder is to make a lasting impact through selfless, servant leadership.” Christine’s year could’ve been more impactful if the organization wouldn’t have been so wrapped up in their own agenda. Their actions took away from Christine’s time for service, appearances, and impact. Although she does recognize a silver lining, and that is the bigger impact she made standing up to them. She hopes that her actions have an impact on all the people that she wouldn’t have been able to reach if she wasn’t put in this situation.

When the original Miss Tennessee organization franchise license was revoked, the organizations board members were not pleased. They had stood up for not only their state representative, but the national representative as well. Tennessee’s old board refused to let go of the original values that they saw change young women’s lives. The former Miss Tennessee (MAO) board decided to continue with the same program that they have successfully put on for years, calling it the Miss Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship Pageant (MTNVP). While Christine was not informed and not invited to Miss Tennessee 2.0 events, she was always welcome to attend MTNVP events. After all, this was the leadership Christine had come to know so well during her years in pageantry. However, Christines’s lawyer advised her not to attend, in fear of it being used against her in her ongoing battle with Tennessee’s 2.0 leadership over the title that she earned.

For years Christine had come to know the whole Miss Tennessee board, but she became especially close with Allison DeMarcus, Amy Otto, and Jane Alderson, a trio of sisters and their mother who play a pivotal role in the makings and production of the Miss Tennessee pageant. When she won the Miss Tennessee title, she got to know this group of women very well. Mrs. Jane Alderson opened her home for Christine to live while preparing for Miss America, and her two daughters, Allison and Amy, worked tirelessly with Christine to prepare her for national stage.

That’s not all the ways they helped her, though. Christine had a difficult year, but it wasn’t all about the crown and sash. Four days before Christine left for Atlantic City, New Jersey to compete at Miss America, one of her closest friends overdosed. Another close friend of hers was the person who found him. Christine was practicing her talent with Mrs. Jane and Allison and she, “collapsed into a pile hearing about the news.” She wasn’t able to stand, so they helped her. They wiped her tears and held her.

“They listened when I tried to make sense through the grief and sorrow like my own mother would.”

The road to Miss America is not forgiving, and Christine did not have the time to fall apart. Mrs. Jane and Allison protected Christine’s privacy during this difficult time for her. They also helped keep her on track, controlled, and organized in her final days of preparing for something she worked so hard for six years to get to, and at the end of the day they helped her through the grief.

“They met my confusion and sadness and frustration with patience, understanding, and compassion.”

Again, when Christine received a letter from Miss America threatening to take her title, Allison was there. Over the phone, they read it together, and Allison met Christine with calm level headedness. Allusion helped Christine form an action plan.

The stress of Christine’s year took a toll on her body. The anxiety and turmoil of the year had wore away at her body so much so that her friends and family repeatedly brought up her health. Allison found Christine a doctor to evaluate the problems and pain she was experiencing. She said that she will never forget the day that the doctor looked in her eyes and told her that he wanted her to be hospitalized immediately. They told her that if she didn’t change fast that she would suffer a heart attack before her next birthday, twenty-four. Kidney failure, diabetes, and death were also concerns of the doctors that treated her. The doctor told her that her heart had been under so much stress that it wasn’t strong enough to pump blood to her hands and feet. She was told if immediate action wasn’t taken there could be permanent damage.

“They said my health was so fragile that they wanted me to refrain from flying or stressful activities because it could push my body over the edge if I continued. No young woman, or anyone really, should be under that kind of pressure or be pushed to a limit like I was. But in the turbulence, the crazy… in the eye of the storm, I found a support system that I never knew existed. Not only did my family rally around me in ways I never could have asked them to, but Allison, Amy and Mrs. Jane came to my rescue in an unfathomably heroic way.”

May 10, 2019 Christine published a letter stated that she would “cease using the ‘Miss Tennessee 2018’ title and name.” She states in the letter that MAO suggested that she refrain from contacting and associating with the former leadership and volunteers, the people who cheered her on and supported her when she needed it most. In her final paragraph she said that she doesn’t agree with MAO’s management, nor does she support the program, and that she would support another program “led and supported by people and volunteers that I love and respect.”

She was walked to the stage in a white dress by her father.

On May 24, 2019 the Miss Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship Pageant held a press conference to officially crown Christine Electra Williamson in the Carl Perkins Civic Center crowned by Allison DeMarcus.

Christine Electra Williamson, the last orginal Miss Tennessee MAO and the first Miss Tennessee Volunteer.

The Miss Tennessee Volunteer program won’t stop with Tennessee and is now apart of the Miss Volunteer America program that will host an annual pageant in Jackson, Tennessee.

There is more to Christine’s pageant experience than what could be written here, but this is the story that isn’t told as often. This story highlights the strength and perseverance of a young woman from Tennessee.

It also highlights the heart of what pageantry is about, using your platform to stand up for what is right, if not for yourself than for other people. Christine and the Miss America Volunteer program are shining examples of resilience and determination.

As of 2021, Christine has thrown her hat in the Miss USA ring, competing at Miss Tennessee USA and winning 2nd runner up.

She is using her degree working with a start up called Ubiquitous Talent, which she loves. She has no answer to if she will compete again, but she will always be apart of the program that has had her back, The Miss Volunteer America/ Miss Tennessee Volunteer pageant.

Christine’s advice if you find yourself in a similar situation is to keep a small circle of trusted friends, don’t let empty words fool you, and remember your “why.”

She doesn’t regret how she handled the situation, she just wishes she wouldn’t have let it trouble her as much.

“I always come back to this saying, but remember not to trust what people say, trust what they do. Your actions reflect your intentions, even when your words might not. “