VICKSBURG, Miss. - (June 13, 2005) – Miss Mississippi’s inaugural fan voting contest has generated more than 178,000 text message votes so far, with four weeks remaining in the voting period. The first-ever Cellular South Viewer’s Choice Scholarship will be awarded to the contestant who has received the most votes as of 9 p.m. on July 9, the final evening of the Miss Mississippi pageant.
Cellular South text messaging customers began voting for their favorite pageant contestants on June 1 and can continue until voting closes at 9 p.m. on July 9. Voting opportunities also will be available to any pageant attendees on-site each evening of the competition, July 6-9. Cellular South wireless phones will be provided for on-site text message voting in the lobby of the Vicksburg Convention Center.
The Miss Mississippi Unlimited Nationwide Text Messaging contest is managed by Cellular South as a separate program that has no bearing on official judging of the Miss Mississippi pageant and no relationship to the winner or finalists in the Miss Mississippi pageant competition.
The winner of the Cellular South Viewer’s Choice $2,500 Scholarship will be announced July 9 during the live broadcast of the pageant, just prior to the announcement and crowning of the new Miss Mississippi. The viewer’s choice winner also will receive a free wireless phone and one year of free service from Cellular South.
Cellular South text messaging customers, and anyone on-site during the pageant competition, can cast an unlimited number of votes for one or more pageant contestants by sending the contestant’s assigned number in a text message to “MISS” (6477). Numbers – from 1 to 42 – are assigned in alphabetical order according to local pageant titles (e.g., Miss Alcorn County is #1 and Miss William Carey College is #42).
For a listing of viewer’s choice contestant numbers, visit missmississippipageant.com, cellularsouth.com or any Cellular South retail location.
About Cellular South
The company is the largest privately held wireless provider in the U.S. and is licensed to provide wireless service - to a total population of more than five million people - on its network stretching from the Memphis Metropolitan Area, throughout all of Mississippi, along Coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Destin/Seaside. For more information, contact Cellular South at 1-877-CSOUTH1 or visit cellularsouth.com.
Contact:
Tanya Rankin, Cellular South (601) 974-7134 trankin@cellularsouth.com
