On July 29, 10 young women took their moment in the spotlight with hopes of being crowned the first-ever Miss Eastern Shore and Miss Eastern Shore's Teen.

Next year, Dru Bramlett and Megan Kent will represent their community at the Miss Alabama and Miss Alabama's Teen pageant.

The inaugural Miss Eastern Shore Pageant is the work of director Walt James, organizers Karla Hardin and Kathryn Miller and a team of local volunteers. The team has been involved with the program in different locations over the years and opted to create something new in Baldwin County.

The pageant was divided into two age groups: Miss Eastern Shore for ages 18-28 and Miss Eastern Shore Teen for ages 13-18. The competition included a 10-minute private pre-interview, a 90-second talent presentation, evening gown/poise and fitness modeling segments as well as an onstage question from the judges' panel. Each contestant also discussed the project she chose for her community service initiative. The pageant was open to any Alabama resident.

The contestant crowned Miss Eastern Shore earned a $1,000 scholarship and the opportunity to compete in the Miss Alabama pageant. Miss Eastern Shore Teen earned a $300 scholarship and go on to compete at the state level.

MISS EASTERN SHORE

Miss Eastern Shore Dru Bramlett competed against three other young women to win the inaugural title. She is an incoming senior at Fairhope High School and is involved with the theater community on a local and national level.While Bramlett is not a lifelong pageant contestant, this isn't her first title. She was crowned Miss Mobile Bay's Outstanding Teen in January and competed at the Miss Alabama's Teen 2023 competition and placed second runner-up.

How does it feel to be the first Miss Eastern Shore?

"I am so honored to hold this title especially since this is my community. I have grown up here, I have worked with the young women, I have laughed and cried and we have had so many good times here," Bramlett said. "To be the very first Miss Eastern Shore is the job of a lifetime. It is a complete dream, and I couldn't ask for better people to partner with like my director, Mr. Walter. He is such an amazing person and of course, my Teen, Megan Kent who is Miss Eastern Shore's Teen. It is a dream come true and I couldn't ask for a better way to spend my year."

What is your secret talent?

"The main talent I possess is singing and that is what I used for the competition but a talent some people don't know is I can Pogo Stick and jump rope at the same time," she said.

What is your community service initiative?

"My community Service initiative is called ACT Out. It is a pro-social and emotional exploration through theater," Bramlett said. "Breaking it down a little bit, it is built on the foundation of arts and mental health. It is a program I designed so kids can escape the world for about an hour or 45 minutes.

"It is really my true passion project. I have grown up in the theater and training for about 10 years now and I have seen the impact it has had on my life. It has given me confidence and a platform to share my voice and opinion. One thing that I like to do is encourage the children to turn their phones off and disconnect from that world and enter their own realm, be in their own skin and be confident in who they are."

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

"My favorite ice cream flavor is crazy cookie dough. It is not chocolate chip cookie dough, and it is a little more sugary. I love me some sugar," Bramlett giggled. "It has all these crazy colors combined into one ice cream, and I think I relate to it because I have some crazy things packed into one package."

Did you sleep with your crown on?

"I slept with my banner on, but I didn't want to mess up my crown for the world. I love my crown," Bramlett gushed. "Fun fact, the Miss crown is about 1 inch wider than the Teen crown, so it fits a little better on my head than the Teen crown did."

MISS EASTERN SHORE'S TEEN

Miss Eastern Shore's Teen Megan Kent competed against five other young women to win the inaugural title. She is an incoming freshman at Spanish Fort High School and is involved with the competitive dance community.

How does it feel to be the first Miss Eastern Shore's Teen?

"I am still in shock about last night," Kent said. "I am so blessed and in awe that I get to call myself Miss Eastern Shore's Teen."

What is your secret talent?

"I can make a quail noise," she said laughing. "My grandfather taught me how to do it. It is very weird and interesting and a fun fact."

What is your community service initiative?

"My platform is called No One Fights Alone benefiting the Larry Kent Memorial Foundation," Kent said. "No One Fights Alone helps cancer patients and cancer families just to let them know they are not alone during this time in their lives. Cancer not only affects the patient, but it also affects the family because I have witnessed that in my life. My grandfather died in 2019 due to multiple myeloma cancer. That is why I did this platform, for him."

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

"Cookie dough. I love cookie dough," she said.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

"Honestly, I think they would be surprised that this is my first ever pageant, and I won it," Kent said. "It is very crazy. Honestly, I was going into this pageant thinking you have to start somewhere, and I needed the experience, and I ended up winning. That is just crazy to me."