Putnam

And those of us who live in this area are doubly fortunate. Not only do we have the opportunity to see and hear many of our state's most outstanding young women each year during our Miss Louisiana Pageant, we also have the opportunity to interact with quite a few of them throughout the year.

You see, the University of Louisiana at Monroe is not just home to a bunch of sweaty Warhawks. Our jewel on the bayou also is home to some of the state's most beautiful, intelligent and talented young women.

The new Miss Louisiana attends the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a major in piano performance, and her platform is "the Miracle of Music." She seeks to promote music therapy and music appreciation in schools across the state. She served as Miss ULM in 2007.

Additionally, Miss ULM Hope Anderson, a senior mass communications major who won the swimsuit-fitness preliminary Friday, was named first runner-up in the Miss Louisiana Pageant. We've already had the pleasure of meeting this year's Miss ULM at numerous events, and know she also is an extraordinary talent. She will take Putnam's place if for some reason Putnam is unable to serve as Miss Louisiana.

Erica Durr, a ULM toxicology graduate and Miss Bossier City, also placed in the top 10. The top 10 were based on the judges' scores from the two nights of preliminaries and Wednesday's interview sessions.

We're proud so many Miss Louisiana contestants have a ULM connection.

And we wish our new Miss Louisiana the best as she prepares for the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas in January 2010.

We look forward to seeing more of her around town in the meantime!





Used with permission. © 2009 The News-Star. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission of The News-Star is prohibited.