Mission Statement
Miss South Dakota

Welcome to the Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program! 

Originating in 1946, Miss South Dakota has been wearing the crown for 73 years. We are one of the largest providers of scholarship dollars to young women throughout our great state.

The Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization that awards scholarship dollars to outstanding young women to help advance them academically and professionally. Participants have gone on to achieve major success in diverse fields including medicine, law, business, broadcast journalism, theater, politics, literature and more.

The Miss South Dakota Competition is an official preliminary of the Miss America Competition, the nation's leading achievement program and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women.

Participation in this program provides young women with the opportunity to promote a platform of community service, share their talents, intelligence, and positive values while serving as role models in their communities, all with the support of dedicated volunteers assisting them in their pursuit of academic excellence, service and lifelong success.

The Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program operates within the guidelines of the Miss America Organization while stressing individuality, personal development, communication skills and physical fitness.

Miss America

The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. This assistance is not just for the handful of women who become Miss America, but is available to the over 12,000 young women who compete in the local competitions as well.

The Miss America Pageant was organized in 1921 by a group of Atlantic City merchants and civic leaders. The first Miss America Pageant was a spectacular two-day festival, culminating with a beachfront parade called the "Bather's Revue." The festival was to be a special event designed to extend the summer season by one week.

Today, Miss America and its 1,500 Local and State competitions comprise the largest single source of scholarship funds available to young women in the world. An estimated 300,000 volunteers donate more than 6 million hours each year to local, state and national competitions. This unique organization provides scholarships at every level of competition.

Mission Statement

The Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program is a means for statewide awareness of the Miss America and Miss America's Outstanding Teen programs. Our mission is to uphold the four points of the crown: Service, Scholarship, Success and Style.

Service: To support our young women who devote a year of service promoting the Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program. Their year of service provides them the forum to share not only their platform and their talent, but the opportunity to express their views on local, regional, national and global issues.

Scholarship: To provide opportunities to young women to obtain scholarship dollars. We support higher education for advancing academic goals by using the model of competition. This experience prepares participates to accept life's challenges and to produce role models who exemplify and promote positive values. 

Success: To support a statewide organization of dedicated volunteers who devote their time, talents and resources for the betterment and longevity of the Miss South Dakota and Miss South Dakota's Outstanding Teen Programs.

Style: To provide young women with opportunity for personal growth, fitness and self-expression. To emphasize the importance of doing one's best while championing educational and career goals.


Sincerely, 

The Miss South Dakota Scholarship Program Executive Committee
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