Dixie Covington
Courtesy photo
EASLEY — The Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization (MSCSO) has named Easley native Dixie Covington the Executive Director of the Miss South Carolina Teen Organization. As Executive Director of the Teen program, Covington will also sit on the MSCSO Board of Directors.
Ashley Byrd, the MSCSO’s Co-Executive Director and President, announced the news, saying, “I am so pleased and excited to be working with Dixie. Under Dixie’s leadership, I know the Miss South Carolina Teen Organization will continue South Carolina’s rich history of providing scholarships and awards to the young women of South Carolina.”
Dixie echoed that excitement.
“The Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization truly changed my life,” said Covington, who has been involved with the program since she competed as Miss Easley in 1999. She would go on to compete in 2000 and 2003. “My experience as a candidate introduced me to lifelong friends and molded me into a more confident and capable woman. That transformational experience made me the person and professional I am today. Thanks to this organization, I have had the opportunity to work with the best and brightest our state has to offer. I am excited to serve an organization that has given me so much.”
Covington assumes this role after serving five years as the Local Executive Director of the Miss Clemson Organization, which has produced three state winners and raised more than $65,000 for charity under her leadership. As the Executive Director of the Miss South Carolina Teen Organization, a competition open to young women aged 13-17, Covington will work with the existing state leadership team to build and promote our state’s official preliminary to Miss America’s Outstanding Teen.
In addition to fulfilling other duties as a MSCSO Board Member, she will prepare future Miss South Carolina Teens for the national competition, a program in which South Carolina has already produced two national winners since its inception in 2006.
“It’s with great excitement that we welcome Dixie to the MSCSO Board of Directors as Executive Director of the Teen program,” said Chaz Ellis, Co-Executive Director and Vice President of the MSCSO. “We look forward to working with Dixie to grow the legacy and brand of Miss SC Teen. The Miss and Teen competitions will continue to be held together every summer in Columbia. Dixie’s experience and dedication to this organization will be a huge asset to our team.”
Covington assumes this role in a unique time. Miss South Carolina Teen 2019, Kellan Fenegan, and Miss South Carolina 2019, Morgan Nichols, are both beginning an additional year of service. Due to the ongoing health crisis, the Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Organizations both postponed this year’s competitions.
The next Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen will be crowned at the state competition in June 2021.
“The MSCSO has already built an amazing foundation for the teen program,” said Covington. “My goal is to build upon that foundation by serving in a role fully focused on growing and strengthening the teen program. The young women of South Carolina are smart, talented, and dedicated to community service. I look forward to providing deserving candidates with scholarships and opportunities to continue their education and enrich their lives.”
The Miss South Carolina competition is an official state preliminary to Miss America.
In June 2019, the MSCSO awarded more than $230,000 in scholarship assistance to the 100+ candidates who competed for the jobs of Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen.