Miss Hospitality Contestants Visit Forrest General Hospital; Pack Goody Bags for Cancer Center Patients
Congratulations to this year’s 42 Miss Hospitality contestants as they celebrate the program’s Diamond Jubilee. On Tuesday, they visited Forrest General Hospital.
HATTIESBURG, MS – (July 9, 2024) A group of 42 talented and intelligent young women from across the state, who are competing in the 2024 Mississippi Miss Hospitality program this week, took time out of their busy schedule during Give Back Volunteer Day to visit Forrest General Hospital on Tuesday, July 9.
During their visit, the contestants, including 2023 Mississippi Miss Hospitality, Abney Grace Pittman, of Wayne County, received a welcome from Millie Swan, Forrest Health vice president.
Swan asked for a show of hands of those interested in a career in the healthcare field. She mentioned the number of careers Forrest Health has available and encouraged contestants to network. “Today, I can tell you there are so many past Miss Hospitality contestants who have reached out to me later, mentioned meeting me during a session like this, and asked if they could come do an internship or just come sit down with me for an hour and talk to me about what their future plans were,” Swan said. “You will meet people this week who you can network with. Make the connections and use them in the future.
“Not only are you making lifelong friends, but something you are doing here today is volunteerism, and that is so important – giving back to your community, making a difference for someone. I can tell you our Cancer Center, which you are making goody bags for today, those packages will make such a difference for so many people who have been given a cancer diagnosis.” Swan noted that Forrest General’s Cancer Center has the busiest clinical trials program in the state, thus allowing a lot of people to receive hope.
“We see a lot of people at the Cancer Center, and we know a lot of them have trouble getting to their treatments,” she said. “We hear a lot of sad stories, but we hear a lot of great stories when these patients make it through their journey. I want you to know the difference you are making today. When that goody bag goes into someone’s hands they are on a very difficult journey and facing a hard time. It’s going to make a difference.
“When all of you leave Hattiesburg this weekend, only one of you will have the Mississippi Miss Hospitality title, but all of you will still have your local title for a year. You can still volunteer, be an ambassador, and make a difference in your community. Don’t just say, ‘I’m through with the state competition, I’m done.’ People know when you are genuine and when you are sincere and when you want to help them. If you are not genuine and sincere, they will know it. When you go in to volunteer or do something, be the real deal.
“I’m standing here today because several people in my life gave me an opportunity, and you have an opportunity. A lot of people have sacrificed to get you here today. Maybe parents. Maybe directors. Maybe friends. As you compete this week and reflect on who got you here, be grateful, be thankful for the opportunity, and please remember,
Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has ever made it through life without someone else’s help.
“Remember that as you volunteer. You are making a difference for somebody, just like somebody made a difference for you to be here today.”
Swan introduced radiation oncologist, Sophy Mangana, MD, who talked about balancing her job as a physician, wife, and mother, and provided tips on keeping a healthy lifestyle.
Forrest Health’s Spirit Girls have been on hand during the week to help contestants move in and out of their dorm rooms on The University of Southern Mississippi campus. They have also been paired up with contestants and are writing them encouraging notes and making posters supporting them during the week. Spirit Girls also learned a dance number and will perform during Friday night’s preliminary competition at the Saenger Theater.
Miss Hattiesburg, Stevee Kate Dixon, has enjoyed showing contestants around her hometown. “This is something so special to me because of how much I love Hattiesburg and how much I love these girls I’m competing with,” said Dixon. “It’s been an honor to have all of these girls in my hometown that I get to represent, and show them around and show them what I love to do. We are staying at The University of Southern Mississippi, which is where I attend school, so it has been awesome to see the dorms where I stayed my freshman year and to share my love with them. I can tell they love it just as much as I do.” Dixon is a rising speech pathology major at USM.
Chloe Grace Weeks, Miss Winston County, has an interest in the healthcare field. “I’ve always known I wanted to do something in the healthcare field,” she said. “My mom is a retired nurse, and she was the person who really got me interested in healthcare. I’ve never considered another career path. I know that’s crazy. I ultimately decided on nursing because nurses make such an impact on patients, because they are with patients all the time. Nurses have that quality one-on-one time with them. I love to talk and connect with people, so I think I would really love nursing, to help make people feel better and really make a difference in their lives. It was really great to hear about the Cancer Center because the technology here is wonderful, so I can only imagine the care patients get and the love they feel when they come here during such a dark place in their life. That’s really special.”
During their visit, contestants decorated and stuffed goody bags for patients at the Forrest General Cancer Center. In addition to Dr. Mangana, Shannon Vega, radiology director and FGCC service line administrator, and Kecia Jones-Harris, Cancer Center manager, were on hand to talk with the girls and accept their kind donations. The bags, which were decorated by the girls, contained care items such as tissues, ChapStick, Wet Ones, lotion, and a variety of snacks, as well as notes of encouragement.
Forrest Health’s Spirit of Women and the Miss Hospitality program are both celebrating big anniversaries this year. While SOW is recognizing its 20th anniversary with a variety of events throughout the year, Miss Hospitality is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee during the 75th annual competition finals on Saturday, July 13, at the Saenger Theater in downtown Hattiesburg.
For more information on Forrest General and its available services, visit
www.forrestgeneral.org.
