Miss Garner wins state title
Published: Sun, Jun. 22, 2008 03:39PM
Modified Sun, Jun. 22, 2008 03:46PM
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closeMiss Garner beat out 22 other contestants Saturday to clinch the Miss North Carolina title.
Amanda Lauren Watson, a rising UNC-Chapel Hill senior and Raleigh resident, will take a year off from pursuing her music bachelors and master of arts in teaching to prepare for the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas in January. She will also continue to speak out on her platform, which has been to encourage further research on Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as ALS.
Both her grandfather and great-grandfather died of the neurodegenerative disease. Last year, Watson successfully lobbied Congress with the N.C. ALS Association chapter to create a national registry to promote research of the disease.
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Watson, 21, who is trained in opera, sang "We Shall Behold Him," a classic gospel number, for the talent competition.
She won the contest's Community Service Award in addition to taking home the crown and a $12,000 scholarship from Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium on Saturday night.
"I was just overwhelmed," she said. "I was flooded with the love and support of my committee."
peggy.lim@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-5799
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