Kelly Jones | |
---|---|
Born | 1976 or 1977 (age 47) |
Other names | Kelly Carr |
Occupation | Educator |
Spouse | Benjamin Carr (m. 2003) |
Beauty pageant titleholder | |
Title | Miss Lake Wedowee 1998 Miss Samford 1999 Miss Jefferson County 2000 Miss Homewood Area 2001 Miss Alabama 2001 [1] |
Major competition(s) | Miss America 2002 |
Kelly Jones Carr (born 1976/1977) is an American educator and beauty pageant titleholder from Birmingham, Alabama, who was named Miss Alabama 2001.
In high school, Jones was a contestant in Mississippi's Junior Miss. [2] In 1998, she was crowned Miss Lake Wedowee and placed at Miss Alabama that year. [2] While a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, Jones won the title of Miss Samford 1999. [2] The next year she was crowned Miss Jefferson County 2000. [3]
Jones was selected as Miss Homewood Area 2001 then, in early 2001, Jones was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome, a potentially fatal illness caused by a bacterial toxin. [4] [5] The antibiotic treatment for this caused her most of her hair to fall out just two months before the Miss Alabama pageant in June. [4] [6]
Jones' preliminary competition talent for Miss Alabama was playing classical piano. [7] Her platform was "Boys and Girls Clubs: Be a Peer Role Model". [6] [8] Jones won the state competition on Saturday, June 16, 2001, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder Jana Sanderson. [4] [6] After winning, Jones announced she would use the scholarship money to pursue a graduate degree in music education. [6] As Miss Alabama, her activities included public appearances across the state of Alabama. [9]
Jones was Alabama's representative at the Miss America 2002 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. [10] Her competition talent was a classical piano performance of Frédéric Chopin's Ballade No. 1. [8] [10] Jones was not one of the finalists for the Miss America title. [1] Her reign as Miss Alabama continued until Scarlotte Deupree was crowned on June 15, 2002. [11]
Jones is a Birmingham, Alabama, native and spent part of her high school years at Mountain Brook High School. She is a 1995 graduate of Lamar High School in Meridian, Mississippi. [7] Majoring in piano performance, Jones graduated from Samford University with a bachelor's degree in December 1999. [2] [7] While at Samford, she was inducted into the Kappa Chapter of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. [12] She then enrolled in a graduate program at The University of Alabama studying music education. [8]
Before becoming Miss Alabama in 2001, Jones worked as a fragrance model, a waitress, and a piano teacher. [10] After graduating, she owned and operated a music academy in Augusta, Georgia. [13] In 2008, she was hired as the administrator for the Gadsden Community School for the Arts in Gadsden, Alabama. [13]
Her parents are Jerry Wilson Jones and Cynthia Perkins Jones. [7] During her reign as Miss Alabama, her father worked for a department store and her mother was a homemaker. [10] She is an only child. [5] Jones was raised Southern Baptist. [5] On August 9, 2003, she married Benjamin Matthew Carr. [14] Her wedding was featured in the 2004 edition of Alabama Weddings. [15]