Miss Alabama 2022: Lindsay Fincher, Miss University of Alabama, takes the crown

Lindsay Fincher is the new Miss Alabama.

Fincher, 22, was crowned Saturday night at Samford University’s Wright Center in Birmingham. She competed this year as Miss University of Alabama, besting 39 other contestants for the 2022 state title. Fincher will move on to represent Alabama at the Miss America competition.

Fincher takes over the role of Miss Alabama from Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021. Bradford crowned her successor at the Wright Center on Saturday and presented her with a bouquet of roses.

Fincher said she experienced a variety of emotions when her win was announced on stage.

“I cannot believe it. It has not fully set in yet, but I am so excited,” Fincher told AL.com. “I will admit, the first reaction was shock. I could not believe it that it was my name being called. I’ve watched Miss Alabama be crowned for years, and this time it was my name, but after that, just gratitude. I am so thankful and so excited.”

The yearlong reign of the new Miss Alabama starts immediately. She’ll make public appearances, do charity work, speak to community groups, motivate students and more. Fincher’s philanthropic platform (called a “social impact initiative” by the Miss Alabama organization) is Catalyst: Arts for All.

“I am just so excited to serve this organization and give back to this organization, because I competed for three years as a teen competitor, and then I did three years in Miss,” Fincher said. “So I’ve been involved with Miss Alabama for quite some time and I know how much I love this organization.

“I’m looking forward to giving back to the Miss Alabama organization that’s given so much to me. I’m looking forward to expanding the reach of the program, trying to recruit new candidates and spread the message of Miss Alabama and what the Miss America organization is about. So just make sure that everybody in Alabama knows what Miss Alabama is, knows the amazing things that we’re doing, and can get involved with this if they want to.”

Fincher was one of 12 semifinalists chosen on Saturday, competing in segments that focus on talent, on-stage interview and social impact pitch, and evening wear. (The evening wear segment now is called “red carpet.”) For talent, she performed a jazz dance routine to “Bossa Nova Baby.”

Fincher, from Wedowee, is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she majored in dance and political science. She was first runner-up to Bradford in the 2021 Miss Alabama competition.

2022 Miss Alabama 2022

Lindsay Fincher is Miss Alabama 2022 after the Miss Alabama finals competition and crowning at Samford University's Wright Center, Saturday, July 2, 2022. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt

Three rounds of preliminary contests for Miss Alabama 2022 took place Wednesday through Friday at the Wright Center, giving all 40 contestants a chance to strut their stuff in talent, evening wear and on-stage interview/social impact pitch segments. Private interview segments were held off stage during competition week.

Fincher won the red carpet competition at Thursday’s preliminary, and she tied with another contestant, Kate Webb, for the top score in the talent competition at Wednesday’s preliminary.

Scores received in the preliminaries were used to create a composite score that was considered by the judges on Saturday, and weighted as 40 percent of each contestant’s score in the finals.

Miss Alabama, like the Miss America organization, no longer has a swimsuit competition. It was eliminated at Miss America in 2018, and Miss Alabama followed suit in 2019.

RELATED: Should Miss Alabama bring back the swimsuit competition? Vote in our poll

The top 12 finalists this year were:

  • Emma Wright, Miss Historic Springville
  • Abby Sosa, Miss Cullman County Fair
  • Hannah Adams, Miss Covered Bridge
  • Mary Coker Green, Miss Shelby County
  • Kate Webb, Miss North Jefferson Area
  • Lydia Fisher, Miss Walker County
  • Lindsay Fincher, Miss University of Alabama
  • Ibby Dickson, Miss Jefferson County
  • Abbie Stockard, Miss Cahaba Valley
  • Taylor Blachford, Miss Iron City
  • Brianna Burrell, Miss Mobile Bay
  • Emee Baldwin, Miss Hamilton

Later on Saturday, the list of finalists was trimmed to the top five. They were:

  • Lindsay Fincher, Miss University of Alabama (winner)
  • Brianna Burrell, Miss Mobile Bay (first runner-up)
  • Kate Webb, Miss North Jefferson Area (second runner-up)
  • Abbie Stockard, Miss Cahaba Valley (third runner-up)
  • Emee Baldwin, Miss Hamilton (fourth runner-up)
2022 Miss Alabama 2022

The final five is announced at the Miss Alabama 2022 finals competition and crowning at Samford University's Wright Center, Saturday, July 2, 2022. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt

RELATED: Miss Alabama 2022: Meet 40 women competing for this year’s crown

Although glitzy on-stage activity is the most public aspect of the Miss Alabama pageant, there’s significant scholarship money at stake behind the scenes.

Cash scholarships in various categories are awarded to contestants during pageant week, totaling $125,500 this year, according to the Miss Alabama pageant guide.

The title of Miss Alabama comes with a $15,000 scholarship. The first runner-up receives $5,000; the second runner-up receives $3,000; the third runner-up gets $2,500; the fourth-runner up receives $2,000, all in scholarship money.

The other seven semi-finalists receive $1,500 each in scholarship money. The remaining 28 contestants receive $1,250 each for competing in the pageant. More than 50 other cash scholarships, in sums of $100-$2,100, are awarded by the pageant’s scholarship committee and various donors.

This week’s preliminary talent winners will receive $500 each in scholarship money, according to the pageant guide. Winners in the red carpet preliminaries will receive $300 each in scholarship money.

Several colleges and universities in the state also offer in-kind scholarships to the winner and other contestants, paying tuition, fees and other expenses.

Judges for this year were Jim Montgomery, Natalie Nudo, Molly Hazlett Simmons, Hannah Smith Bohn and Dave Morgan.

Alison McCreary Gengelbach, Miss Alabama 1996, was the emcee for Saturday’s program. The agenda included performances by Bradford, Hailey Adams (Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen 2022) and previous Miss Alabama winners such as Shannon Camper Chandler (Miss Alabama 2004), Tammy Little Haynes (Miss Alabama 1984) and Teresa Cheatham Crosby (Miss Alabama 1978).

Production numbers at this year’s competition featured songs such as “I’m Still Standing,” “This One’s For the Girls” and “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.”

Miss Alabama has been celebrating its 100th anniversary in a variety of ways this year, including a concert in March, luncheons in April, a gala in May and a cookbook published in March. A total of 28 previous Miss Alabama winners were at the Wright Center on Saturday to mark the centennial, ranging from Peggy Elder Butler, Miss Alabama 1947, to Tiara Pennington, Miss Alabama 2019-2020.

2022 Miss Alabama 2022

Peggy Elder Butler, Miss Alabama 1947, makes an appearance escorted by her grandson at the Miss Alabama 2022 finals competition and crowning at Samford University's Wright Center, Saturday, July 2, 2022. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt

Fincher said it was especially meaningful to be named Miss Alabama this year, with so many previous winners in attendance.

“When I was taking my first walk (as Miss Alabama), I could see all of them sitting together in the audience, and that’s when it hit me that I am a Miss Alabama,” Fincher said. “I’ve seen these women; they’ve inspired me; I’ve looked up to them, and now I am one of them. Joining this sisterhood is just a dream come true. There aren’t even words to describe it.”

Miss Alabama’s roots date back to 1921, although it took some time for the Miss Alabama/Miss America organization to be formally established, and the pageant’s early history includes a gap of several years during the Great Depression. A long list of Miss Alabamas have held the title proudly over the past century, including three who went on to become Miss America: Yolande Betbeze (1950), Heather Whitestone (1994) and Deidre Downs (2004).

Whitestone (now Heather Whitestone McCallum) and Downs (now Deidre Downs Gunn) attended Saturday’s finale, and joined other former Miss Alabama winners on stage for a group photo.

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