Miss Mansfield goes stateside

Eight weeks after winning the Miss Mansfield and Sherwood Forest 2017, Jessica Pinnick flew to Mansfield, Ohio, home of the Miss Ohio competition.

The 23-year-old’s trip was sponsored by the Mansfield Sister Cities Association, which holds a fundraising event each year to fund the flights for Miss Mansfield & Sherwood Forest.

Jessica said: “I felt extremely proud to be representing Mansfield, England, at this amazing week-long event.

“I was also excited to experience an American pageant and meet the contestants competing to be Miss Ohio.

“The winner then goes on to the Miss America competition. One of the big differences of this pageant is the girls are competing to win scholarship money – Miss America is one of the biggest providers of scholarships in the world.”

During her trip, Jessica attended a variety of events including a meeting with the Rotary Club, celebrity waitressing at Applebee’s and two charity luncheons where she spoke about her chosen charity Guide Dogs for The Blind.

Jessica, from Bilsthorpe and now living in Mansfield, said: “I was lucky enough to be asked to perform on the evening of the Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen final and chose to sing a song by British artist Ella Henderson.

“I was also privileged to be part of the Miss Ohio parade through the centre of Mansfield, ending at the incredible hand-painted carousel in the heart of the town.”

She signed autographs for young girls inspired by the Miss Ohio contestants and spent time getting to know the other girls.

Jessica, a former pupil of Ollerton’s The Dukeries Academy, said: “I stayed with a wonderful family for the 12 days I was in America who kindly offered to host us in their home.

“Their daughter is actually the current Miss Arnold Teen Fitness in America, a pageant ran by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“During the downtime I had in Ohio, I visited the Ohio State Reformatory, which was an active prison until 1990. It’s also the location where the movie Shawshank Redemption was filmed which was amazing to see.

“The whole experience was one I’ll never forget and I met so many wonderful people on my trip – I hope to stay in touch with the family I stayed with and follow the journey of the new Miss Ohio, Sarah Clapper, as she goes to Miss America.”

Over the coming months, Jessica has more fundraising events including collections in local supermarkets, a dog photoshoot day and is taking part in a sponsored obstacle race.