By Josh Troy
Clarksdale Advocate
Miss Mississippi 2022 Emmie Perkins will be coming to BASH Fitness in Clarksdale at 12:30 p.m. Monday to announce a partnership that will help promote women’s exercise, health, and wellness. While Perkins is visiting on Monday, the Miss Mississippi Corporation will formally announce that BASH Fitness will be one of the partners for the Miss Mississippi pageant. Perkins will be at BASH Fitness for 30 minutes and taking pictures for the announcement.
The Miss Mississippi pageant will be at the Vicksburg Convention Center June 7th – 10th. During the pageant, BASH Fitness representatives will speak with girls about health and fitness. BASH Fitness focuses on women, and Miss Mississippi Board Member Ashley Thompson thought it would be a good studio to partner with. “Emmie Perkins, Miss Mississippi 2022 is in the last 3 1/2 months of her reign as Miss Mississippi,” Thompson said. “She too, embraced her own fitness journey while in college that she documented on social media.
While we will be directly working with the Miss Mississippi, who will be crowned in June, we are excited to meet Emmie and show her what BASH is all about. She has been an incredible representative for Mississippi, and we know she will do great things in the future. It is so exciting that the Miss Mississippi Corporation and Emmie’s business manager made this visit possible.” BASH Fitness Owner Beth Allen looks forward to promoting fitness at the Miss Mississippi pageant.
“They used to do swimsuit competitions,” she said. “Now, they do a fitness section instead of the swimsuits. It’s the first year they’re doing it.” Allen said she hopes to partner with the pageant every year. “I’m excited because one of our platforms for BASH Fitness is not just local,” she said. “We want to grow this business outside of Clarksdale, and this gives so much exposure to other women. We want to reach as many women as possible, giving us one platform to do it.”
Allen said BASH Fitness is also partnering with the Miss Teen Volunteer pageant, which will provide another platform to reach other communities. She added that BASH Fitness has been in Clarksdale for 13 years, but recently, new locations opened in Helena-West Helena, Ark., and Batesville. Another BASH Fitness is opening in Tunica in April. BASH Fitness COO Ashley Freeman also said her company’s platform aligns with the Miss Mississippi pageant.
“It’s about women and fitness, and I like that they changed it to fitness and not swimsuit because everybody’s different,” she said. “A lot of times, in these pageants, women will have the wraparound about the bikini thing. I love that they changed it to fitness. For me, there are different levels of fitness. I think, through BASH, we can help all types of women, not just one specific person.” Allen agreed. “I think taking the bikini out of the competition takes away the focus of the body,” she said. “Fitness is not just about how we look, it’s also how you feel. We want these women to feel strong and confident, and, a lot of times, people gain that strength and confidence from fitness.”
A Miss Mississippi Sponsorship Committee member initially found BASH on social media, and things went from there. “The Miss America Organization recently brought back fitness as an area of competition, and the Miss Mississippi Corporation wanted to make sure that they had a fitness sponsor who could provide virtual workouts for the winner, but also understood the importance of helping the young woman love herself, have confidence for the fitness competition, and provide a network of support for the winner,” Thompson said, “BASH provided everything they were looking for, and we are all excited to get started. We had a great conversation and felt like it would be a mutually beneficial partnership for both BASH and Miss Mississippi to work together to impact the young women of our state.”
Allen recalled receiving a message from Thompson on Instagram at 4:30 a.m. one day. “I was like, is this for real?” Allen said. “So I called, and she answered immediately. It was like, hey, oh my gosh, and we just hit it off immediately.” Thompson was glad the partnership worked out. “I think it’s wonderful that the Miss Mississippi Corporation is embracing businesses and sponsors from all across Mississippi,” she said. “It demonstrates a commitment and trust in the citizens of our state to help get Miss Mississippi and Miss Mississippi’s Teen ready for Miss America and Miss America’s Teen. It’s a great partnership for BASH because it expands the reach of BASH throughout Mississippi and allows us to impact women across our state.
We tell people to come as you are, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned fitness fanatic; we want all BASH clients lifting each other up and helping each other achieve their fitness goals.” Allen expressed similar sentiments. “Other women inspire me, and I hope I inspire them,” she said. “We just need to lift women up. There are so many women who bring each other down. And we’re just all about bringing each other up. And so I think that’s what Miss Mississippi’s about also.”
