Trinity Christian School in Sharpsburg is inviting the whole community to watch one of its own compete on the biggest pageant stage in the country — and the story of how Sophia Wootten got there is worth showing up for.
The school will host a free watch party in early September as Wootten, a Trinity alumna and reigning Miss Georgia, competes for the Miss America title in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to the Times-Herald. Details on timing and location were reported locally.
Wootten, 21, is from Peachtree City and attends the University of Georgia. She won the Miss Georgia title on June 20, 2026, competing as Miss Northwest Georgia at the 81st Annual Miss Georgia Scholarship Pageant, held at the Bill Heard Theatre of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus. Her talent is vocal performance, and her community service initiative is AccessAbility: Disability Advocacy in Education.
Wootten was born with a cleft lip and palate and has a craniofacial difference; some reports note her as the first such contestant to reach the Miss America national competition.
Ninety-nine contestants competed at this year's Miss Georgia pageant — 52 for the Miss Georgia title and 47 for Miss Georgia's Teen — representing cities, counties, regions, colleges, universities, and festivals from across the state, according to Coosa Valley News. More than $85,000 in scholarships was awarded across both competitions.
Wootten's win drew immediate attention beyond the pageant circuit. According to the MDJ Online, State Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta, and Joseph Gullett, R-Dallas, joined a large crowd of family, friends, and supporters at the Paulding County Airport to send her off.
For Trinity Christian, the watch party is a chance to cheer on a graduate who is now representing Georgia — and, by extension, the Peachtree City area — on a national stage. Admission is free and open to the community.
Why it matters — A Peachtree City-area school is opening its doors so the community can rally around a local alumna competing — as a disability advocate who doctors once said would never speak normally — for one of the most visible titles in American pageantry.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- Wootten earned over $25,000 in scholarships at the Miss Georgia pageant
- Wootten is the first contestant with a craniofacial difference to reach the Miss America national competition
- exact watch party date and time (Sept. 6, 2026, 6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. start, specific address)
- 2023 Trinity graduation year
- specific People magazine claims on 20 surgeries and 'never speak normally'
- Wootten was born with a cleft lip and palate and has undergone 20 surgeries
Reported by times-herald.com, people.com, ledger-enquirer.com, coosavalleynews.com, mdjonline.com
Where this comes from
Written by Papalocal's AI from these outlets' reporting. It can miss or misread things; the outlets are the record.