Mia Heaston

Mia Heaston

Beauty pageant titleholder
Born	Mia Ann Heaston October 1, 1981 (1981-10-01) (age 30) Covington, Tennessee, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss Illinois USA 2007
Major competition(s)	Miss USA 2007

Mia Ann Heaston (born October 1, 1981) is a beauty queen from Covington, Tennessee who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007.

Heaston, was a resident of Chicago, Illinois when she won the Miss Illinois USA 2007 title in a state pageant held in Chicago on Sunday, November 19, 2006.^[1] She won the competition in her first attempt at the title and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Catherine Warren of Lake Forest. She is the first and only African-American to win the pageant, which has been held every year since 1952.^[2] Heaston represented Illinois in the Miss USA 2007 pageant that was held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 23, 2007.

Heaston is the daughter of Mark and Maxcine Heaston and has two biological brothers and three cousins whom she considers extended brothers.^[3] She grew up in Tennessee and is a 1999 graduate of Covington High School. Heaston previously competed in the Miss Tennessee 2001 pageant, after winning the Miss Tipton County local title.^[4] She was a student at the University of Memphis at the time, and graduated cum laude from the university in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism. While a student at the university, Heaston was initiated into the Epsilon Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.^[5] In 2005 she graduated summa cum laude with an MBA from Dowling College. She currently works as a Medical Sales Specialist for Alcon Laboratories in Charlotte, NC.^[3]

Heaston married attorney Dexter Benoit on June 13, 2009 in Memphis, TN.

References

1. ^ Little, Greg. "Covington native to vie for Miss America USA title". http://www.covingtonleader.com/news.php?viewStory=4039&cache_id=17937. Retrieved 2006-12-02.  (Requires free user account)
2. ^ Robinson, Jessica (2006-11-29). "'02 U of M grad goes from tomboy to tiara". The Daily Helmsman. http://media.www.dailyhelmsman.com/media/storage/paper875/news/2006/11/29/News/02.U-Of.M.Grad.Goes.From.Tomboy.To.Tiara-2511422.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dailyhelmsman.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com. Retrieved 2007-02-09. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Miss Illinois USA is native of Covington". Memphis Commercial Appeal. 2007-01-07. http://www.gogermantown.com/mca/my_life/article/0,2846,MCA_25356_5262069,00.html. Retrieved 2007-02-20. 
4. ^ Calhoun, Dianne (2001-09-26). "Tipton County native is Miss Mid-South Fair". The Daily Helmsman. http://media.www.dailyhelmsman.com/media/storage/paper875/news/2001/09/26/News/Tipton.County.Native.Is.Miss.MidSouth.Fair-1752422.shtml. Retrieved 2007-02-20. 
5. ^ "Fall 2001 Initiates of Epsilon Epsilon Chapter". Epsilon Epsilon Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.. Archived from the original on 2009-08-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20090808022912/http://geocities.com/eeaka1908/2001.html. Retrieved 2007-12-14. 

External links

• Miss Illinois USA official website
• Miss USA official website

Preceded by Catherine Warren

Miss Illinois USA 2007

Succeeded by Shanon Lersch

D&D Investments Titleholders 2007
Miss Illinois USA Mia Heaston Miss Illinois Teen USA Victoria Davis		Miss Maryland USA Michae' Holloman Miss Maryland Teen USA Allison Farrow		Miss New Jersey USA Ashley Harder Miss New Jersey Teen USA Alyssa Campanella		Miss Rhode Island USA Danielle Lacourse Miss Rhode Island Teen USA Rochelle Rose

Persondata
Name	Heaston, Mia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1981-10-01
Place of birth	Covington, Tennessee, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death