By Cathryn Stout

23-year-old Ashley Serio rejects the term "beauty pageant" and she knows a thing or two about the pageant world. On Jan. 4, the Harbortown resident won the 2004 Miss Memphis Scholarship Pageant. The 57th annual Miss Memphis pageant was held at Theatre Memphis and hosted by the Memphis Jaycees, the young professionals division of the Memphis Junior Chamber of Commerce.

"It's not a beauty pageant; it's a scholarship pageant," she said, and she hopes to dispel that myth during her reign as Miss Memphis. Serio was awarded $16,000 in scholarships including a $1,000 scholarship to Baptist College of Health Sciences, which will aid in her study of nuclear medicine technology at Baptist.

Serio was not the only winner of the night. Jackie Patterson, Becky Burton Danielle Colburn and Aimee Parker were the first-fourth alternates, respectively. Other special honors included the community service scholarship awarded to Paige Copeland, the public relations scholarship awarded to Nakesha Duncan and the Spirit of Miss Memphis scholarship awarded to Lindsey Combs. In all, over $30,000 in scholarships was awarded to the eight Miss Memphis contestants.

Between pageant events, school and working at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the new Miss Memphis does not have much free time, yet Serio cherishes the limited quality time she spends with her sweetheart. Sorry guys, Miss Memphis is taken!

Serio knows that the prestigious title brings with it a demanding schedule. She plans to spend much of 2004 promoting her platform, which is discouraging drunken driving among teens. "If we can overcome the misconception 'It can't happen to me,' we could lower (drunk driving) fatalities." says Serio.

The old saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree holds true with the Serio family. Nick and Gloria Serio raised Ashley in Greenwood, Miss., with down-home values. Mr. Serio says, "(Ashley) comes from a small town in Mississippi. She moved up here to Memphis all by herself and has worked so hard for this, so winning is really a relief." Nick Serio is a junior high school teacher and football coach and Gloria Serio is pursuing her bachelor's degree. Nick Serio helps prepare his daughter for competition by staging mock interviews, but claims Ashley gets her ''all-American face and form'' from Mom.

The Serios' support, preparation and genes have certainly paid off. Ashley entered her first pageant seven years ago as a dare from a friend. She holds four other titles, including Miss Hinds Community College 2002.

Over the next year, the newly crowned Miss Memphis will be pampered and honored throughout the city. Cheryl Green, Miss Memphis 1995, remembers those days, "You're exposed to the best of the best of everything." Green reveals that winning the page was a huge blessing for her family because it helped to defray the cost of her studies and launched her career. Green now resides in Whitehaven and works as a Teen Program Specialist at the Girl Scout Council of the Mid-South. She pays the blessing forward by donating to the pageant's scholarship fund.

Ashley Serio now enters a rich legacy, following in the footsteps of former Miss Memphis winners such as Green, Pat Kerr Tigrett (1960) and Barbara Jo Walker (Miss Memphis and Miss America 1947). Serio and the other seven contestants of the 2004 pageant prove that beauty comes in all colors and sizes. However, Serio reminds us that the pageant is about beauty and brains. The city will be well represented during her reign and at the Miss Tennessee pageant in June.