Photo courtesy of Sharon Pitts.
Ms. Senior Alabama Sharon Pitts is a longtime Vestavia Hills resident. Here, she receives a Top 50 over 50 award from Positive Maturity in July.
Sharon Pitts might have what’s known as “beginner’s luck.”
A longtime Vestavia Hills resident and active community volunteer, Pitts was crowned Ms. Senior Alabama on June 1 in her first-ever pageant, and now she's spending a year traveling around the state speaking at events and advocating for seniors throughout Alabama.
Pitts accepted the nomination to represent Vestavia Hills after her aunt, who is just a few years older, nominated her as a possible competitor. Pitts initially resisted the idea, but after looking into the mission of the Ms. Senior Alabama organization, she realized this was right up her alley.
“What I did learn about it in my research was that it's not a beauty contest,” Pitts said.
Founded in 1987, Ms. Senior Alabama is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of senior women throughout the state. Pitts said she was drawn to the organization’s focus on providing opportunities for networking, community outreach and volunteerism, as well as its efforts to raise money for other nonprofits throughout the state.
Encouraged by the way Ms. Senior Alabama inspires women over 60 to be engaged and adopt leadership roles in civic life, Pitts agreed to represent Vestavia Hills. She also admitted that the pageant sounded like it would be a hoot and a half.
"I thought it would be fun. I hadn't dressed up and gone anywhere since I retired," Pitts said. “I didn't think I would have a chance, but the judges just see things differently, I guess.”
Born Sharon Lanzi, Pitts grew up in the Green Acres community in west Birmingham and attended Blessed Sacrament Academy, the city’s first Catholic high school. She moved to Vestavia Hills with her husband, Joe, in 1986, settling in the Crossgate community. Pitts worked for over 30 years in human resources with Regions Bank, retiring as the manager of executive compensation in 2017.
Over the years, Pitts has kept a busy schedule as a volunteer with Our Lady of Sorrows in Homewood, including co-presidency of the church’s Ladies’ Sodality, and other local nonprofits such as serving as a board member of the Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Center and The Dance Foundation. Ms. Senior Alabama, Pitts said, has given her a platform to raise awareness for the organizations and causes she supports.
Contestants in the Ms. Senior Alabama pageant, held in Daphne, were judged on active lifestyles, an on-stage interview and evening gown display. To prepare, Pitts purchased a gown at The Clothes Tree in the Rocky Ridge community and eventually hired David Ingram, a local pageant consultant, shortly before the event.
"I turned him down for the longest time and then finally, the last week before the pageant, I thought I could use some help walking across the stage," Pitts said. “I asked him to coach on what the pageant walk was all about because I had no idea.”
She also credits her years in human resources spent interviewing candidates for positions at Regions for giving her an edge in the pageant.
"The interview was probably the area that I was most comfortable. I knew they weren't going to ask me questions where I would just be able to answer 'yes' or 'no,'” Pitts said. "I knew I was going to have to speak extemporaneously as part of my answers."
Pitts said she now spends time encouraging senior to engage in their communities and find purpose during their retirement years.
“Now that I'm retired, I'm finally able to do all the things I always wanted to do but couldn't because my career was so demanding," Pitts said. “I will be focused on staying active to the extent that you can, getting involved in something, to stay moving and to keep thinking.”
Pitts also is scheduled to compete in the 2025 Ms. Senior World competition, set for November 2025, in Biloxi, Mississippi.
For more information about Ms. Senior Alabama or Ms. Senior World, visit mssenioralabama.com or seniorworldpageants.com.
