Terry photo from MIss Alabama Facebook page; Smith photo from Smith's Facebook page.
Left: Miss Hoover Emma Terry reacts to being named Miss Alabama 2025 on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Right: Miss Vestavia Hills Evie Smith made the top 13 contestants.
After a week of remarkable performances, Miss Hoover Emma Terry stole the show in the Miss Alabama 2025 finals Saturday night, earning the Miss Alabama title and crown.
And Miss Vestavia Hills Evie Smith made the top 13 contestants who were able to continue in the competition Saturday night.
Vestavia Hills certainly was well represented at the state competition, with Vestavia Hills native Abbie Stockard, the former Miss Hoover and Miss Alabama and reigning Miss America, there to crown Terry as the new Miss Alabama.
Terry, a 22-year-old from Leeds who just earned her master’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, now advances to represent Alabama on the national stage at the Miss America 2026 competition in January.
Rounding out the top five in the Miss Alabama competition Saturday night were first runner-up Miss Phenix City Hannah Adams, second runner-up Miss University of Alabama Ruby Tilghman, third runner-up Miss Tennessee Valley Lauren Vance and fourth runner-up Miss Hidden River Abby Sosa.
Smith, an 18-year-old from Slocumb who just finished her freshman year at Auburn University and the first person named Miss Vestavia Hills in about 30 years, did very well in the preliminary competitions earlier in the week.
She tied for first place in her talent preliminary Thursday night with a baton twirling performance and then on Friday night tied for first place in her evening gown preliminary.
Others in the top 13 included Miss Birmingham Chloe Yates, Miss Eastern Shore Rylie Dewley, Miss Iron City Jada Winston, Miss Marshall County Emily Morring, Miss Samford University Jayla Duncan, Miss Trussville Regan Hanson and Miss West Alabama Emma Walters.
Terry’s win marks a proud moment for the city of Hoover. This was the second year in a row that a Miss Hoover was crowned Miss Alabama. Terry lit up the stage and captured the attention of judges and audiences alike throughout the competition, earning two preliminary awards earlier in the week. First was her elegant evening gown presentation Wednesday evening and then came her ballet en pointe talent performance on Friday night.
“To share the stage with so many incredible, talented and kindhearted women has been an honorI will never forget,” Terry said in an Instagram post Saturday morning. “I’m so thankful for the people who have poured into me, prayed over me and supported me every step of the way.”
Terry, a veteran Miss Alabama contestant who placed first runner-up behind Stockard a year ago, also noted in a Facebook post how she had to overcome some challenges this year that she had never foreseen. She had heart surgery in March after doctors discovered an extra concealed pathway in her heart that was causing dangerously high heart rates at unexpected times.
“It was a challenge to figure out that I had a problem and then find a way to fix it, and then getting back in the studio was hard,” she said. “But I continued to refine my technique, continued to get stronger. I’m super thankful to UAB Medicine and Dr. Blake Smith for taking care of me. My choreographer, Shea Sullivan, has been so supportive.”
Terry’s social impact initiative is “Stomping out ALS one step at a time” — an effort to increase awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and encourage involvement in the ALS Association’s Walk to Defeat ALS. Her grandfather, who died in April of last year, lived with the disease for 22 years after his diagnosis.
“It’s taught me how to be a resilient person because I saw someone who I loved most in the world fight every single day,” Terry said in a previous interview with the Hoover Sun. “He was never going to give up that fight. To see him be able to smile through a disease like ALS taught me to be grateful to walk, talk and appreciate the independence I have.”
Smith’s social impact initiative is to raise awareness for children affected by trauma, something she has been doing since she was 13.
