Leigh Sherer Seirafi (born August 29, 1973) is an American

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

titleholder from

Jasper, Alabama Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 14,352 as of the 2010 census. Named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, an American Revolutionary War hero, Jasper was settled around 1815 and ...

, who was named

Miss Alabama The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition. Alabama has won three Miss America titles: Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather Whitestone (the first deaf ...

1995. She was a top ten finalist for

Miss America 1996 Miss America 1996, the 69th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 16, 1995 and was televised by the NBC Network. Results Placements Order of announcements Top 10 # # # # # # ...

Pageant career

While a freshman at

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, Sherer was crowned Miss Samford 1992 and competed for the 1992

title. Sherer earned the Miss Cullman Area 1993 title and competed in the 1993 Miss Alabama pageant. She was named second runner-up to winner

Kalyn Chapman Kalyn Chapman James is an American model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder from Mobile, Alabama, who was crowned Miss Alabama in 1993, the first African American to win the pageant. She competed for the Miss America 1994 title an ...

. In July 1993, Sherer won the Miss Point Mallard title, earning her a spot in the 1994 Miss Alabama pageant held in June 1994. Sherer was crowned Miss Walker County 1995 which made her eligible to compete at the 1995 Miss Alabama pageant. Entering the state pageant in June 1995 as one of finalists, Sherer's preliminary competition talent for Miss Alabama a combined piano and vocal performance. She won her group's preliminary talent competition. Sherer won the competition on Saturday, June 17, 1995, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder

Amie Beth Dickinson Amie Beth Dickinson Shaver is an American conservative political activist and beauty pageant titleholder from Shelby County, Alabama, who was named Miss Alabama 1994. She succeeded to the title after Heather Whitestone, the original titleholder, ...

. As Miss Alabama, her activities included public appearances across the state of Alabama, including hosting duties at regional pageants and convention appearances. Sherer was Alabama's representative at the

pageant in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, in September 1995. Her competition talent was a combination of a piano performance of a medley of songs from ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' and a vocal solo performance of the " Habanera" aria from the same opera. She was a top ten finalist for the national title. Her reign as Miss Alabama continued until Alison McCreary was crowned on June 15, 1996.

Personal life and education

Sherer is a native of

, and graduated from Walker High School in 1991. The Alabama Public Housing Authority honored Sherer as their 1995 Volunteer of the Year. Sherer earned a bachelor's degree with a double major in piano and vocal performance from

in 1997. She was the first student to earn a full piano scholarship from Samford and won the Concerto Aria piano competition in 1994 and 1995. Sherer was inducted into the Kappa chapter of

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

while at Samford. She married Peter Seirafi. They have two sons, Peter and Nicholas, and reside in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

References

External links

* *
Miss Alabama official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherer, Leigh 1973 births Living people American beauty pageant winners Miss Alabama winners Miss America 1996 delegates People from Jasper, Alabama Samford University alumni University of Northern Colorado alumni 20th-century American people