Miss Leeds Area Courtney Porter is the new Miss Alabama after taking the crown at the annual pageant this past Saturday in Homewood.

Porter was crowned Miss Leeds Area last summer, which qualified her to participate in the Miss Alabama pageant. She will now represent Alabama in the Miss America pageant to be held in Las Vegas in January.

For Porter, this year’s Miss Alabama pageant was the culmination of years of preparation and one that was very emotional after losing her mother one month ago.

“I am extremely excited. Everyone in the top five was very qualified to be the next Miss Alabama. It feels like a dream,” Porter said.

Still, the loss of her mother was on her mind when she was presented the crown.

“It is very bitter-sweet,” she said. “My mother was the first to entice me to do pageants. She encouraged me all along the way. But, I felt her inside of me and I know she was there watching over me.”

The highest Porter finished at Miss Alabama previously was two years ago when she was third runner-up and Miss Congeniality. Last year, she placed in the top 10.

The Miss Alabama pageant consisted is a four-day event where 48 contestants participated in interviews, talent, swimsuit, eveningwear, and on-stage question and answer session.

Things got off to a fast start for Porter on Wednesday of the pageant when she performed a tap dance routine to “I Got Rhythm.”

“Dance is something that I’ve been doing a long time and I’m very comfortable performing in front of a large crowd. I felt really good about it,” Porter said.

The 2009 graduate of Auburn University and Clay native is now gearing up for a year as Miss Alabama. She has already made several public appearances and is preparing to move into the Miss Alabama apartment in the Birmingham area. On Saturday, Porter will serve her final night of duty as Miss Leeds Area as she will emcee the Miss Leeds Area Pageant, which is sponsored by the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as crowning her successor.

“I am very appreciative to the Leeds community. Everyone was very supportive, especially when I needed their support the most. They helped get me to where I needed to be to become Miss Alabama,” she said.

Sandra McGuire, executive director of the LACC and the director of the Miss Leeds Area pageant has spent a lot of time with Porter over the past year.

“I can’t begin to express how proud I am of Courtney. It was an honor to be on this journey with her over the past year. She has shown such grace and character during a very difficult time in her life. I know this next year will be full of great adventure and joy,” McGuire said.

After serving out her one-year term as Miss Alabama, Porter says she hopes to pursue a career that allows her to work with children.

For now, Porter will be concentrating on representing the state through public appearances as well as January’s Miss America pageant.

“It is an honor to represent the entire state,” she said. “It is something I have wanted to do for so long. I plan to do everything I can to represent my home state well.”

Porter is the daughter of Denis and the late Michelle Porter of Clay.

Also finishing in the top five was former Miss Leeds Outstanding Teen and Leeds resident Chandler Champion who was third runner-up. She qualified as Miss Center Point.

Porter follows Deidra Downs as the latest Miss Leeds Area to take the crown as Miss Alabama. Downs went on to become Miss America in 2005. Other Miss Leeds Area crown holders to win the Miss Alabama crown include Paige Phillips Parnell, who went on to be runner-up at Miss America in 1980, and Kalynn Chapman, who placed in the top 10 at Miss America in 1993.