Eighteen rising high school seniors are competing tonight and Saturday night to be named the 2009 Tennessee Junior Miss. In addition to receiving scholarship money, the winner will represent Tennessee at America’s Junior Miss in Mobile, Ala., in June 2009.

Chandler Lawson of Tullahoma, 2008 state Junior Miss, will be performing during the program tonight and Saturday in Memorial Auditorium.

Lawson, daughter of Dan and Karen Lawson, performed an aria for her talent at America’s Junior Miss. She has been accepted into Chattanooga Singers and the Opera Workshop at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she will be a freshman in the University Honors program this fall.

Lawson spent the last two weeks of June in Mobile competing with other state representatives for the national title. She won a preliminary interview competition and won the national community service award for a total of $2,500 in scholarship money. She said she plans to use the funds to help pay medical school tuition.

Traci Fant, who co-chairs the Junior Miss program with her husband, Charles, said several former winners will return to perform in the state program, among them Jasmine Au, who was a Signal Mountain Junior Miss.

Included in the 18 contestants are eight seniors who hold area Junior Miss titles: Michelle Brooks, Ooltewah; Rebecca Feher, Signal Mountain; Elaina Spiekermann, Soddy-Daisy; Lauren Ledford, Cleveland; Melody Petulla, Chattanooga; Sonata Leak, Hamilton County; Meghan Shelton, Marion County; and Katie Arnold, Rhea County.