A nine-year-old Jasper County resident has earned the prestigious title of the 2008 National American Miss Mississippi Junior Preteen to add to her list of accomplishments.

Skylar “J.D.” Bunch, daughter of Sabrina Waters of Heidelberg, is a child actress, model and dancer. She has now earned the state NAM title recently through her successfully scored events and will be attending the national pageant in November in Anaheim, Calif.

As a part of the national pageant, Bunch will have the opportunity to win her share of over $500,000 in cash and prizes.

Bunch attends William J. Berry Elementary School in Heidelberg, where she has been a honor student for the 2007-08 school year. She was also named Accelerated Reader of the Year in 2007. She will be in the fourth grade in the fall.

The nine-year-old said she enjoys jazz and tap ballet and hip hop. She studies dance at Dance Arts Studio in Ellisville and is a part of the Jones County 4-H Modeling Squad.

Along with winning the state title in her category, Bunch also was the talent winner, the actress winner, the photogenic winner, modeling winner and won the most promising model scholarship.

During the pageant, Bunch was escorted by Taveon Horne, son of Katrina Holder and Marcus Horne. Bunch said taking part in the state pageant was exciting.

“It’s fun to do this,” Bunch said about participating in pageants and acting competitions. “You don’t know what to expect.”

According to a NAM press release, the National American Miss pageants are dedicated to celebrating America’s greatness and encouraging its future leaders. Each year, the National American Miss Pageants award $1.5 million in cash, scholarships and prizes to recognize and assist the development of young women nationwide.

NAM states that National American Miss is dedicated to developing the success of young women across our nation with a program that is designed to be age-appropriate and family-oriented. Pageants are held in each state for girls ages four to 18 in five different age divisions.

The junior pre-teen category, which Bunch was a participant, is the second youngest group of girls participating in the event ranging from ages seven through nine. The other categories of the pageant include the princess, ages 4-6; the pre-teen, ages 10-12; junior teen, ages 13-15; and teen, ages 16-18.

Waters said the May 31 competition was the third year that Bunch had participated in the NAM pageant.

“We just decided to try it out. That time, she came in first runner up in the 2005 pageant,” Waters said. “She won the state princess division in 2006.

“Then, she set out a year to focus on acting,” the mother added. “Skylar loves acting and she got her start at the Laurel Little Theatre with her appearance in 42nd Street.”

The proud mother said she has been working with Bunch. The mother said her time and effort resulted in the nine-year-old winning the title.

The state junior preteen said she also “met a lot of friends by just doing this.”

The NAM Pageants are for “Today’s Girl” and “Tomorrow’s Leaders.”

“The pageant program is based on inner beauty, as well as poise, presentation and offers an ‘All American Spirit’ of fun for family and friends,” according to the NAM. “Emphasis is placed on the importance of gaining self-confidence, learning new skills, learning good attitudes about competition, and setting and achieving personal goals. The pageant seeks to recognize the accomplishments of each girl while encouraging her to set goals for the future.”

Also according to NAM information, a new thing this year is that the National American Miss has added an exciting new prize– a new convertible Ford Mustang – to be awarded to the 2008-09 National American Miss queens in each age division.

In addition to the NAM Pageant, Bunch has also achieved other goals.

In 2007, she was the first runner-up singer in the Mike Beaty Expo. She was the winner in the child dancer of the year in the Mike Beaty Expo and the showcase winner.

Waters said Bunch has also been a cast member of PBS Children TV Show, Lomax the Hound of Music, which will air in September. The child actress said she is also appearing on Mike Epps Comedy Show and in Disney Movie-Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Waters said her young actress daughter is currently working on several other film and commercial projects. The child actress, model and dancer has signed with the Sharon Ward Talent Agency.