JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Miss Tennessee competition happens next week and local competitors are preparing to head to Nashville.

A sendoff was held Friday for Miss Johnson City, Miss Historic Jonesborough, Miss State of Franklin, and other teen competitors. They will be leaving for Nashville on Monday.

The competitors say they are glad to have their families, friends, and community supporting them.

“It means everything,” Miss Johnson City Lily Brock said. “I’m from Johnson City, born and raised, so being able to have this with the community is so important just to really rally around us together before we go off. There’s a lot of nerves that go into the Miss Tennessee week. So, this is the kind of the fun part before we really have to get focused and dive in.”

“It means the absolute world knowing that we have a full community and an army of people behind us ready and wanting to see us succeed,” Abigail Utterback, Miss Historic Jonesborough, said. “It’s been a really long preparation season, I feel like, but there’s always been positivity, which has been such a blessing.”

“Seeing the support that our family and our supporters have shown us today has been so special,” Miss State of Franklin Shelby Koerten said. “I know a lot of us are very excited and have a lot of anticipation for the competition coming up this week. So, to just see this, you know, wrapping of support around us has been very encouraging for us moving forward.”

At Friday’s event, the next scholarship competition was announced. It will be held in the Jackson Theatre this fall in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Miss Historic Jonesborough scholarship pageant.