Jana Sanderson Biography

Jana Sanderson McEachern (born January 31, 1979) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Gadsden, Alabama, who was named Miss Alabama 2000.

Career

Sanderson says she entered her first pageant, the Miss Etowah County competition, at age 17 because her mother believed "it would be a good way to get some scholarship money." She was crowned Miss Etowah County 1997 and was a top ten finalist for the Miss Alabama 1997 title. The next year she won the Miss City of Champions 1998 title. Named Miss Jefferson County 1999, Sanderson was first runner-up at the Miss Alabama 1999 pageant.

Entering the 2000 Miss Alabama pageant as Miss Samford University 2000, Sanderson' preliminary competition talent for Miss Alabama was a vocal performance. Her platform was "Step Into the Spotlight: Motivating Children Through the Performing Arts". She won the preliminary swimsuit competition and was named Miss Congeniality. Sanderson won the state competition on Saturday, June 17, 2000, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder Julie Smith. Along with the title and other prizes, Sanderson won a $10,000 scholarship. As Miss Alabama, she made public appearances across the state of Alabama and the southeastern United States, including an address to a joint session of the Alabama Legislature on May 17, 2001.

Sanderson was Alabama's representative at the Miss America 2001 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Her competition talent was singing the song "I'm a Woman" first made famous by Peggy Lee. Sanderson was one of the top ten finalists for the Miss America title. Her reign as Miss Alabama continued until Kelly Jones was crowned on June 16, 2001.

Personal life

Sanderson is a 1997 graduate of Glencoe High School in Etowah County, Alabama. Her pursuit of a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Samford University was interrupted by her reign as Miss Alabama but she later returned to graduate. In October 2002, Sanderson became the director of communications and marketing for The Chamber of Gadsden/Etowah County.

Her family includes her mother Judy, an elementary school teacher, sisters Jill and Margie, and brothers Marcus and John. Her father, Brian Sanderson, died when she as 3 years old. She was raised Southern Baptist. Her hobbies include collecting Pez dispensers. On November 6, 2004, she married Danny Joe McEachern at the Silver Chapel in Fort McClellan, Alabama.