On March 1, Morgan Zipperer was crowned Miss EMS 2008. 

“Dreams Come True” was the theme for this years pageant complete with Cinderella’s castle and carriage to adorn the stage. The emcee for the evening’s production was Lori Benassi-Parker, drama teacher at EMS. All musical arrangements were from Disney movies and the contestants opening dance number, choreographed by Emily Armstrong and Taylor Moore, was to “Just Can’t Wait to be King”, from Disney’s “The Lion King.” 

First runner-up was Ansley Simpson; second runner-up was Kailyn Mikulsky; highest GPA award went to Ashlee Griffith; highest AR points was Cara Usher; and Miss Photogenic was awarded to Karly Jackson. The 25 contestants voted Ashlee Griffith as Miss Congeniality.

The Miss EMS Pageant Committee and contestants donated more than $400 of the pageant proceeds to the Effingham families of the Imperial Sugar Refinery Explosion.