FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Megan Renee ∙ [email protected] Sheila Forrest ∙ [email protected] 314.341.3857 JOYE FORREST CROWNED MISS MISSOURI USA #HitTheStreet, Using Dance to Build Bridges in a Divided World (May 17, 2021. St. Louis, MO) – Twenty-five-year-old Joye Forrest has been crowned MISS MISSIOURI USA and will represent her home state in the 70th annual MISS USA competition on November 29, 2921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Joye has accomplished more in her 25 short years than most people do in a lifetime,” shares her mom/manager, Sheila Forrest. Forrest began dancing at age 3, pursuing her dream her entire life, hitting a few “firsts” along the way. She was the first African American to win MISS TEEN MISSOURI 2017, received the Sharon Disney Lund scholarship (named for Walt’s daughter) and attended the California Institute for the Arts, the number 3 school for the arts in the world. Forrest graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, winning or placing in several California pageants along the way, including 4th Runner-up MISS CALIFORNIA 2017. Post-graduation, Forrest danced professionally as a Laker Girl for the Los Angeles Lakers, in addition to appearing in countless music videos and commercials. “I’ve never taken anything for granted,” says Forrest, who credits her mother and award-winning actor/choreographer/director/producer, Debbie Allen for encouraging her to always “go for it.” College gave Forrest the opportunity to spend more than a semester in South Korea, Ghana, Japan, Australia and Spain, working with different dance companies to teach dance – a universal language – to communities that needed more of everything. “I wanted to share my joy and passion for dance with others. Sometimes that involves hitting the streets. There are people in need everywhere. So, in addition to dance, we started putting together care packages because people have to be able to live before they can dance,” Forrest adds. Currently teaching private lessons, adding online classes to reach students globally, Forrest has temporarily paused her studies for her Doctorate in Chiropractic to compete. She has always used her pageant and dance platforms to address young people, uplifting them, building self-esteem and working to break racial bias and barriers. Her dream is to unite our divided world and our divided state. If Joye Forrest is our future, ALL people of Missouri are in good hands. .