BATON ROUGE — An Ascension Parish woman is set to represent Louisiana at a national pageant in Texas in June.

Miss Gulf Coast Annmarie Brumley is from Geismar and joined 2une In on Friday to discuss how people can support local contestants competing in the Universal Miss pageant and their efforts to give back to the community.

She also shared her message for girls thinking of taking part in pageants.

The Universal Miss pageant says its goal is to stress the importance of differences, not conformity. The pageant's motto is "Embrace You" for who you are, not what others make you believe you need to be. The pageant also stresses the importance of community service.

Voting for the contest is available on the Universal Miss website. The winners will be crowned in Allen, Texas, on June 27.