Photo courtesy of Hoover Historical Society.
Tammy Littleton, the winner of Miss Hoover area 1984 and Miss Alabama 1984, competed in the Miss America pageant and sang in front of President Reagan on stage on July 4, 1984.
Long before Abbie Stockard was crowned Miss Hoover 2024 and later Miss America 2025, the Hoover Belles were setting the stage for pageants in Alabama.
In 1979, Faye Anderson founded the Hoover Belles, a group of young women trained in poise and elegance who wore large hooped skirts and attended balls and events at venues such as the Summit, Shoal Creek and Riverchase country clubs.
In the early 1980s, Hoover did not meet the requirements to send a contestant to the Miss Alabama pageant. While Anderson was still sponsoring the Hoover Belles, she organized the Miss Hoover Area pageant to allow young women from nearby areas to compete.
In 1984, Tammy Littleton was crowned Miss Hoover Area and went on to win the Miss Alabama pageant that same year. Anderson mentored Littleton throughout her pageant journey, guiding her as she prepared for Miss America.
That same year, Littleton performed during President Ronald Reagan's visit to Alabama on July 4, 1984. Impressed by her singing, the Reagans invited her to the White House.
Today, several young women from Hoover, including Littleton and Stockard, have achieved success on the national pageant stage.
