Photo courtesy of Sally Blalock
Ms. Senior Hoover Sally Blalock, 67, says staying active keeps her feeling young. Encouraged by her daughter to compete, she won the title in February and will represent Hoover at the Ms. Senior Alabama pageant June 7.
For Ms. Senior Hoover Sally Blalock, age is just a number.
“When I think of myself, I don’t picture someone who is a senior,” Blalock, 67, said. “I try to stay active and involved and that is just how I live life. I feel very young at heart.”
Blalock first delved into the pageant scene within the last year after her daughter convinced her to consider participating in a pageant.
“My daughter called me and said she was going to sign me up for a pageant,” Blalock said. “I laughed at first because I didn’t really think that was something I would do, but she told me they focused on volunteering, and I love to volunteer, so that persuaded me.”
Blalock competed and won Ms. Senior Hoover on Feb. 13 in Fairhope and will compete for the title of Ms. Senior Alabama on June 7 at the Daphne Civic Center.
Ms. Senior Alabama Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enriching the lives of senior women, while offering opportunities for them to share their experiences, wisdom and interests with others.
The organization first started in 1987 with the goal of encouraging women ages 60–79 to pursue their interests and dreams, focusing on the idea that “you are never too late, and you always have a purpose.”
One of Blalock’s many purposes and passions is focusing on animal rescue, specifically with dogs.
“I have three dogs and have volunteered a lot of my time in rescuing animals and helping improve the dog parks where I take them,” Blalock said. “I think it was very eye opening for me when I was in the process of rescuing one of my dogs just to the world of animal abuse and how many people really do not take care of their animals. So I am very passionate about that and bringing awareness to the importance of rescuing animals from bad situations.”
She is also passionate about mental health and raising awareness for those who struggle with mental health issues.
Blalock, who has lived in Hoover since 1994, said she has loved her time as Ms. Senior Hoover and considers it a blessing to represent the area she calls home.
“Hoover has been so good to me and is really an incredible place to live,” Blalock said. “When I competed for the title of Ms. Senior Hoover I loved getting to meet so many incredible people in the pageant part of things. It really has become like a sisterhood and getting to meet so many incredible women who are doing incredible things has been such a gift for me.”
Blalock, who was a former flight attendant for 30 years and sold real estate for 40 years, said she enjoys spending her time now finding new interests including pickleball and paddle boarding. She also spends time gardening and working on fixing up various rental properties.
“I love a good power tool, but I also enjoy getting dressed up in a fancy dress,” Blalock said. “I think for me it is really important to focus on staying active and finding new things that I love in this season of life.”
She is spending the final few weeks leading up to Ms. Senior Alabama practicing all of the components of the pageant so she can be ready to compete.
“I am just really excited to participate and can’t wait to experience it all,” Blalock said.
For more information about the pageant or to follow the results live, visit misssenioralabama.com.
