Teresa Ann Cheatham-Crosby (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Cheatham) is a vocal instructor from

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

who was named Miss Alabama 1978 and finished first runner-up at

Miss America 1979 Miss America 1979, the 52nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1978 on NBC, NBC Network. Kylene Barker was the first Miss Virginia to win the crown. Results Placements Awards Prel ...

Early life

She attended

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...

, graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal performance with a minor in drama.

Miss Alabama

Entering the statewide pageant as Miss Point Mallard, Cheatham-Crosby won the title of

Miss Alabama The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition. Alabama has won four Miss America titles: Abbie Stockard in 2025, Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather White ...

in 1978. She finished first runner-up at

on September 9, 1978. She won the talent competition and the swimsuit competition in the Miss America Pageant.

Life after Miss Alabama

Following her reign as Miss Alabama, she toured

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

performing as part of the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

USO tour along with several other contestants in the pageant. Cheatham married Tommy Charles "Chuck" Stricklin in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

on May 26, 1990. Since 2001, she has worked as a vocal instructor at

References

External links

*
Teresa Cheatham-Crosby - Jacksonville State University Department of Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheatham, Teresa 1957 births Living people American beauty pageant winners Jacksonville State University alumni Miss Alabama winners Miss America 1979 delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Calhoun County, Alabama