Lakeland’s Railey Hughes named Ms. ABAC
Published 4:14 pm Monday, March 3, 2025
- Submitted photo: Railey Hughes from Lakeland (center) was crowned Ms. ABAC last week at the college’s Howard Auditorium. Pictured are (left to right) Vera Tyre, Mia McGurl, 2024 Mr. ABAC Hunt Stevenson, Hughes, Ms. ABAC 2024 Jenna Williams, Madison Jones and Aleigha Stephens.
TIFTON — Railey Hughes, a junior biology major from Lakeland, was crowned Ms. ABAC Wednesday night at the college’s Howard Auditorium.
Hughes is a member of the Advancing Toward Occupations in Medicine (ATOM) Club and is an honors student. She spends her spare time volunteering to help children with special needs, at school events in the Lowndes County School System, as a state judge for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) events, and shadowing in the South Georgia Medical Center operating room.
Hughes was also named the Interview Award winner.
Madison Jones, an agriculture major from Bonaire, was named first runner-up. The rest of the top five were second runner-up Mia McGurl from Jacksonville, Fla., third runner-up Vera Tyre from Alma, and fourth runner-up Aleigha Stephens from Dublin. Jones was also named Miss Congeniality. Anslee James from Sylvester was the Essay winner and Gracie Bananto from Warner Robins was the People’s Choice winner. Other Top 10 finalists included Jaylee Canaday, Evelyn Carreno, James, Bananto and JillAnne Maybie.
The 55th annual pageant drew 19 contestants and was hosted by the ABAC Agripreneurs. Each year, the organization selects a charity to support with a portion of the funds raised at the pageant. Samaritan’s Purse, a disaster relief organization, was chosen this year.
Hughes plans to pursue a career in medicine, specializing in anesthesia and returning home to work in her local hospital system. She is the daughter of Matt and Misty Hughes and graduated from Berrien County High School in Nashville.
