Miss Greater Greenville's quest for the Miss Alabama crown ends this weekend with the state finals tonight at Samford University's Wright Center.

Kimberly Kirby of Hueytown is one of 48 young women from across the state competing in preliminaries this week. The participants are judged in the areas of interview, swimsuit, evening gown, talent and on-stage question as they vie for scholarship monies and the chance to represent the state in the Miss America Program.

Miss GG Scholarship Board members have been sending Kirby goodie baskets, gifts and cards of encouragement during state program week.

It seems the young woman has won fans of all ages who support her quest for the Miss Alabama crown.

&#8220Kimberly visited with residents at our local nursing home on a couple of occasions, singing for them, autographing photos and posing for pictures. They really fell in love with Kimberly,” Sue Arnold, director of the Miss GG Scholarship Board, said.

&#8220The folks at the nursing home now consider her ‘one of the family' and they sent flowers to her to wish her well – I thought that was so sweet.”

Kirby has also been supported along the way by a contingent of well-wishers from the Camellia City. Arnold and daughter Jennifer Grace, Julie Autrey and daughter Taylor, Joan Reynolds and several others – approximately 20 in all – have traveled to the Magic City to cheer her on this week.

&#8220Kimberly looks great and she seems to be having a good time on stage,” Arnold said Thursday afternoon.

The young women are divided into three preliminary competition groups -MU, ALPHA and SIGMA.

Kirby, part of the SIGMA group of contestants, participated in her one-on-one interview with the judges Wednesday and the SIGMA group's swimsuit competition Wednesday night.

&#8220Kimberly said the interview questions were really, really tough, but she feels very good about how everything went,” Arnold said.

After several snafus with her pageant outfits in the days leading up to the competition, the University of Montevallo student seems to be &#8220handling it all very well,” Arnold said.

&#8220Melinda Toole (the current Miss Samford and Miss Greater Greenville 2004) said if Kimberly could handle that clothing crisis, she could handle anything that happened this week just fine,” the Miss GG director laughed.

(Toole was co-winner of Wednesday night's talent competition in the MU group.)

On Thursday night, Kirby's group competed in evening wear.

Other activities during the Miss Alabama contestants' whirlwind week have included a charity golf tourney, and a dinner given by &#8220Southern Lady” Magazine.

On Friday, Jennifer Grace Arnold, one of the Miss Alabama Scholarship Program's Rising Stars, got to spend time with Miss GG as she shadowed her mentor.

The little girl was also presented on stage with Kirby on Friday night.

Last night was also the evening Kirby's SIGMA group was slated to compete in talent and onstage question.