2023 Charity Ball Queen Lores Katherine Sharp

Queen Lores Katherine Sharp is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Howard Sharp. Lores has two younger sisters, Lucy Kate Sharp and Laura Lelia Sharp.

Lores attended Heritage Academy, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2019. She was selected as the Heritage Academy STAR student, voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” and selected Most Outstanding Senior at Heritage by the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. She was also inducted into the Heritage Academy 2019 Hall of Fame. Queen Lores was a member of the MAIS Honor Society, the National Honor Society, National Beta Club, Quill and Scroll Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society. She was selected to represent Heritage at the APEX Leadership Conference at the University of Mississippi.

While at Heritage, Lores was a six-year member of the cheer, basketball, and volleyball teams, serving as Cheer Captain both her freshman and senior years. She was the recipient of the 2019 Heritage Academy’s Sports Boosters Award. Lores was a member of and served as Vice President of MCA Social Club her ninth through twelfth grade years and served as Class President her freshman and junior years. As a member of First United Methodist Church of Columbus, Lores was an active member of the youth group and volunteered with Bible School.

The Queen is currently a senior at Mississippi State University. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. She will continue her education at the University of Mississippi Medical Center where she has been accepted into the School of Medicine, Class of 2027.

At Mississippi State, Lores is a member of Shackouls Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Society. As a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity, Lores has served as Director of Committees and a member of Honor Board. She has also been involved with Dance Marathon and Hands and Feet MSU during her collegiate career.

Community Service

Queen Lores has volunteered at Baptist Memorial Golden Triangle Hospital, Loaves and Fishes, Helping Hands, and other local organizations. She was recognized and received a Heritage Academy Excellence in Service Award for over 275 service hours. Lores and members of her graduating class from Heritage raised over $20,000 for Make-A-Wish Mississippi.

Additionally, Lores has volunteered with Camp Rising Sun and the Mississippi Rural Medicine Health Fair, where she assisted physicians and nurses with screenings for all ages. She also worked with Mission Acceleration Tutoring Program serving as an Academic Guide for local children who fell behind in school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A member of 2019 Charity Ball Court, Queen Lores is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Harvey Gatton, Mr. and Mrs. William Jeffrey Lowe, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lafeyette Sharp and the late Mrs. Juliaette Wise Sharp. Lores is the great-granddaughter of the late Louis Wise, Charity Ball King, 1974, and niece of Lelia Evelyn Sharp, Charity Ball Queen, 1991. Lores’ sister, Lucy, is a member of the 2023 Charity Ball Court. Lores’ mother, Amy,  paternal and maternal grandmothers, Gayle Elkin Gatton and Juliaette Wise Sharp, and maternal great-grandmother, Carolyn Sissell Elkin, are all Life Members of the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus.