Jodie Lee reigns as Face of the Future

New year promises to be an exciting one for Jodie Lee Jones, who is today revealed as Shropshire's Face of the Future 2009.

Jodie Lee, 22, from Ketley in Telford, says she is thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the Shropshire Star/Telford Shopping Centre competition. And she says her win proves that you should always chase your dreams. She entered last year's Face of the Future, reached the final 10 and was determined to try again.

See also: Face of the Future: in pictures

"I entered again because modelling means so much to me and I feel that you should never give up. You should always chase your dreams."

"I really enjoyed meeting all the other girls in the competition," she said.

One of her greatest fans is her three-year-old son, Cameron, who was thrilled when he saw Jodie-Lee in the Star as one of the finalists.

"He is a proper little poser himself and is always telling me when I look nice, or helping me to chose what I wear."

As part of her year as Shropshire's Face of the Future Jodie Lee will take part in events at the Telford Shopping Centre.

"That is fantastic as I come from Telford and spend a lot of time at the shopping centre," she said.

"I want to show that beauty is not just about being very tall and a size zero and I do worry that some girls look at the stereotypes in magazines and sometimes end up putting their lives at risk to try to look that way.

"My fashion icons are Coleen Rooney and also Gok Wan, because he makes people feel good about themselves."

Jodie Lee takes over from Oswestry's Cherida Lauriello as Shropshire's Face of the Future. One of her first duties will be to take part in a bridal photo shoot at Ironbridge Gorge - something she is really looking forward to.

"When I was younger I always loved dressing up and to be able to model wedding dresses will be amazing. If I ever performed in a pantomime I would love to be Cinderella because I love the old fairytale story and it would mean I could wear a fairytale dress."