Breaking Miss Ohio News: THE MISS OHIO SCHOLARSHIP RETURNS TO STATEWIDE COVERAGE

A very exciting press release was sent out today stating that Miss Ohio will once again return to the television airwaves across the state! When I competed it was on a local Mansfiled channel only, and last year they covered only the final night. The new deal puts it on the Ohio News Network, a state-wide cable news channel. This still doesn't help folks like my parents and grandparents without cable, but then again, Miss America's not on network TV anymore either... Nonetheless, it's an wonderful step in the right direction for our state program. Read more below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

THE MISS OHIO SCHOLARSHIP RETURNS TO STATEWIDE COVERAGE

Mansfield, Ohio – Steven Oliveri, President of the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program (MOSP) Board of Trustees, and the Miss Ohio Program announced today that they have signed a contract with the Ohio Media Group, Inc (OMGI). The production company, OMGI under the direction of Larry Mitchell and Jeff Baumgartner are happy to be part of such a wonderful program.

With the signing of this contract the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program will return to a statewide broadcast format on the Ohio News Network (ONN). The pageant will have un-televised preliminaries on June 12, 13 and 14 and conclude with the finals and crowning of Miss Ohio 2007 being broadcast statewide from the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield, Ohio on Saturday, June 16.

Steven Oliveri, Miss Ohio Board President stated, “We are delighted to go back to a statewide broadcast and feel this will open many doors for such a worthy scholarship program. We are also very excited with the growing relationship between the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program, the Ohio News Network and Ohio Media Group, Inc.”

Through an affiliation with OMGI, Buckeye Media Services has also been contracted to assist with Marketing, Advertising, and the new interactive website elements. “We’re honored to be involved with Miss Ohio and look forward to building a stronger presence for the program throughout Ohio” states James Minter, owner of Buckeye Media Services. Anyone interested in receiving general advertising or sponsorship information can contact James Minter at 614- 430-0267x101 or james@buckeyemedia.com

The Miss Ohio Scholarship Program, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization and an affiliate of the Miss America Organization. The program provides young women the opportunity to earn scholarship awards and participate in activities designed to enhance their personal development.This year's scholarships available at the local, state, and national levels are valued at more than 45 million dollars. Miss Ohio Week 2007 will kick off on Friday, June 8 with the Miss Ohio Festival.

For more information, please contact Holly Campbell-Bradley, Media Relations Coordinator for the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program at 937-603-7726 or the Miss Ohio Office at 419-522-6677. Additional information about individual contestants and other relevant information concerning the Miss Ohio Scholarship program can be found on the Miss Ohio web site at http://www.missohio.org.

Note, for the past five years, when I was a contestant, Larry Mitchell was involved in video and running the teleprompter for the production, under the company Mavrick Productions. Also, former Executive Director of the program, John Kunkel was the Executive Producer of the show. This press release does not make clear if Kunkle will continue as the producer, or if OMGI is in conjunction with, or a replacement of Mavrick.