A record number of contestants -- 175 -- vied for Benton County Fair pageant crowns...
MIDDLEBORO —The Burt Wood School of Performing Arts has chosen to join the Miss Massachusetts campaign to raise money for both The Children's Miracle Network and the Miss America Scholarship Fund. Valerie Amaral, Miss Massachusetts 2007, is a teacher and former student at the local performing arts school and will be competing in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in January of 2008.
For as little as $1, supporters are encouraged to "Buy a Crown" during the afternoon and evening business hours of The Burt Wood School located at 63 Anderson Avenue in Middleboro, Monday through Thursday from 3-7 p.m. Each crown — with words of encouragement to Miss Amaral and the name of the donor — will be displayed in the school lobby.
The crown purchases will help support both causes: The Miss America Scholarship Fund, which made available more than $45 million in scholarship assistance this year through its state and local organizations; and The Children's Miracle Network, an alliance of hospitals for children which provide medical care, life-saving research, and preventative education to help millions of children overcome diseases and injuries of every kind.
For more information about participating in this event, call The Burt Wood School of Performing Arts at 508-946-1071 or visit www.burtwoodschool.com For more information on The Miss America Scholarship Fund, go to www.missamerica.org, and for more information on The Children's Miracle Network, go to www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org.
Rumors surfaced recently that Miss Ohio, Roberta Camp, will be singing the song “Open Arms” for her Miss America Talent. I heard from Roberta yesterday and indeed, she will be singing “Open Arms.” However, she is singing the original version by the group Journey, and not Mariah Carey’s version, as the rumor-mill insisted.At least one group is disproving Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s assertion that there is no such thing as a gay Iranian... The 2007 International Mr. Gay competition included 26-year-old, who represented Iran.
* Check it out again- this post was edited 9.26 at 11 a.m.
I have been on the job hunt for the past couple weeks, as my position as the Face of FOX Toledo is pretty much over. For the past month I have helped acclimate the new Face, but today was my last time in the studio filming commercials and my last event is October 6th.
Ironically, there has been some recent discussion on pageant message boards about whether or not to include your pageant experience on a resume. This is a topic that comes up every now and again; this time someone was reporting that a former Miss State USA was not including her title on her medical school application due to the pageant’s bad press. I have included my Miss Ohio accomplishments on the resumes I’ve given out; it’s the very last line on the page under “Other Experience.”
Given the recent negativity around pageants, do you still or would you include you crown conquests on a professional resume? (Direct link)
“You are talking about an organization that is promoting itself as the largest scholarship provider for women in the world,” Ms. Wood, 26, said of the Miss America Organization. “When contestants try to collect their funds, they encounter one obstacle after another.”
Ms. Wood said she was told that she would not get the $20,000 for winning the Miss South Carolina pageant in part because her two local pageants had not paid her $950 that she had won from them (Ms. Wood said that after she enrolled in classes, one group reneged on payment and the other dodged her when she tried to collect). In turn, because she did not receive the state money, the national pageant sent her a letter in June saying she was ineligible for the $5,000 from it, even though the deadline to use her national scholarship had not passed. “It’s like a game of gotcha,” she said. “What is very clear to me is that the goal is to not give out the scholarships if at all possible.”
Interviews with contestants across the country describe a Miss America system in which local pageant directors do not return telephone calls and e-mail messages for months, local competitions close down before scholarships are distributed, and the fine print in contracts creates hurdles.
In a statement, the Miss America Organization, based in Linwood, N.J., said: “While it is unimaginable that scholarships, which are the heart and soul of Miss America, could or would be wrongly withheld from pageant participants, we are looking into these allegations... The statement added, “The Miss America Organization is absolutely unaware of any young lady that has ever been denied payment of scholarships after properly following the application process.”
I held five local titles in the Miss America system, winning various Interview, Talent and Swimsuit awards and earning nearly $13,000 in scholarships. I was Miss Lake Festival 2001, Miss Lorain County 2002, Miss Miami Valley 2003, Miss Northwestern Ohio 2004 and Miss Maumee Valley 2005. At Miss Ohio I was awarded a Rosalie McAtee Interview Award and was a Top 10 Semifinalist.
In Ohio I enjoyed bird watching and nature photography, interior decorating and playing poker. In LA, I love all the hiking trails in the Hollywood Hills and Angeles National forst, but no, I don't go to the beach much as I should...
Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo is featured on the cover of today's Parade.Amy Polumbo, 22, restricted her page on Facebook to 100 or so people who knew her password. “It was a way for me to keep in touch with friends all over the country,” she says. But after she was crowned Miss New Jersey in June, someone downloaded pictures of her and threatened blackmail. She thwarted the attempt by releasing the photos herself (they’re quite innocent) but suffered weeks of embarrassment.
“I know how easy it is for someone to take advantage of you on the Internet,” says Polumbo. “The Web is a place where people can destroy your reputation if you’re not
careful.”
Dear State Executive Directors,
Recently, our office was approached by a writer from the New York Times inquiring about the scholarship program and how our contestants are paid each year. The writer had been researching this subject for several weeks and had spoken with some previous contestants who reached out to her directly. These former contestants, to the best of our knowledge had NOT followed MAO guidelines and proper procedures and therefore may have missed out on some of their scholarship awards. This will be the focus of the story.
Our office spoke at great lengths with this writer to present a more accurate account of the process that we have in place to present a fair and balanced story. Unfortunately, the writer seems to be focused on a very small number of girls that missed out on the scholarships and not on the thousands that benefit every year from our program.
We hope that you will understand when reading the story which should come out within the upcoming week, that it was handled aggressively, yet in an extremely measured and thoughtful way. Our Organization's behavior is beyond reproach and we hope that our position is interpreted in this way. Our statement is as follows:
The Miss America Organization is absolutely unaware of any young lady that has ever been denied payment of scholarships after properly following the application process. When questions arise and come to our attention, we are very proactive and call the individual state to discuss any contestant confused by the application process. The Miss America Organization is built on a tradition that spans over 86 years and continues to be a wonderful institution because it enables young women every year to participate in the Scholarship Program to further their education and to help them achieve their goals. The Miss America Organization will ALWAYS stand behind payments to its contestants by ensuring that its state organizations follow their own official scholarship agreements filed with our office.
We thank you for your continued support,
Sharon Pearce
Director of Communications
This was taken during a Fadil Berisha photo shoot;
I spoke with my former directors yesterday, the wonderful Eric and Linda Wagener of Miss Maumee Valley and Miss All*American City.
They have an impressive new sponsor and could financially offer a Triple Crown pageant! Yes, you read correctly, one pageant could culminate with three new Miss titleholders!
I say could because something is missing… The money is there, but the contestants are not. I believe the minimum number of contestants required to give three crowns is fifteen. Understandably, Wagener’s can not wait until the last minute to know how many crowns they are offering, so APPLY TODAY!
Obviously the new CMN donation requirement is reducing the number of local contestants and it’s been suggested it’s also why women are only applying for one pageant at a time. Even though Miss Maumee Valley/Miss All*American City/ Miss ??? is not until November 4, I urge contestants to enter early; you could have a one in five chance at a crown!
The Internet has dramatically affected every part of our society, especially pageantry. As we’ve seen recently, when the current generation of contestants act like their peers, posting information and photos on the Internet without a second thought, it can cause a major crown crisis!
Due to Internet exposure "appropriateness" is questioned at every turn.
How do you think contestants and titleholders should balance their Internet life with their pageant life, regarding sites like MySpace and Facebook? Read carefully, answers for both contestants and everyone else are all in the same poll... (Direct link to poll.)
Related Articles:
Revealing photos are becoming passe in America
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two decades after a nude photo scandal helped cost a Miss America her title, Americans may be adopting a more ho-hum attitude toward people who bare it all for the cameras...
Special thanks to Victoria's mom, Chris Miller for these photos! Click each picture to enlarge it. They feature Victoria after being crowned and in "Fun Wear," as well as the court and all the contestants in the Hairspray opening number. Oh, and of course that's me in the white dress with Victoria after the pageant... Yes, I know Labor Day has passed, but didn't you hear, that fashion rule is out of vogue, especially considering it's still 80 degrees!
Miss SEO Teen ($1,000): Renae Wright"She's very articulate, very polished," said judge Meghan Olmstead, who is a former Miss Greater Akron and Miss Summit County. "She has great leadership skills. You could tell in the interview that she really has an idea of the tactics she would take to tackle a problem."
Areas of competition included interview (30 percent), talent (20 percent), commitment to community service (20 percent), health and fitness (15 percent) and evening wear (15 percent).
"The best part is watching the girls engage the audience and really connecting with them," [pageant director] LeVeck said ... "And seeing their growth from year to year. An event like this really prepares them for things like the Y-City Star or other pageants. I'm proud of them all."
Tonight Victoria Miller was selected to reign over the Old Fashion Canal Days next weekend in Delphos and awarded $500. Victoria was recently the First Runner-up and Swimsuit winner at the Miss West Central Ohio pageant. 
CLICK HERE for an article with very detailed bios of all the ladies.
In the photos he's about 7 weeks, then 4 months
and now just over 10 months.
