National Titleholders at Thanksgiving Day Parades!

Miss America sang in the Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia:

Miss USA rode in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC:

Miss Ohio Applause Newsletter - Issue 4

Monday my inbox was graced with the latest addition of the Miss Ohio Applause newsletter.

It confirms that Miss Ohio will remain in Mansfield for at least the next three years. While dates for the pageant were not listed, Spring Forum is slated for April 9th and 10th, 2011.

Other new dates:

Saturday March 19th - Miss Greater Butler County

Saturday March 26th - Miss Ohio Sweeps

Like last year, Sweeps will give up to six crowns at two pageants taking place in one day; one competition will be held at 4 p.m. with the second at 7 p.m.

The newsletter always lists the current Miss Ohio board. They are: Executive Director Steven Oliveri, President Mark Schnitkey, 1st Vice President Gloria Buwala, 2nd Vice President Holly Campbell-Bradley, Secretary Sue Swinehart, Treasurer Tim O'Guinn, Kay Hall, Pat Anthony, Ami Boley, Kim Kanary, Jay Jesensky, John Kunkle and Outstanding Teen Chair Drena McCurdy.

In other news, the board has launched "The Miss Ohio Higher Education Partner Program" with the goal of securing in-kind scholarships from Ohio's many colleges and universities. If you have any contacts to help this endeavor, email jjesensky@aol.com.

Get ready to be bombarded by DSW! The newsletter states that Miss America is "presented by" the shoe store. They're also sponsoring the "DSW Show Me Your Shoe Parade." The iconic parade ended in 2005 when the pageant moved from Atlantic City to Las Vegas. This year it will be hosted by Robin Leach at the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas on Friday January 14th, 2011. I have read elsewhere that it will not be an actual automobile and float parade; rather the contestants will walk, holding their decorated shoe.

The newsletter includes an order form for Miss America T-shirts and buttons supporting Miss Ohio Becky Minger. You must order by December 31st, or if you'd like to pick up your items at Becky's Send-off party you must order by December 6th.

Speaking of... The Miss Ohio Send-off party is Saturday December 18th from 5 - 8 p.m. at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania. The cost is $25 per person and RSVPs must be made by December 10th to Sue Swinehart at 59 N. 21st Street Newark Ohio 43055. SueS@missohio.org

Follow Miss Ohio on Twitter and Facebook

twitter.com/missohioprogram

http://www.facebook.com/missohio

CLICK HERE to see the entire newsletter and if you don't receive the newsletter, subscribe by emailing Gloria@rapidmailing.com

Former MAOTeens have set their sighs on the Miss America crown!

On November 13th Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2006, Maria DeSantis, was crowned Miss Staten Island.

She'll be the hometown favorite at what (I believe) will be her first time at the state Miss level; at the pageant the Miss New York announced that the state pageant is moving to Staten Island.

A week later the well known Meghan Miller became Miss Fort Worth, her third local Miss crown in the Miss Texas program. She, of course, was Miss America's very first Outstanding Teen in 2005 and also competed on America's Got Talent.

In Ohio former Outstanding Teen, Sarah Hider has her second local Miss crown. Veronica Wende has competed once this season and Ashley Miller competed a couple times last year.
Kelsey Ballew and Ali Nance have yet to return.

Miss Mansfield, North Central Ohio & Teen Contestants

A forum was held today for the young women who will compete Saturday, December 4th for the titles Miss Mansfield, Miss North Central Ohio and Mansfield's Outstanding Teen. A very reliable source sent me the following contestant line-up (in competition order):

Miss

McKenna Armstrong

Jessica Burdette

Priya Sharma

Courtney Fraley

Caity Jackson

Rebecca Ribley

Alyssa Phillips

Allison Goodwin

Ashliegh Jarzenski

Ashley Warholic

Courtney Crain

Amber Bussa

Heather Waterman

Elizabeth Wong

Teens

Brittany Abrams

Melanie Davis

Morgan Kindred

You can be a MISScellanea informant too! Feel free to email abbybollenbacher@yahoo.com; my sources are almost always anonymous, unless I find your information on another public site, or you agree to be named. Help me help you by sharing pageant info!

Pageant Pictures: Miss Northwestern Ohio

Miss Northwestern Ohio, Courtney Monk!

Not only is Courtney a Defiance native, she's a former Miss Northwestern Ohio "Lil Sis." Too cute! Below she rehearses with Miss contestant, Janel Frey:

Miss Ohio, Becky Minger

Caption this!

Visiting titleholder

Meggie Wittman, Miss All*American City, with outgoing Miss Northwestern Ohio Alyssa Waldman

Thank you Facebook for these pictures; specifically Bryce Bishop, Nina Ford Rivera and Curt Monk!

RESULTS: Miss Northwestern Ohio

[Left to right: Elizabeth, Alyssa, Courtney,
Chelsea and Jessica.]

Miss Northwestern Ohio - Courtney Monk

1st Runner-up - Alyssa Phillips

2nd Runner-up - Chelsea Hempfling

3rd Runner-up - Elizabeth Wong

4th Runner-up - Jessica Nelson

Interview - Courtney Monk

Talent - Courtney Monk

Miss Northwestern Ohio Lineup

Here's the official competition order for tonight:

1. Elizabeth Wong
2. Lindsey Davenport
3. Haley Piper
4. Kristen Fennig
5. Chelsea Heffling
6. Courtney Monk
7. Jessica Nelson
8. Alyssa Phillips
9. Christina Drake
10. Emily Moore

The Judges:

Kristen Carpenter, former Miss NWO and 3rd RU at Miss Ohio

Dawn Busler, has music & instrumental background

Eric Spiller, an Education Major Principle of Northeast Local Schools

Donna Dupree of Standing Ovations Dance Studio in Ft. Wayne Indiana

Kristina ????, Miss NWO 1997; also involved in Mrs. Michigan and Mrs United States pageants

Judges chair: Dr. Bob Barnett

Thank you Pageant Mom for keeping me informed! ;)

*Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone*

Best of Luck to the Miss Northwestern Ohio Program!

Tonight at the Defiance Auditorium a new Miss Northwestern Ohio will be crowned! This pageant has a rich history, including the outgoing Miss, Alyssa Waldman, who was awarded a Non-semifinalist Talent award at Miss Ohio. She is a beautiful vocalist, well on her way back to Mansfield, having won Talent recently at Miss Miami Valley and 2nd Runner-up at Clayland. [The photo on the left was taken by Ross Clark at Miss MV/AAC/FT.] Though I have not heard for certain, Miss Northwestern Ohio almost always hosts the reigning Miss Ohio as a co-emcee. In this case, Becky is also a former Miss NWO. Best of luck to everyone at the pageant, which begins tonight at 7:30.

Darlene Prince of the Crescent-News wrote a wonderful article about the ten contestants; most of the information is below, but CLICK HERE to also read about their accomplishments.

Lindsay Davenport

Age: 17
Education: Hicksville High School / plans to study Personal Training & Photography in college
Talent: vocal "Defying Gravity"
Platform: Human Trafficking / Slave Labor & Sexual Exploitation
Pageant Past: Miss Hicksville in the 2010 Hicksville Scholarship Pageant (non-MAO)

Christina-Marie Drake

Age: 20
Education: Defiance College / Media Studies
Talent: comedy skit "Hats"
Platform: Autism
Pageant Past: competed in this pageant the past two years; Teen Miss Lakeside 2006 (non-MAO)

Kirsten Fennig

Age: 17
Education: Celina High School / plans to study Education at OSU
Talent: piano / "Ballad Pour Adeline"
Platform: "No Opportunity Wasted"
Pageant Past: competed recently at Miss MV/AAC/FT; former local Teen competitor

Chelsea Hempfling

Age: 20
Education: Ohio State University / Mathmantics
Talent: lyrical dance "One-Hundred Years"
Platform: Developmentally Disabled
Pageant Past: none found; please email photo to abbybollenbacher@yahoo.com

Courtney Monk

Age: 20
Education: Anderson University / Music Education
Talent: vocal "Astonishing"
Platform: Fine Arts in Education
Pageant Past: competed at Miss Ohio in 2009 and 2010 as Miss Buckeye State and Miss Fallen Timber

Emily Moore

Age: 20
Education: Bowling Green State University / Tourism & Event Planning
Talent: vocal "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Platform: Self-esteem in Teenage Girls
Pageant Past: Miss Montpelier 2007 (non MAO); please email photo to abbybollenbacher@yahoo.com

Jessica Nelson

Age: 20
Education: University of Toledo / Biology & Pre-Vet
Talent: lyrical ballet en-point "Alice"
Platform: P.E.T.S.
Pageant Past: competed recently at Miss MV/AAC/FT, 2nd RU at Miss GC/CC and 4th RU at North Coast; RU at a couple locals last year

Haley Piper
Age: 21

Education: University of Toledo / Art Education

Talent: lyrical dance "Halo"

Platform: St. Jude Children Research Hospital
Pageant Past: competed at this pageant last year

Alyssa Phillips

Age: 19

Education: Bowling Green State University / Apparel Merchandising

Talent: jazz dance "My New Philosophy"

Platform: Ending Domestic Violence
Pageant Past: competed recently at Miss MV/AAC/FT and was a RU at a few locals last year

Elizabeth Wong

Age: 20

Education: Oberlin College / Law & Society

Talent: dance "Feelin' Good"

Platform: Cardiac Awareness
Pageant Past: competed this season at Miss North Coast and at Miss Ohio 2010 as Miss Huron County; Rhode Island's Junior Miss 2008

As always, email me with corrections and new headshots.

Pageant News: Miss Ohio Stays in Mansfield

Over the past several weeks the future location of the Miss Ohio Scholarship Pageant has been in limbo. The men at the top of the board entertained a bid from the city of Zanesville to move the program there. Finally the decision was announced that the program will indeed stay in Mansfield.

Miss Ohio pageant not coming to Zanesville

Kathy Thompson / Zanesville Times Recorder

November 12, 2010

ZANESVILLE -- Zanesville Mayor Butch Zwelling was visibly upset when he announced the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program will remain in Mansfield.

"I've worked on getting the pageant here for three years," Zwelling said Thursday. "I don't think I'll do it again unless there's a strong indication they would come."

Zwelling said he gave pageant board members a verbal commitment of three years and offered them almost $400,000 in hopes of luring them to Zanesville...

Zwelling said the in-kind money would have been for items such as a $5,000 break on renting Secrest Auditorium, which usually is rented for $10,000, and for at least $5,000 in security provided by the Zanesville Police Department...

"It would have been a shot in the arm for Zanesville," Zwelling said. "There are 28 contestants and you think that when they came, they would bring families and friends. I had a motel offer to give them 16 rooms for eight days and nights. The winner would have lived here. She could have gone to all the openings in the community and done special events. I'm very disappointed."

Zwelling said he thinks pageant board members made a mistake.

"But, we'll move forward," Zwelling said.

CLICK HERE for the entire article.

Miss Ohio pageant will stay in Mansfield

Lou Whitmire / Mansfield News Journal

November 11, 2010

MANSFIELD -- The Miss Ohio Scholarship Program will stay in Mansfield.

Zanesville officials had tried to lure the pageant there, possibly before next year's event in June, but the board decided Wednesday "that remaining in Mansfield would be in the best interest of the program at this time," according to a press release from program spokesperson Kim Kanary.

“Now the hard work of partnering with Miss Ohio to rebuild them, so they become self-sustaining again, needs to begin,” Lee Tasseff, director of the Mansfield-Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said today,

The Miss Ohio board was pondering a departure from Mansfield, where it has been for 36 years, without a written contract from the City of Zanesville, Tasseff said Wednesday...

Community leaders met with the Miss Ohio Scholarship Board of Directors on Wednesday night and went through the board's wish list point by point, Tasseff said after the meeting. "We said they were all doable. We did ask them, if they're sticking around, we intend it to be a partnership...

Kanary's press release referenced the partnership proposed by Mansfield leaders and acknowledged the "stirred emotions" the proposed move had created. "(W)e believe it ultimately resulted in a stronger partnership with more open and improved lines of communication," Kanary stated...

The board has declined to release Zanesville's financial proposal.

The Miss Ohio program operates with expenses between $175,000 and $225,000...

Tasseff said Mansfield has been the single best partner Miss Ohio has ever had. The city's lodging tax contributes $10,000 annually to the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program. Newman Technology Inc. donates $10,000 to the new titleholder each year.

Miss Ohio officials did not return calls seeking comment this morning.

Tasseff was grateful for the efforts of local officials to keep the program here. “It’s been an enthusiastic and very focused group of community leaders. It’s been a true team effort and we will continue that,” he said...

CLICK HERE to read the full article.

Pageant Photos: Miss MV/AAC/FT

Above: New and outgoing Miss Fallen Timbers' Alyssa Hanson and Courtney Monk.

Above: the crowning of Miss All*American City, Meggie Wittman; below, Miss Maumee Valley's have great guns... trust me, I know! ;)

Above: Maumee Valley's Teen Sarah Eash; below: All*American City's Teen Emily Tabar.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS BY ROSS CLARK!