More Miss Maple City Pictures

Miss Maple City
Heather Wells.

Awaiting the results, left to right: Jillian Dansko, April O'Brien, Brittney Riordan, Katie Wolford and Marisa Buchheit.

Awaiting the results, left to right: Amanda Culp, Heather Wells, Sasha Eby, Emily Pheils, Ashley Hartman and Amy Allen.

Former contestant Allie Krucek, Former Miss Maple City and emcee, Kim Baker Canary and Former Miss All*American City Lauren Hogan.

Former contestant Allie Krucek, Former Miss AAC Lauren Hogan and contestant Amy Allen.

Being Miss Maple City!

Being Miss Ohio!

Miss Scioto Valley Megan Wombacker and Former Miss AAC Lauren Hogan pose for a picture, while contestant Brittney Riordan signs an autograph.

Former Miss Ohio Marlia Fontaine and I.

Former Miss Maple City's, emcee Kim Baker Canary
and judge, Amber Stafford.

Miss Maple City Heather Wells and Former Miss AAC Lauren Hogan.

Former Miss AAC Lauren Hogan, me, Former Miss Maple City Erin Jeffery Rathman and contestant, Emily Pheils.

Entertainment for the evening included:

Miss Ohio, Roberta Camp,

former Miss Maple City, Erin Jeffery Rathman,

and this young lady who should definately be recruited as a contestant!

Miss Maple City: Non-finalist Photos

In contestant order [click photos to enlarge]:



#1. Amanda Culp sang “Popular” from the musical Wicked. Again, she won Swimsuit and the Spirit Awards. Scroll to the next post for her gown photo.








#2. Miss Maple City, Heather Wells- see photos below.












#3. Sasha Eby performed “Forget About the Boy” in character from the musical Thoroughly Modern Mille.














#4. Emily Phiels sang “In My Own Little Corner” from the musical Cinderella.

#5. Third Runner-up, Ashley Hartman- see below.














#6. Amy Allen’s talent was the vocal “I’ll Forget You” from the musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel.

#7. Second Runner-up, Jillian Dansko- see photos below.










#8. April O’Brien performed the upbeat tune “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl.













#9. Brittney Riordan’s talent was a tap routine to Nelly Furtado's “Man Eater.”

#10. First Runner-up, Katie Wolford- see photos below.













#11. Marisa Buchheit won the Talent award with "O mio babbino caro," see Talent photo below.

Note, Maria Minnick did not compete.

Congratulation to the New Miss Maple City, Heather Wells!

I am not a professional, but my pictures are better than nothing, though many are out of focus. Heather and Jillian's swimsuit photos answers the question- yes, Miss Maple City did adopt some of the new Miss America style. The pageant's theme may have been Disney, but the ladies were sassy and sexy in their swimsuit walks and poses. [Click photos to enlarge.]












The new Miss Maple City, Heather Wells, danced to Prince's "Baby I'm a Star" and spoke about healthy option in school vending machines during her Onstage Question. With the crown, Heather will be making her first trip to the Miss Ohio stage.

New comer Katie Wolford was named First Runner-up and Interview winner. She sang "Gimme Gimme" from the musical Thoroughly Modern Mille. Someone said she reminded them of me, particularly her Talent presentation. When I saw her onstage, I immediately thought Miss America 1998, Kate Shindle!


















Second Runner-up Jillian Dansko tapped to "Drums." When asked onstage about teaching dance to children with hearing disabilities she spoke about former deaf Miss America Heather Whitestone; she couldn't have asked for a better Onstage Question!


















Ashley Hartman, the Third Runner-up, performed a beautiful and moving dance to "Hide and Seek." Unfortunately she never stopped moving, and none of my photographs of her turned out.

Marisa Buchheit studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and thus it is no surprise she won the Talent award with her performance of the aria "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi.




Spirit Award and Swimsuit winner, Amanda Culp, was the first contestant; as a result I only got one photo of her in her swimsuit, but the angle doesn't do her justice, so I'm not sharing it. She wore a bright teal swimsuit, in the same style as my last competition suit, and that of Miss America, Erica Dunlap.

Many more photos coming tomorrow!

Miss Maple City Results

Miss Maple City ($1000): Heather Wells

1st Runner-up ($250): Katie Wolford

2nd Runner-up ($150): Jillian Dansko

3rd Runner-up ($100): Ashley Hartman

Interview ($75): Katie Wolford

Talent ($50): Marisa Buchheit
Swimsuit ($25): Amanda Culp

Spirit Award ($25): Amanda Culp

I’m headed to Miss Maple City with my good friend Lauren Hogan! If my other, closer friend Loren is near a computer tonight, he’ll post the results for me as I text him, but no guarantees!

Best of Luck to the Miss Maple City Program!

Tomorrow night at Norwalk High School Miss Ohio Roberta Camp will crown a new Miss Maple City! The pageant will begin at 7 p.m.; former Miss Maple City's Erin (Jeffery) Rathman and Kim (Baker) Canary will emcee, along with Roberta. Best of luck to Executive Director Dolly Ruffing and the following twelve contestants:

Amy Allen is a 23 year old vocalist whose platform is Urban Renewal through Habitat for Humanity. She holds a Master in Business Administration from Mount Vernon Nazarene.

[This pageant season: Spirit award at GC/OC; competed at LE/NO; Interview award at Clayland; competed at MV/AAC/FT.]





Marisa Buchheit promotes "An Holistic Approach To Student Health." This 18 year old vocalist attends the Cleveland Institute of Music.

[This is her first MOA pageant; she was a finalist at Miss Illinois Teen USA and Illinois Junior Miss.]




20 year old Amanda Culp attends Ohio University. She is a vocalist and her platform is "Art Education Awareness."

[This is her first pageant of the season, but she has competed in Maple City, Greater Dayton and Stark County in the past.]






Jillian Dansko is a 23 year old dancer. She is a graduate of John Carroll University who advocates Artistic Involvement for the Disabled.

[This pageant season: 2nd RU Miami Valley; 1st RU at MV/AAC/FT; 2nd RU at NWO. She has been to Miss Ohio as Miss Greater Dayton; she was a Swimsuit preliminary winner as Miss North Coast and was in the Top 10 as Miss Buckeye State. ]




Sasha Eby's platform is "Promoting Abstinence To Today's Teens." She is an 18 year old vocalist who attends Muskingum College.

[This pageant season: I believe this is her first MOA pageant; she is a former Miss SEO Teen and Miss SEO finalist.]






Ashley Hartman, 20, is a Communications major at the University of Akron. This lyrical dancer promotes Internet Safety as her platform.

[This pageant season: 2nd RU at Portsmouth/ SV; competed at MV/AAC/FT.]






18 year old Maria Minnick is "Making The Best Better: Getting Youth Involved Within The 4-H Community" with her platform work. She is a jazz dancer and student at Notre Dame Academy.

[This pageant season: she competed at MV/AAC/FT and was the Lucas County Fair Queen.]




April O'Brien is an 18 year old student at Bethany College. She is a vocalist who advocates "Donate Life: The Importance Of Blood Donation."

[This pageant season: competed at NEO, Clayland and MV/AAC/FT.]






Emily Pheils is a Broadcast Journalism major at Bowling Green State University. This 18 year old's platform is "Homelessness;" she is a vocalist.

[This pageant season: competed at MV/AAC/FT; 1st RU at Miss Ohio Teen International last spring.]




Brittney Riordan's platform is "After School Programs For Children To Focus On Positive Activities To Promote Health and Self Assurance." She is an 18 year old vocalist who attends the University of Akron.

[I believe this is her first MOA pageant.]





18 year old Heather Wells is a dancer majoring in communications at Youngstown State University. Her platform is "Hey kids, don't sit get fit!"

[This pageant season: 2nd RU at GC/OC; competed at LE/NO; 1st RU at NEO; 2nd RU and Talent at MV/AAC/FT; 1st RU at Miss Ohio Teen USA.]




Katie Wolford is a 23 year old graduate student at Bowling Green State University; she received her undergrad from Central Michigan University. She is a dancer who advocates "Helping Children Develop Healthy Lifestyles."

[To my knowledge, this is her first pageant in Ohio.]

Judges:

Miss Maple City 2001 Amber Stafford of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Pageant coach and enthusiast, Judy Kyees of Westerville, Ohio.
Rebecca Lawson of Bellevue, Ohio.
Journalist, Brandi Barhite of Toledo, Ohio.
WTOL News 11 Anchor, Brad Harvey of Toledo, Ohio.
Norwalk Reflector Publisher, Andy Prutsok of Norwalk, Ohio.
Marketing Executive, Jim Marchysyn of Norwalk, Ohio.

Miss Maple City

CLICK HERE for an article that lists the Miss Maple City contestants.
I'll post headshots and more here later...

I fee like Miss America…

I may have never won Miss Ohio, or really even come close; but I have to say, the jobs that my pageant experience has helped me get have made me feel like Miss America at moments anyway.

As I’ve said before, being the Face of FOX Toledo for a year was exactly like a pageant title, just without the crown. Now, thanks to my experiences from collegiate Forensics (speech) and my pageant platform work, I am a motivational speaker for a company that goes into high schools, giving presentations on how to get into college, and have a successful college and career experience.

Yesterday I was driving home from a presentation north of Detroit and got a call that they needed someone to cover two different schools [today] in Dayton. Worried that I wouldn’t be able to get out of the snow storm due to hit Toledo this morning, they booked me a hotel and I drove down to Dayton last night.

Sure, Miss America would have a chaperone with her, but as I drove to Dayton and checked into my hotel last night I thought, this is what it must be like.

You’re tired, but excited. * You won’t really know anybody, but at the event they’ll all be staring at you. * You have to look and be your best, with clothes you packed in five minutes and steamed in the shower. * You have to wake up at the crack of dawn, to coffee from a midget pot that’s not that good. * Your travel time is triple what you’ll actually have to influence your audience, but you’re message is so strong, and so important and you never know how far your influence will reach…

We talk a lot about finding a woman that can “do the job.” The trouble is that too many contestants let the subjectivity of pageantry whittle away at their confidence and they become consumed with changing to become what they see winning. As we saw from the Miss America reality show this year, it’s not about fitting a certain mold anymore. The important part is gaining experiences that you can walk into the interview room and share with the judges- proving you can do the job. Don’t wait for anyone to give you the validation, least of all, a panel of judges.

I don’t dwell anymore on never winning Miss Ohio, or why I didn’t do that well. I just sit back and smile, knowing with 100% confidence that I could do the job- because I am.

Robin Meade: Her last blog about Miss America

Did you read Robin Meade's last blog entry about Miss America, posted January 28th? It's oh so funny, but sadly not surprising:

i got in later than expected from my flight from vegas…so it won’t be my elmer fudd voice acting as your alarm clock this morning. before i finally hit the hay - i had to give you a’round up’ from the experience of judging miss america for the last week.

first off - were you happy with the winner? miss michigan kirsten haglund is the new miss america. get this - her grandmother was miss michigan back in the day, too. and she was there to see her granddaughter win the whole thing!

—-

at the airport in vegas, i got the feeling the judge is viewed as the “bad guy” post-pageant.
don’t get me wrong –the contestants are supportive of eachother — i ran into two at the airport. but honey …some of the people surrounding the contestants looked like real sour pusses, and couldn’t be bothered to hide it. then, on the plane, tim ended up by some folks headed home after supporting a southern contestant. when he revealed his wife was a judge and then pointed me out… you should have seen the daggers! come on ….there can only be one winner!