Miss North Dakota USA Resigns

To be blunt, Miss USA fans have expressed some discontent with their class of 2007, but Miss North Dakota was an exception. Most everyone was elated when Bethany Nesheim was crowned. She is one of few beautiful blondes in a field largely comprised of brunettes (not that hair color matters, but people notice). However, I came home from my roadtrip to read rumors that she has resigned. The following was supposedly posted on her Facebook group:

DECEMBER 12, 2007: Relinquishing the title.

I officially relinquished the title today. I'm really feeling relieved and excited about it, though it was a hard decision to make. I'm not totally out of the boat yet as I have to wait on official acceptance from the Miss Universe Organization of my resignation. But I'm pretty excited to be 'regular Bethany' again as I've never truly enjoyed the limelight. I more just enjoy being part of bigger ventures and goals in life, doing things that get noticed rather than me directly being noticed.

Thank you all for joining in on this update group. I'm guessing dissapointment might be a common feeling for anyone who was pumped to see me on national TV. Yes, it would've been a big deal, but so are other commitments I've already made in life.

You see, I've committed two years to helping college students grow in faith and life decisions. The organization I'm with is listed officially as a 'missionary order' under the government, therefore having regulations most jobs don't. Those regulations, and my own personal convictions, don't mix with keeping this title.

To briefly describe my career: I get to see students live's changed for the better constantly as I watch them grow stronger in their faith and making positive decisions in life. For example, it's one of the most honoring things ever when I get to encourage a student coming out of a bad relationship, or help sort through the options as they seek to decide what job to take after graduation, or see them spend their spring break doing things like helping with Hurricane Katrina Relief.

I get to be part of teaching students to develop healthy dating relationships that lead into marriages with minimal chance of divorce. I get to pray with small groups about hard things they are going through with their families or in school. I get to rejoice when I see students find the right career niche that they were 'made' to do. And at the root of all this, I get to see them grow in faith and love of God.

Especially for all the younger student women I know, I already end up being watched as a 'role model.' Often I'm not aware of it when they are -- I tend to hear about it later and then feel surprised that I did anything that mattered. But I realize that how I conduct my life becomes very significant when girls who know me as their 'biblestudy leader' are watching what I do.

Though I know this title would've given me a lot of platform to influence many as a role model, I wouldn't have felt right knowing I'd be compromising many other areas of my life. It's an integrity thing on who I am and the faith I stand for.

This Sunday I'll be passing the crown to the first runner up -- a beautiful girl who is a friend of mine and former pageant competitor. Her name is Stephanie and she'll be wearing my fabulously-designed evening gown to nationals. I'm so excited to write to you next about how it goes and the further meaning of things behind it!....

In Love,
- bethany marie

On a side note, Bethany competed a few times for Miss North Dakota (America). Her First Runner-up at Miss North Dakota USA is Stephanie Tollefson [right], also a former MAO competitor.

Pageant Press

Swimwear maker got no buzz from links to Miss America

It's time to pass the crown: After just a year as an official sponsor for the Miss America Pageant, Venus Swimwear has pulled the plug on its sponsorship of one of the most well-known competitions in the beauty circuit...

"Miss America is a great organization, but we considered the pageant to be a promotional vehicle for us," said Daryle Scott, the company's founder and chief executive officer. "But the pageant would have played a more noticeable role if we had a greater reach with a multitude of stores. We come from a catalog background, and we know that works."

Art McMaster, the Miss America chief executive officer, told the Times-Union last January that Venus was chosen for its noticeably sexier styles, a big departure from the sportier, modest suits from the previous sponsor, Speedo. The edgier designs were more in tune with the modern viewer, he said. The 2008 pageant will feature a markedly smaller swimwear company: Former Miss America contestant Sueanne Winn will design the swimwear under her label Winnwear.

...there's always a chance Venus will return to Miss America next year, Scott said. "We had a great relationship, and there are no hard feelings," he said. "But for now, we had to stand down."

Click the link above for the complete article; as mentioned above, this year's contestants will be outfitted with WinnWear swimsuits.

Tune-in Alerts!

Loren and I are headed on a road trip to celebrate our anniversary, but tune-in to 92.5 KISS FM tomorrow morning anyway because Lauren Hogan will be filling in for me! They'll be broadcasting from 6 to 10 a.m. at Toledo's Westfield Franklin Park mall collecting toys for needy children this holiday. In the 7 a.m. hour they might be having a mother/daughter beauty pageant! I say might because they're having trouble getting contestants...

The mother/daughter beauty contest is, of course, inspired by the new CW show, Crowned. It premiers tomorrow night after the finale of America's Next Top Model (which I hope Chantal wins!)

Pageant Press: Queen 4 a Day

QUEEN 4 A DAY - A pageant-winning NBC4 reporter allows others to bask in her reflected glory

At this moment, somewhere in America, a young woman prepares for her shining moment in the local beauty pageant. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, she will parlay pageant success into her dream job as a TV reporter. It seems that just about every beauty pageant contestant aspires to a job in television news. Channel 4’s Monica Day went the opposite direction. As of Saturday night, she’s your new Miss Ohio USA.

Already an on-air reporter, Day was crowned in Portsmouth on Saturday and will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant...

“Anything you can do promote yourself, maybe to a higher position or a larger market—if you can do something that’s going to give you that extra push, go for it,” she said.

That’s not to say Day’s motives are entirely selfish. After all, Saturday night’s crowning achievement was good not just for her, she believes, but the entire Channel 4 family. “How great is it for my colleagues in the station that I’m doing this?” she said. “It’s exposure for them as well.”

At last Saturday’s pageant, Day forgot to bring her all-important swimsuit adhesive, which keeps the fabric stuck to skin in strategic places. Another contestant, sensing her own prospects in the pageant were limited, offered her adhesive to Day. “We’re not all bad,” Day said.

A lack of bikini tape isn’t the only crisis Day has faced. A few years ago, when preparing for another Miss Ohio USA pageant, she attempted to obtain that bronze tan that got her noticed as a teen by applying sunless tanning lotion before going to bed. “I woke up to go compete and somehow—from putting it on at night, getting out of bed and going into the shower—large patches of this sunless tanner had come off my body,” she said. “I looked like a cow.”

There’s a great debate among pageant fanatics about which circuit is better. Miss America is a scholarship-based pageant that features a talent portion. Miss USA is about prizes and sponsorships, and it doesn’t have a talent competition. Both pageants hang their hats on the vast charity and volunteer projects undertaken by contestants. Day prefers the Miss USA system because of the brighter spotlight and professional format. “It’s highly televised on NBC and has great ratings,” she said. “There’s a focus on business, and it’s geared toward people who are really looking to promote themselves.”

“As far as going to the local supermarket and signing autographs, that’s not required,” Day said. “You wear the crown. The crown does not wear you.”

CLICK HERE for the entire article- I only included snippets.

Pageant Press: Tri-Valley students give Miss Ohio standing ovation

Tri-Valley students give Miss Ohio standing ovation - Roberta Camp talks to middle schoolers about her passions

DRESDEN -Miss Ohio 2007, Roberta Camp, is used to receiving standing ovations. But Thursday's standing ovation came from seventh- and eighth-graders at Tri-Valley Middle School.

For nearly an hour, she spoke to them about two things she's passionate about sharing: building character and the dangers of tobacco products. "Every school I visit, all of the students, they're so much fun," she said. "They know more than we think they know."

She shared her own personal experiences with tobacco, telling students the first time she was offered a cigarette was by a friend in the sixth grade.

"I flat out tell them that they will be confronted (to smoke) because I was in sixth grade," she said. By the time Camp was finished with her presentation, she'd left an impression on 13-year-old Rebecca McGinnis, who was impressed with Camp's presentation skills from start to finish.

"She's a public star and can relate to us, because we do have a lot of people who need to hear this," she said.

Principal Peg Wilcox said in the four years the new middle school has been open, not one student has been suspended for smoking. "She was a positive role model for a lot of the kids," said Nathan Winkelmes, 14.

Don Ripple, an eighth grade science teacher and a member of the school's academic team, helped arrange to have Camp visit. "I think because of who she is, it makes more of an impact," he said. "They've heard this from kindergarten on in health classes and such, but then to have a celebrity emphasizing it's not good to do, I think it sticks with them more."

Camp was accompanied by her grandparents, Evelyn and Loren Camp, who are residents of Zanesville. Roberta is from Grove City and is earning a bachelor's degree in communication from The Ohio State University.

"It feels great when I get a call from a school to speak," she said.

The photo above is from Roberta's Facebook account and the article can be found HERE.

From Miss to Mrs: Congrats Marlia and Ryan!

Former Miss Ohio, Marlia Fontaine, was recently wed in a small, private affair! CLICK HERE for photos.

Miss Tourism Results!

I don't know anything about the Tourism pageant system... but America was represented by a woman named "Yanke!" Enough said!


MISS TOURISM 2007 - PRIYANKA SHAH (India)
1st Runner-Up - ANDREA VIDAL (Venezuela)
2nd Runner-Up - LAURYN MAREE EAGLE (Australia)
3rd Runner-Up - TIFFANY MARIE YANKE (America)
4th Runner-Up - LARISSE ISAGUIRRE (Mexico)

Top 10:
YEA BIN JEONG (Korea)
ALINE AVANCINI (Brazil)
CLAUDIA MOLINA (Colombia)
PENELOPE LING (Malaysia)
LIU YI YI (Hong Kong China)

Best National Costume - ALINE AVANCINI (Brazil)
Best in Evening Gown - CLAUDIA MOLINA (Colombia)
Miss Friendship - PENELOPE LING (Malaysia)
Miss Goodwill - VERONIKA SHYTSIKAVA (Belarus)
Miss Talent - YEA BIN JEONG (Korea)

CLICK HERE for "India’s Priyanka is Miss Tourism Pageant 2007!"

Pageant Press... Well, Not Really...

Beauty Pageant for Camels

London, Dec 9 (ANI): Beauty pageants are not just for pretty women, for the latest to join the beauty race are camels! Mazayen al-Ibl competition is a contest held in the desert region of Um Rgheiba 400km (248 miles) from Riyadh, where camel owners gather to find the "most beautiful camels."

And the main indicator of a truly beautiful camel is its nose - a long and drooping nose in considered more attractive. "The nose should be long and droop down, that's more beautiful. The ears should stand back, and the neck should be long. The hump should be high, but slightly to the back," Times Online quoted Sultan al-Qahtani, who organised the event in Rgheiba on Dec 8, as saying.

"In Lebanon they have Miss Lebanon. Here we have Miss
Camel," Walid, moderator of the competition's website, said. The camel remains a celebrated figure of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Beduin Arabs of Saudi Arabia. (ANI)

What a waste of "World News!"

Pageant Poll: Tabulation Errors

RECENTLY EDITED- SCROLL BELOW!

Obviously what’s happening in California is awful for everyone involved. Can you imagine being crowned, and then told that a human tabulation error was made and you weren’t really the winner? On the other hand, the woman with the most points is supposed to win, and yes, contestants and fans alike often question if a mistake was made!
How do you think it should be handled?

Edit- 12.8.07

Wow! What a close poll. Thank you all so much for voting! It makes me wonder though, are these your opinions of how a tabulation error should be handled, or your opinions based on these ladies personalities? My first thought, as I wrote above, is that the rightful winner should have the crown, however, based on the interviews I've seen from Christina Silva and Raquel Beezely, I find Christina much more articulate and I think she would be a better titleholder. I usually vote in my polls, but I haven't in this one. I'm torn!

How did you interpret this poll and what affected your vote?
LEAVE COMMENTS!

Pageant Press

Roberta Featured in PNB

Pageant Press: Miss MV, AAC and FT

SCROLL BELOW FOR SEVERAL PAGEANT UPDATES!

Pageant Updates!

After I’ve been away from the internet, it takes me a few days to get back into it… I guess that’s encouraging and shows my addiction isn’t that bad!
Anyway, scroll below, or click on the following for several new posts:

Congratulations to the New Miss Ohio Teen USA

Miss California USA Controversy

New Format for Miss America, including a Top 15

Miss China Crowned Miss World

Miss Puerto Rico Pepper Spray Saga Continues

Miss America Reality Check Commercial

Congratulations to the New Miss Ohio USA

Roberta Featured in Pageant News Bureau

Miss Ohio, Roberta Camp, is featured in a Pageant News Bureau article. It draws an odd parallel to global warming; I can only assume Joe Whiteko wrote it during our bizarrely hot autumn.

America is stuck in the summer of 2007, even as the calendar shows us marching toward 2008. Global warming still has us in its insidious grip. Owww, that hurts!

But it's a lovely season to be stuck in. The summer of 2007 gave us the crowning of Miss Ohio, Roberta Camp, and she would be lovely even if the weather were cold. She's gonna knock 'em dead at Miss America.

She's from such a magnificent state, the Buckeye State. The people of Ohio are like people nowhere else. They're as warm as ... the Earth. And you know how warm that is. They gave us the old pageant welcome, and PNB will never be the same. (But don't eat the buckeyes.)

Ms. Camp's platform had a special appeal for us. "Change Our World -- Build Character" is how she sums it up. We like the concept. It's ambitious. If only she would change it just a little bit.

Here's a suggestion: "Change Our World -- Cool It Back Down." That would really knock 'em dead.

CLICK HERE for the PNB page, which is full of pictures.

Pageant Press: Miss Maumee Valley, Miss All*American City and Miss Fallen Timbers

After Wagener's pageant I tried to work some PR magic...

Over a week ago a story ran in the Maumee Mirror, but their website isn't very involved and I didn't get a chance to grab a hard copy.

It's the monthly spotlight in Toledo's women's newspaper, DOT.

The Toledo Free Press ran a short blurb.

Finally, thanks to the Miss Mansfield folks (I assume), a wonderful article ran in the Mansfield News Journal about Emily Cousino: Miss Mansfield: Her heart's in Ohio and working fine after surgery

Emily Cousino can get as excited as she wants today in Michigan Stadium, where she will root for the Ohio State
Buckeyes. She won't have to worry about her heart missing a beat.

Cousino, 23, Miss Mansfield, received a new pacemaker and a defibrillator -- all in one -- during surgery Oct. 1 to combat genetic heart disease...A resident of Ottawa Lake, Mich., just across the state line from Toledo, Cousino considers herself a Buckeye. She works as a dental assistant in Toldeo and goes to college there.

Cousino competed as Miss Mansfield in this year's Miss Ohio Scholarship Program. In 2008 she will enter the summer pageant as Miss Fallen Timbers, a title she won this month in the Toledo area.

Click above for the complete article.

Congratulations to the New Miss Ohio Teen USA, Chelsie Folden!

[Above: Chelsie Folden is named Miss Ohio Teen USA; Right: MAO Competitor Heather Wells, 1st Runner-up.]


[Above: Chelsie with Rachel Epperly, outgoing Miss Ohio Teen USA; Below: Chelsie with Miss Michigan Teen USA, Elizabeth Hawthorne.]

Miss California Controversy

Last weekend Christina Silva was crowned Miss California. Pageant fans, who had called this year’s pageant extremely competitive, were shocked at Silva’s win, to be blunt. A few days later a tabulation error was revealed and original Second Runner-up Raquel Beezley was given the crown.




Left: Christina Silva









Right: Raquel Beezley with outgoing Miss California USA Megan Tandy.






Click below for videos and news stories:

For a great ABC News article and video with an interview with Christina Silva (in the top right corner) CLICK HERE.

Now Silva says she just wants justice. "I don't want the title. I want the truth."

CLICK HERE for an interview with Raquel Beezley on FOX and Friends (ugh! I hate linking FOX News!)

Photos from the pageant: Raquel Beezley, Christina Silva and others.

Several more articles can be found HERE.

It is my understanding that each judge fills out a ballot to determine how the Top 5 place; they write all five women’s names down next to the place they feel the woman deserves. Then the auditors assign the following scores: 5 points for each Miss vote, 2 points for 1st Runner-up, 1 point for 2nd Runner-up, a half a point for 3rd Runner-up and no points for 4th Runner-up.

New Format for Miss America, including a Top 15!

Top 15- Evening Gown
Top 12- Swimsuit
Top 10- Talent
Top 8- Onstage Question

We are pleased to announce the show format for 2008 Miss America Live! As you will see, several changes were made to this year's format and we couldn't be happier with the final product.

This year, the announcement of the semi-finalists will be changed to Top 15! The Evening Wear Competition will be followed by a Top 12 announcement. These 12 contestants will go on to compete in Swimwear. After the Swimsuit Competition the field will be narrowed down to 10 - all of whom will perform their talents live on-stage!! We know many of you have asked for the return of Top 10 Talents, and we are thrilled to tell you that this year's show has been designed so that 10 of our talented contestants will be able to perform to a national audience during the two-hour 2008 Miss America Live! event.

Following the Talent Competition, 8 contestants will advance to On Stage Question. Then the Fourth, Third, Second and First Runner-Ups will be revealed - culminating in the announcement and crowning of Miss America 2008!

Another exciting announcement is that each night of preliminary competition will be hosted by one of our amazing Former Miss Americas. Tuesday's Preliminary will be hosted by Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000. Katie Harman Ebner, Miss America 2002, will host Wednesday’s Preliminary Competition, and Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005, will host the final night of Preliminary Competition on Thursday. We are honored that these three wonderful women will return to the Miss America stage as we count down to the Miss America Live! Finale on January 26, 2008.

We hope the excitement is building as we get ready for another year of wonderful preliminary and final shows, and that you are as thrilled as we are about Top 10 Talent returning to the Miss America stage.

Sincerely,

Sam Haskell Art McMaster
Chairman of the Board President / CEO

Miss China Crowned Miss World!

Chinese Miss World Sparks Debate: What Will First-Ever Win Mean for Women in China?

For 54 years, the Chinese Communist Party has banned beauty pageants as decadent and demeaning to women. Several years ago, the ban was lifted and this weekend Zhang Zilin, a 23-year-old secretary and part-time model, emerged from more than 100 contestants to become Miss World 2007... Zhang's victory is seen not only as a victory for her, but also an accomplishment for China.

As China modernizes, some worry that the focus on physical appearance and beauty, previously considered decadent or bourgeois, sets standards that are unattainable for most young women. At the same time, despite the growing number of opportunities available to women in China today, many females still feel less valuable in a society that traditionally still prefers to bear sons...

Click above for the full article.

Many are noting that two Asain women currently hold international pageant titles; Japan's Riyo Mori is the reigning Miss Universe.

The United States was represented at Miss World by Abigail McCary who grew up in Minnesota, and earned a B.A. in Psychology from a college in Denver Colorado. Click here for more information and photos.

Miss Puerto Rico- The Pepper Spray Saga Continues...

Click on the following links for recent news articles:

Fresh probe launched into pageant pranks

Do Beauty Queens Lie to Win?

Miss P.R. Willing to Face Polygraph

CLICK HERE for a video of Today Show coverage.

Miss America: Reality Check Commercial

Press Release from the Miss America website.

Congratulations to the New Miss Ohio USA, Monica Day!

A Great Night for Miss Day

NBC 4's Monica Day Crowned Miss Ohio USA

I know the Portsmouth Daily Times had a photo and article of Teen winner, Chelsie Folden on the front page of Sunday's paper, but frustratingly I can't find it on their website.

More from the pageant later...