January 25, 2009

Congratulations Miss America 2009, Katie Stam of Indiana!!

Whew – what a night! As I sit and type this, I think about how someone’s life has just been changed forever. 

So, here’s a bit of a review of the pageant. Prior to the telecast beginning, all of the former Miss America’s in attendance came up on stage – there were so many!  It was great to see how many were there to support the organization that gave them so much. Then the unofficial host came out to make sure we were all “warmed up” for the broadcast to begin. This is the guy who talks to us during all of the commercial breaks and keeps the audience energy up – he was really pretty funny (unfortunately, I cannot remember his name…). Then Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen sang the National Anthem, and I just kept thinking, “I wonder how long until she’s Miss Alabama?” Girl can SING.

Then the telecast began, and the contestants began introducing themselves. As I expected, I am officially a mess and am fighting back tears at this point. I was so excited/nervous for them all! I just remember the energy I felt when I knew I was being seen on TV by all of the people in my home state who were watching, just to catch a glimpse of me…  it’s such an awesome feeling.

And then they introduced the top 15, starting with America’s four choices from the reality series. And they were:  South Dakota, Georgia, Indiana and Alabama. Okay, I need a moment here. As you know, I am originally from South Dakota and I served on the judging panel that selected Miss South Dakota this year. She broke an over 30-year streak to get South Dakota back in the semi-finals, and I couldn’t be more proud of this girl. Okay, I’ll stop there. 

The remainder of the top 15 was:  Michigan, Delaware, Arkansas, Hawaii, District of Columbia, Iowa, New York, California, Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida. Congrats, ladies!!

The contestants who did not advance to the top 15 then retreated to couches at the back left of the stage, where they remained for the duration of the pageant. I liked that they were able to be out there, but I do wish they would’ve had a moment to go backstage first.  I’m sure they would’ve liked to have taken a breath or two, but they sure seemed to handle it well.

Swimsuit competition was up next, and it was so crazy to watch the contestants making their way down the stage while the camera guys were sliding the cameras right across the stage at them! Crazy.They were FIERCE, weren’t they? As I’ve said before, these ladies are fit. They came prepared, and their hard work really showed.

Next, they called 12 forward to compete in evening wear, and those were:
Michigan, Tennessee, Hawaii, California, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, District of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas and New York.

My favorite gown was probably Arkansas – it was really amazing onstage. I also like a little “bling”, and that girl worked it well.

Next, they had all 12 girls get ready for talent, and they called out the top 10 one at a time and had each contestant then immediately compete in talent. While I do understand the suspense that this builds, I sure wouldn’t enjoy having to sit there and wait to see if I were called to make it into the top 10…  Though again, the girls handled it well and it was nice to be able to see them all sitting there supporting one another.

So the top 10 who then competed in talent were: District of Columbia, Georgia, New York, Hawaii, Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, California, Iowa and Michigan.Of the talents, I must say that Georgia stood out to me here – dang, that girl can SING! There were some really good dancers as well, such as Iowa’s tap performance. So impressive, ladies!

Immediately following the talent competition, the ladies were then cut down to seven to compete in a question asked by someone on the street in Vegas. I liked this idea, and thought the questions asked were actually really good. The top seven were:  New York, California, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana and Georgia.

And finally, it was time to announce the runners up and the new Miss America. The final results were:
Fourth Runner-Up:  Miss Florida
Third Runner-Up:  Miss New York
Second Runner-Up:  Iowa
First Runner-Up:  Georgia
And the new Miss America:  Miss Indiana

Katie was so genuinely amazed by the whole moment – I loved watching her. I love that from the beginning of the reality series, Miss Indiana stood out as a strong contender. Plus, she was one of America’s choices, so you all should feel proud that you were smart enough to choose the next Miss America! I think she will do an incredible job, and will represent this organization well.

I attended the visitation after the final, and they announced that Miss Texas was selected by the contestants as Miss Congeniality.They also announced the non-finalist talent winners: Miss Arizona, Miss Pennsylvania, Miss South Carolina, Miss Utah and Miss Vermont. Congrats, ladies!!

I remember the feeling I felt when Miss America was over when I competed – a strange mix of exhaustion and sadness. Not sadness because of my performance or placement, but because the whole thing that I had prepared for and thought about for so long was over. In that sense, it’s a huge let down afterward.  I think contestants definitely need a good week or two to decompress after Miss America happens, just to get their heads back on straight! I also feel that same way in a sense tonight, because I have had such an amazing time writing this blog and really becoming a part of the process on such an interesting level. 

The TLC folks who I have worked with have been awesome, and I also wanted to thank the Miss America Organization for letting the blog idea happen, and for being supportive of it. I really feel that I have a lot to say when it comes to this organization, and I hope that my thoughts and/or opinions have helped in some way along the process. This truly is a wonderful organization that I have been so proud to be associated with. 

And with that, I think I will sign out for *sniff sniff* the final time – Congratulations again to Katie and to all of the ladies!!

See blogger Nicole Nigg at this year's Miss America pageant with three other former Miss South Dakotas (from left to right: Nicole Nigg, Miss South Dakota 2000; Kimberly McKay, Miss South Dakota 1995; Alexandra Hoff, Miss South Dakota 2008; and Kristi Bauer Richter, Miss South Dakota, 1994. View this photo

Other pageant photos:

The view from Nicole's Las Vegas hotel room: View this photo

Nicole in front of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, where the Miss America Pageant aired live. View this photo

The front of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino: View this photo

"Countdown to the Crown": Episode Four -- Talent, and Surprises!!

January 23, 2009

The final episode has shown, and NOW it is in your hands, America!!! The clock is ticking, and only time, will tell just who the lucky four contestants are who get your vote to move on to the semifinals.  But first, for a little recap:

So, they announce that the team that wins the final team challenge will ALL win a gold sash, and that the final challenge is an original talent show.  Each team has to create a 3-minute talent show, and the team who does the best job of showcasing talent, entertaining and utilizing teamwork wins.  I thought it was really cute to see the contestants really get original with things! One team WROTE a song, and another did a big ‘ol a cappella rendition of Amazing Grace with harmonies for cryin’ out loud! There was everything from serious ballad songs with dance accompaniment to a fun skit really poking fun of themselves as well as the consultants. And the guest consultant was Miss America 1981, Susan Powell (again with a former Miss A as a guest consultant – woo hoo!)

In the end, the green team came out on top, and each member was awarded a gold sash. It was at that point that the consultants were told that they had a four wildcard picks to award the final gold sashes to. They could look back throughout the whole Countdown to the Crown process and choose four additional contestants who have shown promise in all areas. The four wildcard choices were Alabama, California, Iowa and Kansas.

So, the complete list of gold sash holders are:
Indiana
Georgia
South Dakota
Florida
Texas
Virgin Islands
Delaware
Idaho
Hawaii
Wisconsin
Ohio
Alabama
California
Iowa
Kansas

To vote, simply text the state name of the contestant to 97979, or you can vote online at www.tlc.com/missamerica. Tell your family, tell your friends! But whatever you do, VOTE!!! This is it – It’s your chance to really be a part of the process, folks.  I cannot wait to see what happens at the finals!!!

*On a side note:  Vegas is GREAT!  I am staying right at the Planet Hollywood hotel where the pageant is being held, and Miss America’s picture is EVERYWHERE – billboards, blinking signs, hanging signs, TV screens, and even on my keycard!! They are embracing this pageant wholeheartedly, and it is really great to see. I even heard people talking about it at the airport today (“Hey, did you guys know that the Miss America Pageant is happening here this weekend at the Planet Hollywood?? Yeah, we should try to go!”) 

I love it. I’m seeing family members with picture buttons of their contestants on, and tons of folks wearing Miss America “garb” – from crown pins to sparkly crown t-shirts. I’ve already had a chance to see a few of the contestants on their way into rehearsals, and can I just say that they look even MORE beautiful in person?? They all look so tiny and fit – it makes me quite reminiscent of my competition days *sigh*. I also was able to run into Art McMaster, the CEO of the Miss America Pageant himself – it’s so wonderful to see and be around all these great people again. As Art said to me today after I told him how glad I was to be a part of things in some way, “They always come back!”  Yes, Art – I guess they do. :) 

Thursday Night Preliminary Winners -- Congrats to Vermont and New York!!!

Okay, I was at the preliminary competition last night, and I have to say I was SO impressed!  The show starts out with an honest-goodness DANCE number with all 52 contestants strutting their stuff to Madonna and Justin Timberlake! I was very impressed, because it was a total throwback to the days of big opening production numbers in the 80’s – let those girls show their stuff, I say!! It looks great!

Coming out on top in talent last night was Miss Vermont, Ashley Wheeler for her a cappella vocal rendition of “God Bless America”.  Receiving props in Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit was Miss New York, Leigh-Taylor Smith.  Here’s an interesting fact:  Vermont has NEVER won a preliminary award in the history of the Miss America Pageant!  So an extra “WAY TO GO” for Ashley Wheeler for bringing her state to the forefront! 

Okay, since the prelim didn’t start until 8 p.m. VEGAS time (11 p.m. in Atlanta where I live), I was a little worried about how awake I’d be by the end of things. There are a lot of contestants and a lot of competitions to get through.  But I didn’t need to worry – when I sat in my FOURTH ROW seat (with my jaw hanging open at how close I was!) and the show started, I was so amazed at what I was seeing. 

Keep in mind, people – this is the first Miss America Pageant I have EVER been to as a spectator, and the first I’ve been to since I competed in 2001.

During the introductions, I found myself tearing up with excitement for what the girls had to be feeling…  I remember that energy and optimism, and know I’ll be a complete mess on Saturday night...  The contestants gave cute and funny intros, a couple of my favorites being:
Michigan – I can’t remember her exact words now, but she said something about coming from the state with the basketball team with the most wins and the football team with NO wins, and then she shrugged really endearingly and said weakly, “Go Lions….”  It was adorable, and I laughed out loud.
Arkansas – “If your man won’t give you a diamond, you can come to my state and dig up your own…”  Seriously, she might have even gotten a big ‘ol “HA!” out of me on that one.Too funny.

One side comment here:  These girls are FIT. And TINY. Wow, they are really tiny!  I don’t mean to sound surprised because I know that they are generally in-shape type of people, but they have come to this pageant PREPARED. You go girls, I am truly inspired.

So, talent was first – and while I’m not going to sit here and give you the blow-by-blow of each girl, I’ll mention a few things that stuck out to me:
South Carolina – she played that cute Gershwin song on the piano that you hear on the United Airlines commercials (Rhapsody in Blue).  She did a good job of playing the piano while still giving the audience a little “look” every so often – it was really entertaining!
Minnesota – she sang “You Don’t Own Me”, and honey, I BELIEVED her!  She owned that stage, and really commanded the song.  Props, girl!
Michigan – she did a jazz dance to “Big Time” by Linda Eder (I loooove me some Linda Eder!).  She did these repeated one-legged turns (forgive my lack of proper dance terms… I know I’m terrible!) in the middle of the stage over, and over, and OVER again and remained in the same spot the whole time!  I’m no dancer, but from my musical theatre background I know enough to know that is NOT easy. So again, props, girl!

Swimsuit was so different than it was when I competed.  We would calmly walk to the center of the stage, pose in front of the judges and do a slow turn… then leave. These women were posing, strutting, and staring down the judges like they were DARING them to even THINK about not giving them a 10.  They meant business!

Evening gown was also so much more contemporary than when I competed – it was refreshing to see.  There were a lot of the “liquid beading” gowns, and I gotta say that I luuuurve those things! They make the girls look like glamorous screen sirens. Kansas had a very simple black gown, and she accessorized it with huge gold necklaces draped around her neck. I thought it was a definite “non-pageanty” choice, and I loved it.  Again, you go girl.

There were also on-stage questions. The on-stage question counts for five percent of the total preliminary score. The question was focused on the contestant’s platform, which is great because it gives  the girls a  chance to show us why they chose what they did, and how they speak in front of large groups of people.  They also wore amazing little cocktail dresses – a nice plus for the fashion lovers in the crowd!

Okay, so what can we expect to happen on Saturday night??  Well, in a short answer – who knows?  Will all the girls who won a preliminary competition automatically make it into the semifinals? I can say that winning a preliminary absolutely does not guarantee you a spot in the final 15 – think about it – it’s just one area of competition and you are only competing against your group, so there are certainly no guarantees!

So those who did not win a prelim shouldn’t be discouraged – there are plenty Miss Americas out there who didn’t win any preliminary competitions at all, so really anything can happen. And since I didn’t get to see all three groups perform in all competitions, I certainly can’t give my opinion of who I think will be there in the 15. There is one thing for sure: This is an outstanding group of women, and I am confident that the Miss America who comes out of this group will be a great one.

So stay tuned, because I will post all the results as soon as I can – by first thing Sunday morning!

Wednesday Night Preliminary Winners -- Congrats to Georgia and Mississippi!!!

So the second evening of preliminary competition was Wednesday night, and the preliminary talent winner was Miss Georgia, Chasity Hardman for her vocal rendition of "Home" from the musical "The Wiz".  Scoring top honors in Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit was Miss Misssissippi, Christine Kozlowski.  Congrats, ladies!  Again, the "buzz" is that both honors were well deserved.
 
The Miss America Organization has also announced the three finalists for the Quality of Life service award, and they are: Miss Kentucky, Emily Ann Cox; Miss Michigan, Ashlee Baracy, and Miss Alabama, Amanda Tapley.  Congrats to these ladies on their high level of service to their communities!.  The winner of the Quality of Life Award will be announced this evening following the preliminary competition.
 
As I type this, I am waiting to board my plane to head to Vegas!  I am so excited that I can't stand it.  I can't wait to see the preliminary competition this evening, to see old pageant friends, and to blog to you all from the center of the action!!  I'll be in touch, so stay tuned!!

The Preliminaries Have Begun – Congrats to Delaware and Indiana!!!

January 21, 2009

Okay, folks -- pageant week is in full force and the competition has officially begun. For people who aren’t as familiar with how the entire process works, I thought I’d explain a bit about what happens.   America usually only has the opportunity to see the final competition on Saturday night in which the top 15 will be seen actually competing on TV. But the true competition began first thing Monday morning.  Allow me to explain…

The 52 contestants are divided up into three competition groups: The MU Group, the ALPHA Group and the SIGMA Group.  The MU Group has their private interviews on Monday morning, with ALPHA following on Monday afternoon and SIGMA on Tuesday morning. Then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings are the preliminary competitions where all 52 contestants compete in Swimsuit, Evening Wear and Talent. They also have an onstage question which is not judged, but a chance to see the ladies think on their feet in front of a large group of people.

Here’s the breakdown for who does what when in the prelims:

MU Group: 
Tuesday night – On Stage Question
Wednesday night – Swimsuit/Evening Wear
Thursday night – Talent

ALPHA Group:
Tuesday night – Talent
Wednesday night – On Stage Question
Thursday night – Swimsuit/Evening Wear

SIGMA Group:
Tuesday night – Swimsuit/Evening Wear
Wednesday night – Talent
Thursday night – On Stage Question

There is a gala on Friday evening so there is one night of non-competition “rest” prior to the Saturday night finals, when the top 15 semifinalists are announced (including YOUR four choices from the gold sash holders!!). Those 15 then do everything all over again and compete for the title of Miss America.

The Miss America Organization names the judges' preliminary winners for Swimsuit and for Talent each evening, and Tuesday night’s winner in Talent was Miss Delaware, Galen Giaccone for her piano performance of “El Cubanchero”. The Swimsuit winner for Tuesday evening was Miss Indiana, Katie Stam. Way to go, ladies!  The general “buzz” in the pageant world is that both prelim wins were well deserved. 

If anyone is interested in the breakdown of the competition groups, here’s a handy-dandy little table you can print, cut out and keep in your wallet (Okay, I’m joking about the wallet thing, but here’s the breakdown anyway, and it is also the order in which the contestants will be competing):

MU Group
Monday AM - Interviews
Tuesday – On Stage Question
Wednesday  – Swimsuit/Evening Wear
Thursday – Talent
ALPHA Group
Monday PM – Interviews
Tuesday – Talent
Wednesday – On Stage Question
Thursday – Swimsuit/Evening Wear

SIGMA Group
Tuesday AM – Interviews
Tuesday – Swimsuit/Evening Wear
Wednesday – Talent
Thursday – On Stage Question
Mississippi – Jazz Dance
Maine – Violin
North Dakota – Piano
South Carolina – Piano
Virginia – Pop Vocal
Louisiana – Vocal
Oregon – Belly Dance
New York – Vocal
Florida – Theatre Style Dance
Missouri – Vocal
Alabama – Piano
Illinois – Contemporary Dance
Maryland – Vocal
Nevada – Vocal
Indiana – Vocal
Vermont – Vocal
Washington – Piano
Wyoming – Comedic Vocal
Connecticut – Lyrical Dance
Nebraska – Vocal
Arizona – Lyrical Dance
Alaska – Vocal
New Jersey – Jazz Dance
North Carolina – Vocal
District of Columbia –
Contemporary Ballet
Delaware – Piano
Colorado – Jazz Dance
New Mexico – Vocal
West Virginia – Piano
Georgia – Vocal
Texas – Tap Dance
Iowa – Tap Dance
Wisconsin – Classical Vocal
Rhode Island – Classical Vocal
Kansas – Vocal & Piano
Oklahoma – Lyrical Dance
Minnesota – Vocal
Montana – Raqs Sharqi Dance
Utah – Piano
Michigan – Jazz Dance
Idaho – Classical Vocal
Tennessee – Classical Vocal
California – Ballet en Pointe
New Hampshire – Vocal
Hawaii – Tahitian Dance
Pennsylvania – Piano
Kentucky – Piano
Massachusetts – Lyrical Dance
Arkansas – Flute
Ohio – Vocal
South Dakota & Virgin Islands – Vocal

I will be attending the Thursday evening preliminary competition, so I’ll be able to give more “this is what it’s like” reports after that – but for now, let’s congratulate the first two winners and look forward to Wednesday’s competition!!

Pageant Week Is Here!!!

Okay, please forgive me in advance for the unnatural amount of caps and exclamation points I may be using, but I am SO EXCITED!! The contestants have arrived in Las Vegas, and pictures are already starting to circulate of the various events. It’s like Christmas for pageant people!!

So if you are like me on any normal year, you are deep in the midst of planning your pageant party for finals night (this year is party-less for me because I’ll be attending the actual pageant). Well, if you check the TLC Miss America web page you’ll see that they are doing something really cool – they are helping with your party planning! They have downloadable ballots, a link to special Miss America Evite invitations, and printable tiaras so that everyone at your party can be appropriately fancy. I love it!

I think I always have the most fun with the ballots for my parties – I always try to come up with silly questions and funny “bonus point” things to get the non-pageant people just as interested as us pageant folks. I mean really, people bring their boyfriends and husbands, and I can tell you that they are much more likely to participate if I include “will anyone trip/fall onstage??” on the ballot instead of just a straight: “Name your top 15/10/5”.  And since most everyone at my parties are Atlanta transplants and most of us are from different states, I always end each ballot with “Did your home state make the top 15?” as a bonus question. It looks like TLC liked that idea as well. :) I think the most important thing is to make it as fun as possible, keeping in mind that not everyone attending may be as cuh-razy about pageants as you most likely are. So print out the ballots, because having a picture of each of the contestants on hand is surely helpful for those who don’t know their top 15 prior to arriving at your place, and ENJOY!

Now, another thing you want to give some thought to is food.  I always do the same thing, so my friends have come to expect it so much that I don’t think I could change it if I wanted to.  I am rather proud of my chili recipe (I actually entered it in a chili cook-off this year with more than 70 entries and actually tied for fourth highest score... woo hoo!), so I always just cook up the biggest pot of chili that I can, supply the beer and wine and let my guests bring a sweet if they wish to for dessert. I’ve heard of some pretty creative things from other people, though. Things like choosing your own personal top 10/15 contestants and making a dish to represent each of their states (or assigning each guest a state and asking them to bring a dish representing that state if it is a pot-luck type of thing). 

Some other tips to remember:

1) If the pageant begins at 8, DO NOT tell people that is when they should arrive. People are notoriously late, and there is NOTHING more offensive to a pageant person than folks showing up and pulling focus during the introductions. Once the pageant starts, I do not answer the door or my phone until commercial breaks, people!!!

2) In reference to the ballots and the whole “contest” atmosphere that it creates among your guests: The person with the most points at the end of the evening naturally is the winner, and it may be wise to have some sort of prize on hand for that person. I say this because it didn’t even occur to me to have a prize at my first pageant party, because pageant people are happy enough with just the “title” of winning the most points. But non-pageant people tend to need a reward for staying involved throughout the whole process, so in the relatively annoying case that a non-pageant person wins, it is best to have a little something planned to give them. Of course, toilet paper sashes are always an inexpensive and crafty way to properly award the winner their title, if you’d rather not spend the extra money on an actual “prize”. Other inexpensive ideas are plastic tiaras, anything sparkly and/or girly, or a good bottle of wine.

3) And last, if you are a pageant person and some of your guests aren’t, don’t be afraid to pepper the crowd with inside tidbits throughout the pageant. Non-pageant people really dig that stuff, and they always are amazed that you know how many times Miss New York competed before she won, what Miss Colorado’s platform is, and the fact that Miss Maryland loves Golden Delicious apples.

Get to planning, people!!

“Countdown to the Crown” Episode Three – Fashion, Baby!!!

January 16, 2009

If you love fashion, you no doubt enjoyed Episode 3 of the reality series as much as I did. It got me to thinking about fashion in general, and how much we all try and look as good as our budgets will allow.

Given these tight economic times, it’s all the more important to watch our wallets, but you can still look great – and I’m going to tell you how I do it. And while I’m no fashion expert, I’d like to share some of my tried-and-true fashion tips and invite you to post some of your own fashion tips. Hey, we can all help each other look great on a budget! 

By the way, I also want to point out that you can forward this blog to a friend (using the “ShareThis” function), so if anything I say happens to sounds good, please feel free to email my thoughts along to any poor, unsuspecting fashion victims you may know.

The first “problem” I always think about with fashion is how we, as women, have to basically have two wardrobes. Our work wardrobe doesn’t really work for our casual life, and vice versa. I don’t really have a solution for this… just lamenting. I do, however, think that you can strategically buy certain pieces that can double for work and non-work life, like tops to wear under blazers or sweaters and those cool corporatey-type pants that are made out of denim material.  But overall, it comes down to having stuff for work, and stuff for non-work life. So if we are stuck having to have two wardrobes, how about some ideas on how to spend a little less on both of them? 

To really do it right, women need to fully utilize the three “C’s”: Clearance racks, consignment shops, and discount department stores. Yeah, I know – that last one wasn’t a “C”…  I was hoping you’d all breeze past that in wild anticipation of the amazing fashion advice you are about to receive. Anyway, moving on … 

Clearance racks: They are the first place that I go in a store! You have to be prepared to buy things off-season. I cannot count the sweaters I’ve purchased in June or tank tops in November, but they were cheap, baby!! And winter off-season is easier than summer off-season. Tank tops, short sleeves and lighter fabrics can be layered and worn year-round, so buy away!!

Consignment shops – okay, I recognize that some people just cannot get past the whole “someone has worn these clothes already” thing. Fine. But for the rest of us, THIS is the best way to get name-brand stuff at a great price! You need to be patient, though, because many times you will find racks and racks of stuff to go through. But your patience will pay off.  My favorite consignment shop is McShane’s Exchange in Chicago. I think Oprah even mentioned it on her show. This place is stocked with good deals. And I’ve also found a couple of consignment shops that I like in Atlanta where I live: Plato’s Closet and Alexis’ Suitcase, come to mind. Do an internet search in your area and I’m sure you’ll be able to find some similar shops.

Discount department stores – ohmygosh, seriously. These. Places. Are. The. Best. TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and my personal favorite – Filene’s Basement. I really like name brands/labels but I also don’t want to pay full, so these stores are the perfect solution!  It’s the best alternative for those who can’t do consignment. Even then, you need patience here as well, because clothing is not always in the best order and you may find yourself digging to find the style/size you desire. But there is a crazy the amount of label/brand name stuff you can find. So good luck in looking fabulous!

Now, on to some specifics from Episode 3 of “Countdown to the Crown”:

Oooh, a shopping challenge! So the contestants all have to buy new interview outfits with shared money. Can I just say that I love the fresh new looks that we see in interview now?  I’m so glad that the days of the stuffy interview suit are over. Way to go, Grey and Green!!

I just have to say how much I love Maine’s completely genuine reaction to being chosen as one of the wildcard contestants – I love “real” reactions and hers was really endearing.

And the “Little Black Dress” individual competition – I thought the contestants did a really good job, for the most part!  Some of my favorites were Oklahoma (I LOVED the peacock feather!), South Dakota, and the other contestant who used a white feather on her shoulder (who was that, anyway? Well, at any rate, she looked great). Way to go, South Dakota! I thought her design really took advantage of her height, yet it was kept nice and simple. 

We are getting so close to the grand finale. I can almost taste Vegas, where I will be blogging to you live, straight from the pageant.

Till next time!

The Platform Evolved, Thanks to a Dedicated Nurse

January 15, 2009

Two of the things that really set the Miss America Pageant apart from other pageant systems are the talent competition and the requirement for each contestant to have a platform. I’d like to give you the background on this – tell you a bit about its history and what it means within the competition for the contestants. Sound good? Great! Let’s go!

The idea of the platform came about thanks to Miss America 1988, Kay Lani Rae Rafko.  Kay Lani was a registered nurse, and the country was in the midst of a nursing shortage during her reign. She decided to speak to students of all ages, nursing colleges, healthcare organizations -- pretty much anyone and everyone that she could talk to about her profession. Her dedication did not go unnoticed by the nursing industry. The American Nurses Association stated that she single-handedly improved the nursing shortage through the “power of the crown”. The Miss America Organization also took notice of her accomplishment and decided to implement a new requirement for all contestants to have a platform going forward.

A contestant’s platform can be any issue they want to support – abstinence, drug and alcohol education, AIDS research, support for homeless veterans, teen self-esteem, eating disorders – the list goes on. What do you DO with your platform, you might ask? Well, the short answer here is: Anything and everything. I was amazed to hear some of the contestants’ stories when I was at Miss America. You really need to come to Miss America ready, because my Miss America interview was 95 percent about my platform. 

You need to know your platform inside and out, be aware of the arguments against it, and be able to defend it. And perhaps most importantly, you need to have DONE something for it. It’s a bad idea to walk into a Miss America interview with “plans” to do things for your platform, but having done nothing about it. You need to be able to back up your words. In other words, be prepared to discuss the things you have already done.

And speaking of “doing” things, the Miss America Organization also gives a Quality of Life Award. This service-based award is another opportunity to award scholarship money to these incredible women for doing good, selfless things. And seriously, how cool is that?

The number of programs implemented, people educated, and dollars and awareness raised from the contestants in this program is mind boggling. Whatever your opinion about pageants, or pageant girls – there is still no contesting the incredible amount of “good” they have done.   

“Countdown to the Crown”: Episode 2 -- Why Swimsuits?

January 09, 2009

Since the main focus of the second episode of “Countdown to the Crown” is physical fitness, I thought it might be fun to talk about the swimsuit competition. Why is it in the pageant? Why is it important? How has it evolved over the years? What do the contestants really think of it? Let’s examine these questions, shall we?

In the early days of the Miss America pageant, swimsuits had a much larger focus in the competition. In fact there were also categories for men, children, organization and comedic attire.  The Miss America titleholders from 1935 to 1947 were crowned in their swimsuits and were often required to make appearances in swimsuit after Catalina Swimwear became a sponsor in the mid-1940s. All of that changed when Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951, refused to appear for publicity photos in a swimsuit because she wanted to be acknowledged for her operatic talents. Pageant officials granted her wish.

It seems there has always been some degree of controversy surrounding the swimsuit portion of the competition. In fact, there was a year (sometime in the mid 90’s) when the public was allowed to vote during the live telecast whether or not to have the swimsuit competition at all. The answer from the public was “yes”, and the swimsuit competition has lived on.

The swimsuit competition has definitely changed throughout the years; that is for certain. From 1948 until 1996, only one-piece swimsuits were allowed in competition. And when two-piece suits were originally allowed again in 1997, there were all sorts of rules involved. There was a strict “no string bikini” rule when I competed, and we had the straps of our suits measured to be sure they were the required thickness. The rules have softened again since then and now I think the only main rule is no thongs.

But I love the freshness that the competition has – the contestants really seem to have fun with it, and the focus seems to have shifted from the “va-va-voom, look-a-that girl in a bathing suit” feel to one of physical fitness and comfort in your own skin.  As a matter of fact, the swimsuit competition really isn’t even called the “swimsuit competition” anymore, is it?  It has since changed to be called “Lifestyle and Fitness”, which I think says a lot about the real focus of the competition.

So, what about the contestants? What DO they really think about competing in a swimsuit? I would say in general that no one really loves it. Did I get nervous?  Sure. Was I super-duper-excited to do it? Nope, not really. But the more I competed, the more comfortable I became with it, and in turn the more comfortable I became in my own skin. Not only did I become more confident in myself and learn how to carry myself well in what could be an awkward situation, but it helped keep me in shape. It gave me a constant “goal” to work towards, which really helped me stay focused on being healthy. While I’m sure that it probably takes a little getting used to for most contestants, it really is just a necessary step in the process towards getting that crown.

A few specifics about the episode: The obstacle course! How funny!  I cannot tell you how badly I want to slide through that suds-filled tunnel. I’m glad Miss Kansas didn’t hurt herself too badly. Can you imagine her having to explain WHY she needed to compete in a back brace for Miss America?? Whew! Thank goodness that crisis was averted. Congrats Blue and Grey!

Oh my gosh, I love the guest consultant, Shakara Ledard. I love that there is an honest-to-goodness model giving tips on the swimsuit walks. I love the more fashion-esqe and less pageantry tips she was giving. The girls did a great job on that runway!

Way to sass it up in the individual competition, ladies! This is truly a beautiful, fit and confident group.

Congrats to Miss Georgia on her golden sash win! Since I live in Atlanta now, I definitely consider myself an honorary “Georgia Peach”, so thanks for representing, girl!

Let Me Address Your Questions and Concerns about the Pageant

I thought it might be a good idea to “officially” address some of the questions that have been coming through from some of you in the comment section (thanks for commenting!  I love hearing everyone’s thoughts). 

I also wanted to touch upon concerns that I know many people still have with the reality show concept. I’m certainly not the “powers that be”, but the “powers that be” do read the blog, so why not talk about the elephants in the room so that they are all out in the open? Seriously, I’d much prefer my elephants out stomping around where I can see them instead of lurking in the shadows, as I’m sure you all do as well. Ok – no, I don’t really know where I was going with that… but let’s chat, shall we??

First of all – question: The gold sashes. How do they work? Are there four, or 15? And so on.  Let’s walk through the process of the gold sashes and see if that doesn’t clear everything up for everyone.

I think perhaps the confusing part is that while we know that there are going to be 15 gold sash holders that the public will be voting on, the reality series keeps alluding to the four sashes that the contestants can win. Well, what we have to remember is that, at this point in the series, WE know more than the contestants do. They are competing under the impression that there are only four sashes to be won, but in the end the total number of contestants with gold sashes will be 15. The public will then vote, and out of those 15 girls the four with the highest number of votes will automatically move on to the semifinals at the Miss America pageant, along with the 11 contestants who scored the highest in the preliminary nights of competition.

Another question about how the sashes work is: What will happen if one of the contestants who the public has selected to move on to the semifinals ALSO has one of the 11 highest preliminary scores? Will the next highest vote-getter get a gold sash in her place, or will the next highest preliminary score winner move up into the top 11? The answer there is the latter – once the public selects the gold sash winners, those contestants will be in the semifinals as the gold sash holders. The remaining 11 semifinalists will be the contestants who had the highest preliminary scores aside from those who hold the gold sashes.  So if one of the gold sash holder also has one of the top 11 preliminary scores, the next highest score would move on to the semifinals.

I think that should cover all the gold sash “business” – now let’s talk about that elephant, yes?

I know this whole reality show concept is a little crazy for some people, and I get that. I can completely understand why a long-time pageant fan might be up in arms a bit over the idea that a titleholder works really hard to get her title, and then is asked to compete in a bunch of crazy competitions on TV to possibly get into the semifinals, when shouldn’t the semifinals just be the top scorers like always? Well the good news here is, the top scorers ARE still advancing to the semifinals –the top 11 scores to be exact, which is more than the ten that were historically allowed to move on to the semifinal competition until the early 2000s  So in that sense, the integrity of the pageant is still there, and is still intact. I think what folks may be worried about is that the reality series is somehow demeaning to the contestants, and that it doesn’t show them in the best light as the intelligent, driven women that they are. I know I cannot speak for all of the contestants, but I do believe that the general consensus was that they had a great time filming the reality show. It was a way to spend some time with each other outside of full-on competition “mode”, and to really let their hair down, so to speak. And we, as the viewing audience, have the opportunity to watch them for an hour every Friday prior to the Miss America pageant. We have the opportunity to get to know about their personalities, their humor and their warmth towards each other. I love that we are able to see this truly “human” side of them, and to witness their camaraderie and their competitiveness. It is touching to really feel with them just how badly they want this job. It makes me feel better knowing that the crown will really be safe on one of their heads, y’know?

I know that no situation is ideal, and that everything could use a tweak or two. But when you look at the fact that this IS a different era of the Miss America pageant – that this is a different era of the world, for that matter, you must see that the pageant needs to change with the times or we run the risk of losing it forever.

For the time being, I am enjoying this new angle and the opportunity it affords me to get to know these ladies – and I am waiting anxiously on the edge of my seat to see where the next “era” takes us on this journey.