A Trip Through Pageant History: A Real Slice of Americana

January 06, 2009

Hearing the questions that the contestants had to answer about Miss America history on the first episode of “Countdown to the Crown” made me think that it might be interesting to write about how this whole Miss America “thing” began in the first place. So let’s step back in time a bit, shall we?

The first pageant was held in Atlantic City, N.J. in September 1920 as a way to keep tourists in Atlantic City after the Labor Day weekend. The following year, newspaper sales were hurting due to the advent of radio, so to increase business, newspapers decided to select representatives from their respective cities (from among their readers) and send the winners to Atlantic City as special guests of the Second Annual Atlantic City Pageant. Their arrival was heralded in the press, and thus a contest was quickly designed to select one contestant from the pool of regional winners. Eventually, the winning contestant became known as "Miss America".

The first Miss America was 16-year-old Margaret Gorman, who was Miss Washington D.C.   

Here are some other pageant “firsts”:

1926 – the first year that a woman of Native American heritage, Norma Smallwood, won the title
1939 – the first year that a “Miss Congeniality” was chosen
1945 – the first Jewish Miss America, Bess Myerson, was crowned. Also for the first time, Miss America was awarded a college scholarship.
1950 – the first year that the winner’s title reflected the following year (the winner that year was Miss America 1951).  As a result, there was no “Miss America 1950”.
1954 – the first year the Miss America Pageant was televised.
1955 - Bert Parks hosted the pageant for the first time. Mr. Parks became an icon of the Miss America pageant, hosting and singing the famous “There She Is, Miss America” song which made it's debut the same year.
1983 – Vanessa Williams of New York, became Miss America 1984. She was the first African-American to win the title.
1989 – the first year that the platform (a social issue in which a contestant would dedicate her year of service) was required in competition. This followed Miss America 1988, Kaye Lani Rae Rafko’s dedication of her year towards care for the terminally ill.
1994 – Heather Whitestone is crowned Miss America 1995. She is the first woman with a disability to win the title.
1997 – the first year since 1947 that two-piece swimsuits are allowed to be worn by contestants.
2000 – Angela Perez Baraquio of Hawaii, Miss America 2001 is crowned. She is the first woman of Asian-American heritage to win the title.
2006 – the first year the pageant was held in Las Vegas, Nevada after an 85-year history in Atlantic City, N.J. This is also the first year since 1949 where the Miss America title is not post-dated. Crowned in January 2006, Oklahoma's Jennifer Berry is crowned Miss America 2006

So, now that we are all versed in Miss America history, I don’t think we could be any MORE ready for the next episode of the reality series, “Countdown to the Crown”. Don’t forget to watch the next episode, which airs Friday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m. ET -- and don’t forget to tune in right here, as always, for the “after-show” discussion. Who knows: Perhaps there will be another “first” to add to the above list in 2009! I can’t wait!

Until next time,
Nicole

"Countdown to the Crown": Episode One

January 05, 2009

Hi everyone! Did you enjoy the first episode? I wrote my blog as I watched it, so here are my random thoughts: The first contestant (Oklahoma) walks out and I think, ‘Wow, Oklahoma is gorgeous!’ Then the rest start to walk out and I think, ‘Wow, wait a minute. They are ALL gorgeous!!’ Dang, they look good!

I LOVE that Miss Illinois kept right on walking past the open curtain – too funny! I’ll bet she wasn’t the only one. I like that they kind of throw unexpected circumstances at the contestants. Give ‘em weird stuff to deal with, so that when one of them is Miss America (and when the others go back to their respective states), nothing will throw them off.

Go Grey and Green! Congrats on winning the first challenge! I was so enthralled. I was on my couch cheering. At first when I saw the crowns hanging up in the air, I thought I was going to see the contestants climbing up in the rigging, and I got scared for a minute. Thankfully, that was not the case.

Yay Gretchen Carlson! She is so eloquent and stunning. What a great guest consultant. I loved her story about finding out she was the keynote speaker five minutes prior to her speech – now THAT’s a true test of a Miss America. I only hope they continue with more former Miss Americas – I love seeing them!

I wish we could’ve heard more of the conversations about the controversial topics before the wild-card contestants were chosen. It was fairly obvious who each consultant was going to pick based on the editing. Oh, well. I guess we only have an hour, huh?

Yes – speaking as a challenge! Perfect. AND, one of the things the contestants need to speak about is the platform, which should be the easiest thing for any of them to talk about. But seriously, aliens? Oy.  I think Virgin Islands was a good reminder that a little humor can really diffuse what might otherwise be an awkward situation, right?  And also, the whole alien thing is good to remind the contestants that not every single situation needs to be “super serious”. It’s just as easy to prove yourself by being charming and witty as it is by showing your intelligence.

Miss America is kind of like a final round of a job interview. By this point, we KNOW they are all intelligent women. Now we just need to pick the one who best fits the job, and this series is helping us get a good idea of their personalities.

Congrats to Miss Indiana on her golden sash win. From what I saw, she was really charming in the competition.

It was interesting to see the contestants compete for the sash without knowing what it really meant until afterward. It will definitely be interesting to see if/how the competitions change now that they know how important getting one of those sashes is.

This is so exciting and it’s just the beginning! Just 22 more days until Miss America. I really do love that we are getting a chance to get to know the contestants beforehand. I wish this kind of thing existed when I competed!

By the way, please take note: There is an option to leave comments after the blog.  Let’s discuss what everyone thought of the episode!

Till next time,
Nicole 

The Top 5 Questions and Myths About "Pageant Girls"

December 23, 2008

Being a former “pageant girl”, and especially being a former state titleholder, I get asked a lot of the same questions over and over again.  I thought it would be fun to do a top ten of sorts: The top five questions I have been asked about pageants through the years, and the top five myths I have heard over and over (and over) again about pageants.

The Top Five Questions I Always Get Asked:

What did you do for your talent? I was a vocal music and theatre double major in college, so for my talent I always sang Broadway-type songs. I was definitely a “torch song” kind of girl. At Miss America, I sang “When I Look at You” from the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel. Never heard of it? Yeah, most people haven’t either.

What’s the difference between Miss America and Miss USA, and why did you compete in Miss America ? The short story here is that Miss USA has three main areas of competition (Swimsuit, Interview, Evening Wear) and Miss America has four (Swimsuit, Interview, Evening Wear and Talent). First of all, I am actually a big fan of both systems. I chose the one I did because of the scholarship opportunities associated with the Miss America System, the opportunities as a state titleholder and because of the talent competition. While my heart is with the Miss America Organization, I follow both systems pretty religiously, and throw annual pageant parties for each.

What did you get when you won Miss South Dakota? Well, aside from the experience of competing in the Miss America Pageant and the amazing year-long job of traveling the state and speaking in South Dakota schools, I won some pretty cool stuff. My scholarships totaled approximately $10,000 (I’m embarrassed to say I don’t recall the  actual amount I won that year, because I usually total all the scholarships I won throughout my years of competing, which was closer to $20,000). I won a fur coat, a hand-crafted trunk and matching crown case, a beautiful Black Hills Gold pendant designed especially for Miss South Dakota, the use of a Jeep Cherokee for my entire year, jewelry, and a year-long gym membership. I know it probably pales in comparison to other states, but I thought it was amazing and felt like I had won the lottery.

What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in a pageant interview? I guess I’m dating myself a bit with this, but once I was asked what I would do if I suspected that my father was the Unabomber. I thought that was pretty weird. I also thought my onstage question at Miss America was really weird. It was about the value of keeping a journal.  But when they asked me the question, they answered it as well, leaving me nothing to really say:  “Nicole, I’ve heard you like to keep a journal. Tell us what the value is of keeping a journal so that you don’t forget about important moments”… or something like that.  I think I handled it well, but I was thinking, “Really? This is the Miss America Pageant, and that’s all you throw at me?”

And the number ONE question I always am asked about the pageant:

Were the other contestants mean? I’m sorry to disappoint you, folks but they really were fantastic. I’m not going to lie and say that I saw every girl’s golden heart shine through at all moments, but I don’t have any dress-strap-cutting or mascara-on-dress-smearing stories to tell, either. Girls who weren’t there to make friends just sort of kept to themselves – no harm, no foul. I really don’t think those crazy sabotage stories ever truly happen.

And now for the top five myths that I hear over and over (and over) again:

That Pageant Girls are Stupid. I feel like this should be a non-issue, but I understand that non-pageant people hear stereotypes before they hear anything else. I promise you, you can’t be stupid and win a state title… it’s damn near impossible.  The interview prep that is involved, along with the preparation needed to succeed in this system really makes it impossible to do well unless you are one smart cookie. It also takes a smart person to try at something, fail for awhile, and then know what to focus on to make your competition stronger and succeed. And in many cases, pageant girls fail a little bit first before they succeed.

That Pageants are Degrading to Women. Yes, we wear bathing suits and heels onstage… get over it. I have. If you truly understand what they are being judged on while competing in swimsuit (physical fitness, confidence in your own skin and evidence of a healthy lifestyle) – you find it really hard to see it as degrading at all. The days of crowning the winner in swimsuit and her making appearances in swimsuit are long, long gone. Besides, swimsuit is only 15 percent of the total score… that’s it! These women are grabbing an opportunity to further their education while doing something good and making a difference in their states. People, there isn’t anything degrading about that.

That You Have to Spend a Lot of Money to be Successful in Pageants. I won my state title in a dress that cost under $250, and my talent dress cost less than $200. Don’t get me wrong; you can spend a whole lot of money on a wardrobe if you have the means. But as I have mentioned before, there are ways to have a wardrobe that you feel great in without breaking the bank.

That Most Pageant Girls are “Lifers”or “Pageant Pros” Who Have Been Competing Since Infancy. Take a look at our current Miss America if you believe this one, people! Kirsten [Haglund] won her first local pageant, her first state pageant and won Miss America . I personally had to compete a few years longer before I won, but as I said before my first pageant wasn’t until high school. Your success in this system isn’t about the number of pageants you have competed in – it is about your maturity, personality, drive and confidence.

And the number ONE myth I’ve heard about the pageant?

That the Miss America Pageant, or Pageants in General, Are no Longer Relevant. This one really gets me. I will say that there are two distinct “eras” in pageant history in my opinion:  the “old school” era and the current era. Unfortunately, gone are the days when the entire country eagerly gathered around the TV in anticipation of the Miss America Pageant and the contestants would glide across the stage in long white gloves and ball gowns. True, times have changed and the pageant has changed, for better or for worse, along with them. But when you really look at it, Miss America is none other than a symbol of pure Americana : She is a symbol of attaining a goal that to some may seem impossible to reach – what is that, if not the American Dream? And seriously folks, I personally can’t think of a thing more relevant than that.

How I Got to the Miss America Pageant

December 18, 2008

Now that we’ve got you all set up for what is to come from TLC’s website and reality series, I thought it would be fun for me to tell my pageant story – you know, the things I went through in my competition years.  If I were you, I’d want to know a little more about the person whose opinion I was going to be subjected to and whose “insight” I was going to be so enlightened by.  So here you go!

My pageant life started when I was in high school – I competed in my hometown “Snow Queen” pageant.  I competed because I had a prom dress that my Mom and Dad paid over $100 for, so I was instructed to wear it as many times as possible (it was awesome, btw...  sequins and a big ruffle on one shoulder. oh, yeah).  There was an interview and an evening gown competition; I competed, I won, and I had absolutely no idea why.  It really made me think about the interview process, and what I must have done right to come out on top.  Cool, I thought, but then I forgot all about it and went to college. 

At college, a friend introduced me to the Miss America system and I started competing for all the wrong reasons.  I heard there was a talent competition and wanted to sing; it was as simple as that.  I didn't win the first local I competed in, and probably didn’t even come close.  It actually took some encouragement to get me to compete again, but I did and I made it to the Miss South Dakota 1996 Pageant.  Getting to state for the first time really made me realize the job that was involved with winning Miss South Dakota.  I met the reigning titleholder, Kim McKay.  She was the person who taught me that pageant girls could be whatever they wanted to be.  She was smart, funny, goofy, and she refused to tan because it was unhealthy.  Oh, yeah – and she was beautiful.  She was so refreshingly NOT stereotypical, and I loved it!  I suddenly saw myself as Miss South Dakota, and I was hooked.  I also thought, however, that I was not ready for the job just yet.  So I took a year off to focus on school and theatre, and then came back with a renewed sense of purpose.

When I competed at the Miss South Dakota 1998 Pageant, I won the preliminary talent competition and placed first runner-up.  I was excited to have done so well after taking a year off, so immediately prepared for Miss South Dakota 1999.  I won talent again, and also won the top interview award.  But when it came to finals night, I again found myself as the first runner-up.  I almost didn’t return for the 2000 pageant, but since it was my last year of age eligibility I decided to give it one last try.  Apparently the stars were aligned in my favor, because I won the swimsuit, talent and interview competitions…. and I won the title.  In retrospect, I’m glad I had to work as hard as I did for it.  Not only did I rack up year after year of scholarships, but attaining a goal that you have to work that hard for is an unparalleled feeling.

Being Miss South Dakota was a fantastic job.  I was crowned in June, and spent the summer months preparing for the Miss America Pageant.  The first order of business was choosing my wardrobe.  At the time, my state didn’t have any wardrobe sponsors other than the $1,000 given to each contestant by the Miss America Organization.  So I charged everything to my credit card and started planning fund raisers. 

I held three different “trunk shows” throughout the state (where I would model the wardrobe, sing my talent song for everyone and they would give a donation) and managed to raise enough money to pay for most of my wardrobe and also to pay for my parents’ trip to see me compete in Atlantic City .  My only regret in my Miss America preparation was that I focused so much on fund raising and not enough on interview preparation.  Miss America interviews are HARD, people!  My interview at Miss America went well (for someone who was so nervous that she thought she was going to pass out), but not well enough.

I think I knew I wouldn’t make the top ten – and in a way it was a relief because I could just have fun and enjoy myself (I’m a super “glass-half-full” person, btw…).  But the experience of being a part of the Miss America 2001 Pageant was something I will never forget.  I am also proud to say that I chose the winner as soon as I met her – Miss Hawaii , Angela Perez Baraquio.  So, I had a great experience at Miss America , and I was able to come back home and continue the incredible job of being Miss South Dakota.

I will always look back on that year as an amazing experience. One that has paid off my undergraduate education in full, helped me develop interview skills that have made me never afraid to walk into a job interview, and opened my eyes to the impact one person can make when they decide to do so.  I owe this organization big, and I hope to be able to pay it back for a long, long time.

What to Expect in the Online Countdown

December 10, 2008

OK, so it's December and we "pageant people" are just starting to get really itchy, aren't we?  Where are the contestant photos?  Bios?  When are we going to meet these girls, anyway??  Well, get ready pageant people, 'cause it's coming.

So much is coming, actually -- and it's really exciting!   Along with all the contestant photos and bios, there will be quizzes about pageant history, as well as fun interactives that will let you live vicariously through the contestants -- 'nuff said on that for now. Plus I'll be here along the way, chiming in as much as you all can stand.  I know, I can't think of anything better, either.  So December should get your blood pumping, and will get everyone ready for the real fun -- the reality series, Countdown to the Crown, beginning Jan. 2!

I'm sure you've all read about the show by now -- the Queen Mary, the "golden sashes" ... THINK of the power you all will have when it comes time to judge (mwah hah hah)!  We're really going to get to know these girls, and we will be able to help four of them into the top 15!  There are no "power states" -- everyone is on equal footing.  Put yourself in the contestants' shoes for a minute, however high heeled they might be.  It doesn't matter what the state is on your sash -- you can impress the general public with your personality, beauty, wit, intelligence and charm...  and it could score you a ticket to the top 15! 

So, after the first show airs on Jan. 2, the first poll will appear on the Web site.  You will then start your "judging":  In week one you'll judge your first impression of the contestants based on their official photos.  In week two, you'll judge their swimsuit photos, and in week three you'll judge their YouTube videos.  And after the final episode, you'll help those four girls make it to the semifinals to compete on live TV from Las Vegas.

Phew - I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted already.  That's a lot of stuff, and a lot of "face time" for the contestants.  It's all starting -- pageant season is upon us!!  It's like Christmas, only better.  C'mon, you know you agree with me, my fellow pageant peeps!

Until next time -

Nicole

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!!

December 05, 2008

Well, helloooo there pageant people!  Welcome to this, my first installment of the TLC Miss America Web site blog!  OK, OK, enough exclamation points.  Seriously, I hope that this is a fun place to come to get the "whos" and "whats" of the TLC reality series, and the Miss America pageant, funny pageant stories, pageant-y thoughts, and the general ins and outs of pageantry itself from someone who has been there.

And I guess that's as good a transition as any into just exactly who that "who" is:  me.  My name is Nicole Nigg (insert your favorite joke here; I've heard them all, believe me).  I was Miss South Dakota 2000 and competed in the Miss America 2001 pageant.  I competed four times before winning my state title, and probably participated in just a few shy of a dozen local pageants to get me to those four state pageants.  So, yes, I've competed plenty.  Since my competition days, I have emceed and entertained at local pageants in Illinois, judged locally in Wisconsin, and am on the list of approved judges in the state of Georgia and plan to start judging locally there this spring. (Yup, I've moved around a bit.)  My proudest post-competition pageant accomplishment to date?  I was one of the judges at the Miss South Dakota pageant this summer, and thus was partially responsible for sending the beautiful Alexandra Hoffman to the Miss America pageant this year. (What? Do you expect me to be TOTALLY nonbiased???  C'mon ...)

So there's my background in the pageant world.  Now I know what some of you might be thinking ... "South Dakota?  That sure isn't a big 'pageant state.' Why don't they get someone to blog from Texas, or Mississippi, or Florida?  Let me tell you why -- because people from those states aren't funny.  OK, OK, so that may not be true.  All I know is I'm available, sometimes funny, and willing.  If you find Shawntel Smith or Kate Schindle and they are somehow baffled that they aren't blogging, by all means, let TLC know.  I'm sure their insight would be more extensive than mine, but until then I'm all you've got, so sit back and pretend to enjoy it, will ya?

So, what's happening now?  Well, the Miss States are in their respective states, traveling around and making appearances like mad, all trying to bulk up their already impressive resumes in preparation for their Miss America interviews.  Talents are being perfected; gowns are being chosen; swimsuit bodies are being worked out, crunched and toned; and very, very little sugar is being consumed.  Some states are choosing from donated designer wardrobes, and others are spending their time doing fund-raisers to pay for theirs (you can count me in that latter group).  There are certainly states who have many, many more resources than others, but don't get me wrong; I get it.  I get it that beauty pageants aren't as important in some areas as others, and that it's just easier to get sponsors and donations in some areas.  I am so happy for those girls who have all that help, and I'm very sure that they appreciate it.

OK, I think that will just about do it for now.  There will be much, much more to come, so I'll stop from running at the fingers too much my first time out.  I hope you will all join me through this awesome journey. We all have come to love pageants for one reason or another, and regardless of whether we have ever competed ourselves or not, they sure are fun to follow, aren't they?

-Nicole