When I was growing up, watching the Miss America Pageant was an annual tradition for my mom and me. Likewise, I have carried on this tradition with my three daughters. We have a great time sitting around the TV admiring the dresses, evaluating the talent, and analyzing the on-stage questions. Once again, I found myself explaining to them the differences between the Miss America Pageant and the Miss USA/Universe Pageants. There are hundreds of different pageant systems out there, but these are the three televised ones that we watch each year.
So let’s start with talking about the Miss America system. Knowing how time consuming and frustrating it can be to find information on the web, I’ve done all the work for you. This week’s article contains everything you want to know about this year’s results and the Miss America Pageant in general. For the most up to date information regarding the Miss America Pageant and the scholarships available, please visit their website at http://www.missamerica.org. All photos included in this article are property of the Miss America Organization.
Contact the state director of your home state for the specifics of your state pageant system before you enter. The information provided below is foreducational and informative purposes only, and provided to give you an overview of this prestigious pageant. As things have a tendency to change over time, please get the most up to date information from the website and the appropriate people at the time you’re entering the pageant.
I do want to take a moment to mention a couple important facts you won’t find on the website.
- First, the talent number MUST BE ENTERTAINING. Contestants must make an emotional connection with the judges and the audience. You could be a virtuoso in your given field. But if you choose some technical piece that only a highly skilled professional in that area would appreciate, you’re going to miss the mark. So the good news is you don’t have to be extremely gifted in order to have a winning talent number. On a scale of 1-10, you still need to be at least an 8 in your talent ability. It’s more about showmanship and being entertaining. Your energy must project off the stage.
- Secondly, Miss America does not spend her year performing her talent. She will have occasions, depending on what her talent is, to perform; but it is a year of public speaking and service. Miss America titleholders must, first and foremost, be intelligent, articulate speakers. The ability to answer any questions asked of them, easily and naturally, is critical. At the same time, Miss America must be approachable and humble.
- Although there is no registration fee to enter, you will have expenses with this elite pageant. Your hair, makeup, clothing, talent and speaking skills must be impeccable which means hiring professionals to help you on your journey. Research your state pageant wardrobe requirements, and figure out your budget before hand so you’re not caught off guard. Some women prepare a lifetime for this opportunity, and others just a few years.
Meet Miss America 2010
Caressa Cameron-Miss Virginia
Fredricksburg, Virginia
Age: 22
Education:
Massaponax High School
Virginia Commonwealth University-
Platform Issue: Real Talk: AIDS in America
Scholastic Ambition: To obtain a Master’s degree in Mass Communications
Talent: Vocal Pop-Listen from Dreamgirls
Scholastic Honors: Deans List, Academic Honors
Career Ambition: To work as an anchor for a television news station.
Local Competition Sponsor: Miss Arlington Pageant
State Competition Sponsor: Miss Virginia Organization,Inc.
Preliminary Results
Night One Preliminary Winners
Miss Puerto Rico – Mimi Pabon, Lifestyle & Fitness and Miss Virginia – Caressa Cameron, Talent
Night Two Preliminary Winners
Miss New York – Alyse Zwick, Lifestyle & Fitness and Miss California – Kristy Cavinder
Night Three Preliminary Winners
Miss Michigan – Nicole Blaszczyk, Talent and Miss Oregon – CC Barber, Lifestyle & Fitness
For those of you who want to know the talent for all 53 contestants, I have included the preliminary break down as well.
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Miss America 2010
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron
Top 5
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron, Miss America
· Miss California, Kristy Cavinder, 1st Runner-Up
· Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler,2nd Runner-Up
· Miss Louisiana, Katherine Putnam, 3rd Runner-Up
· Miss Kentucky, Mallory Ervin, 4th Runner-Up
Top 7 (In Random Order)
· Miss Kentucky, Mallory Ervin
· Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler
· Miss California, Kristy Cavinder
· Miss Hawaii, Raeceen Woolford
· Miss Louisiana, Katherine Putnam
· Miss New Mexico, Nicole Miner
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron
Top 10 (In Random Order)
· Miss Kentucky, Mallory Ervin
· Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler
· Miss California, Kristy Cavinder
· Miss Hawaii, Raeceen Woolford
· Miss Louisiana, Katherine Putnam
· Miss District of Columbia, Jen Corey
· Miss New Mexico, Nicole Miner
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron
· Miss Texas, Kristen Blair
· Miss Nebraska, Brittany Jeffers
Top 12 (In Random Order)
· Miss Oklahoma, Taylor Treat
· Miss Kentucky, Mallory Ervin
· Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler
· Miss Colorado, Katie Layman
· Miss California, Kristy Cavinder
· Miss Hawaii, Raeceen Woolford
· Miss Louisiana, Katherine Putnam
· Miss District of Columbia, Jen Corey
· Miss New Mexico, Nicole Miner
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron
· Miss Texas, Kristen Blair
· Miss Nebraska, Brittany Jeffers
Semi Finalists (In Random Order)
· Miss Oklahoma, Taylor Treat
· Miss Arkansas, Sarah Slocum
· Miss Kentucky, Mallory Ervin
· Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler
· Miss Colorado, Katie Layman
· Miss California, Kristy Cavinder
· Miss Indiana, Nicole Pollard
· Miss Hawaii, Raeceen Woolford
· Miss Louisiana, Katherine Putnam
· Miss District of Columbia, Jen Corey
· Miss New Mexico, Nicole Miner
· Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron
· Miss Texas, Kristen Blair
· Miss Nebraska, Brittany Jeffers
· Miss Oregon, CC Barber
Miss America History
Today, Miss America travels approximately 20,000 miles a month, changing her location every 24 to 48 hours. She tours the nation reaching out to support her ideals, committed to helping others. Miss America is more than just a title. She is a woman who reflects a tradition of style, sophistication and service.
National Judging Process 2008
Miss America is both a business and a culturally specific brand that transcends being just a beauty pageant. Miss America herself is a critical member of the Miss America Organization marketing team and works to advance the business of scholarship and community service for women. The Miss America judging system distinguishes Miss America via a form of Olympic scoring where each contestant competes against ONLY herself.
Preliminary Competitions Scoring
The Miss America Preliminary Competitions and their weighted score values are:
· Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit – 15%
· Evening Wear – 20%
· Talent – 35%
· Private Interview – 25%
· On-Stage Question – 5%
Finals Competition Scoring
The scoring for the Miss America Finals Competition is weighted accordingly:
· Composite Score – 30% (Top 16)
· Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit – 20% (Top 16)
· Evening Wear – 20% (Top 10)
· Talent – 30% (Top 8)
· On-Stage Question (Top 8)
· Final Ballot – Each judge ranks the top 5 contestants in the order he/she believes they should each finish. The outcome of the pageant is based solely on the point totals resulting from the final ballot.
2008 Miss America Competition: Scholarships
| Miss America | $50,000 |
| First Runner-Up | 25,000 |
| Second Runner-Up | 20,000 |
| Third Runner-Up | 15,000 |
| Fourth Runner-Up | 10,000 |
| Three Finalists ($7,000 each, contestants 6-8) | 21,000 |
| Two Finalists ($6,000 each, contestants 9-10). | 12,000 |
| Six Semi-Finalists ($4,000 each, contestants 11-16). | 24,000 |
| 36 Non-Finalists ($3,000 each). | 108,000 |
| 3 Preliminary Talent Winners ($2,000 each) | 6,000 |
| 3 Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit Winners ($1,000 each) | 3,000 |
| 7 Non-Finalist Talent ($1,000 each) | 7,000 |
| Miss Congeniality | 2,000 |
| Quality of Life Winner | 6,000 |
| Quality of Life First Runner-Up | 4,000 |
| Quality of Life Second Runner-Up. | 2,000 |
| Charles and Theresa Brown Scholarships | 25,000 |
| Total Scholarships Awarded At National Level | $340,000 |
· The Quality of Life scholarship is given to women who excel in their commitment to enhance the quality of life for others through volunteerism and community service, the Miss America Organization funds three Quality of Life awards with special attention to depth of service, creativity of the project and the significant effects upon the lives of others.
· The Charles and Theresa Brown Scholarship Trust Fund was established in 1992. The will of Ervin Brown directed that a trust fund be created for the purpose of awarding ten $2,500 scholarships annually to specific contestants who compete in the national finals of the Miss America Pageant.
· SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO ALL STATE COMPETITORS
· $52,000 Miss America Academic Scholarship* (Total of 52 Awards, 1 per state) – awarded to the contestant competing at the state level for academic excellence.
· $52,000 Miss America Community Service Scholarship* (Total of 52 awards, 1 per state) – awarded to the contestant demonstrating exemplary community service initiatives.
· *Scholarship Administered by Scholarship America & funded by the Miss America Organization.
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SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO ALL COMPETITORS
· Scholarships available to anyone that has competed since 1998 at any level, local, state or national regardless of whether they have won a title or not. These awards vary in number and amount awarded.
· Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship – In memory of Dr. David B. Allman, a past President of the American Medical Association, and later by Mrs. Allman, and funded by their estate, this scholarship is available to contestants wishing to enter the field of medicine.
· Eugenia Vellner-Fischer Award for the Performing Arts – This award sponsored by the family of Mrs. Fischer is for contestants wishing to pursue a career in the performing arts. This includes dance, instrumental, monologue and vocal.
· Pyramid Scholarship for Public Relations and Marketing – The Pyramid scholarship is for women pursuing a career (undergraduate, master or higher) in marketing or public relations.
· The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. For more information, go to http://www.missamerica.org.
Key Facts and Figures
Overview
· Developed by the Miss America Organization, the Miss America program exists to provide personal and professional opportunities for young women and to promote their voices in culture, politics and the community. The program provides a forum for today’s young women to express their viewpoints, talents and accomplishments to audiences during the telecast and to the public-at-large during the ensuing year. Almost all contestants have either received, or are in the process of earning, college or postgraduate degrees and utilize Miss America scholarship grants to further their educations.
· To become Miss America, a contestant must first win a local competition and then compete to represent her state, a process requiring personal commitment, hard work and talent. A woman may compete at the state level more than once, but may only compete in the national Miss America competition one time. More than twelve thousand women participate each year in the local and state events, culminating in the selection of 52 national finalists who vie for the Miss America title. Tens of thousands of volunteers organize the local and state preliminary competitions, promoting community involvement throughout the United States and furthering scholarship and achievement among young women in their communities.
· Miss America and the state titleholders partner with numerous corporate sponsors to raise funds for civic and charitable organizations tied to their platform issues. These corporate sponsors become involved with the Miss America program not only on a financial level, but also on both philosophical and personal levels.
General Background
· Rich in history and social significance, the Miss America Organization is a not-for-profit organization that has maintained a tradition for many decades of empowering American women to achieve their personal and professional goals, while providing a forum in which to express their opinions, talent and intelligence.
· The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance.
Community Service
· In the 1940s, the Organization enlisted the support of the national Jaycees Organization to assist with state and local competitions, giving them a decidedly community-service oriented focus.
· In 1989, the Miss America Organization founded the platform concept, which requires each contestant to choose an issue about which she cares deeply and that is of relevance to our society. Once chosen, Miss America and the state titleholders use their stature to address community-service organizations, business and civic leaders, the media and others about their platform issues. Since 1989, Miss America titleholders have appeared at thousands of public speaking engagements and charitable events to generate awareness for a variety of causes, including homelessness, HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence, diabetes awareness, character education, and literacy.
· In 1994, the Organization provided its first National Community-Service Award of $5,000. All community-service winners at the state level may apply for this national grant even if they have not won their state titles. Scholarship America (formerly known as Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America) administers the National Community Service Award.
· Since 1997, Miss America participants nationwide have taken part in Make a Difference Day. Local and state titleholders, volunteers and Miss America make a difference through community service initiatives in conjunction with the Points of Light Foundation and USA Weekend.
· In 2000, state and local contestants collectively participated in 12,384 community-service projects, dedicating a total of 571,177 hours and raising millions of dollars for worthy causes.
Telecast
· In 1954, during the golden era of television, the Miss America competition was broadcast live for the first time. That broadcast broke viewership records of the day with 39 percent of the television audience (27 million viewers) watching the Miss America telecast.
· The Miss America telecast is the fourth longest-running live event in television history. It has been broadcast live at one time or another by all three of the country’s major television networks.
Important Dates in Miss America History
| 1921 | First Miss America competition is held. | |
| 1935 | Talent is added to the competition. | |
| 1945 | First scholarship grant ($5,000) is awarded to Bess Myerson, the first college graduate to serve as Miss America. | |
| 1950s | The Miss America Scholarship Fund reaches over $250,000. | |
| 1954 | First nationally televised Miss America telecast kicks off one of the longest-running live events in television history. | |
| 1955 | Bert Parks begins his 25-year tenure as Master of Ceremonies, introducing the program’s theme song, “There She Is, Miss America.” | |
| 1966 | Miss America is broadcast for the first time in color. | |
| 1989 | Focus on achievement comes of age, as the platform program is introduced. | |
| 1994 | Heather Whitestone, who is profoundly deaf, is the first woman with a disability to become Miss America. | |
| 1995 | By the 75th Anniversary of Miss America and 50th Anniversary of the Miss America Scholarship Fund, the Organization has become the world’s largest provider of scholarships for young women in the world. | |
| 1996 | The Miss America Organization conducts its first-ever National Day of Service by staging nearly 100 events throughout the country featuring Miss America Organization titleholders and community, government, business and education leaders. | |
| 1997 | The Miss America telecast appears on ABC television for the first time since the 1950s. | |
| 2000 | Miss America Organization celebrates its 80th Anniversary. | |
| 2001 | The judging system at the national level is revamped in order to better reflect the goals of the Miss America Organization. In doing so, the organization is able to provide nearly $50,000 more in scholarship money at the national level. | |
| 2004 | Miss America celebrates 50 years on television | |
| 2006 | Pageant moves out of Atlantic City for the first time in its 85 year history. Las Vegas hosts the Miss America Pageant which is held in January. | |
| 2007 | Miss America Organization and TLC sign a multi-year deal for telecast rights to the Miss America Pageant |
What is the Platform?
In 1989, the Miss America Organization founded the platform concept, which requires each contestant to choose an issue about which she cares deeply and that is of relevance to our country. Once chosen, Miss America and the state titleholders use their stature to address community service organizations, business and civic leaders, the media and others about their platform issues. Since 1989, Miss America titleholders have appeared at thousands of public speaking engagements and charitable events to generate awareness for a variety of causes, including homelessness, HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence, diabetes awareness, character education, literacy, etc.
What does Miss America do after she is selected?
After Miss America is selected she embarks on a year-long national speaking tour. As a national spokesperson and advocate, Miss America travels approximately 20,000 miles a month, to a different city every other day, addressing diverse audiences, increasing awareness and promoting her chosen platform.
Can I represent my state at the national Miss America Competition more than once?
To become Miss America, a contestant must first win a local competition and then compete to represent her state, a process requiring personal commitment, hard work and talent. A woman may compete at the state level more than once, but may only represent her state in the national Miss America competition one time.
Is there an entry fee to compete in the Miss America system?
No, there is not an entry fee to compete in the Miss America system.
Is the Miss America program different than Miss USA?
Yes. In 1952, Catalina Swimsuits founded the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants as product promotion tools. Developed by the Miss America Organization, the Miss America program exists to provide personal and professional opportunities for young women to promote their voices in culture, politics and the community. Almost all contestants have either received, or are in the process of earning college or postgraduate degrees and utilize Miss America scholarship grants to further their educations. The Miss America Organization is the leading provider of scholarships for young women in the world. Although some young women compete in both Miss America and Miss USA, the two systems are completely separate.
Are scholarships available for those who are not awarded a title?
Yes. There are all types of scholarships available at the local, state and national levels of competition. Even if you do not win a title you are still eligible for scholarship assistance. The Miss America Organization is the leading provider of scholarships for young women in the world. Each year, the organization makes available more than $40 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance.
Becoming a Contestant Fast Facts:
To compete you must
· Be between the ages of 17 and 24.
· Be a United States citizen.
· Meet residency requirements for competing in a certain town or state.
· Meet character criteria as set forth by the Miss America Organization.
· Be in reasonably good health to meet the job requirements.
· Be able to meet the time commitment and job responsibilities as set forth by the local program in which you compete.
For more information, visit their website. http://www.missamerica.org
Rhonda Shappert
February 4, 2010 18:33
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