System Spotlight

A crown, is a crown, is a crown right???   Okay, maybe not.  But with so many systems out there and so many types of pageants to choose from, how does one decide where to compete?

As we've mentioned before, some systems "choose" for you.  Come on, I know I can't color you shocked with this statement - every system has parameters - no matter how you slice it.  Whether is an age-out, talent vs. no talent , swimsuit vs. fitness vs. none of the above, must be in school vs. education doesn't matter - every system has certain criteria that you dissect to determine if you want to give that state/local or national director your money. 

With all that said, I figured this was a good as time as any to start our "System Spotlight" section!   Every now and again, we'll choose a system - at random - to spotlight and give you, our dear readers, a chance to learn a little more about it.................. and compete, if you so choose!

It's been so hot lately, I decided to look to HOT-lanta to profile the U.S. United System and their 10 year anniversary!!! The system, under the direction of Marcia Mickens, is dedicated to recognizing outstanding women for outstanding achievements

This July 25 - 28, girls and women ages 3 and up will travel to the southern city to compete in the following divisions:

Tiny Miss (3-5 years old)
Little Miss (6-9)
Junior Miss (10-12 years old)
Teen Miss (13-16 years old)
Elegant Teen Miss (13-16  size 12 plus and above)
Miss - (17-27 years old)
Ms. - (28-39 years old)
Mrs. - (21 and older) "must be living with husband"
Ms. Woman (40-54 years old)
Elite Ms. (55 and older)

Competition in this pageant falls into four categories: 

1) Personal Interview - (35%) Each contestant will be interviewed by a panel of judges for 5 minutes. Judges will ask questions from your personal questionnaire.

2) Outfit of Choice (25%) - This is an outfit that expresses your personality. 

3) Personal Introduction (15%) In this portion, you will introduce yourself to the judges in approximately 20 seconds.

4) Evening Wear - (25%) - This outfit must be a floor-length formal gown

This is an extremely diverse and engaging pageant. So much so that there are also optional categories of competition.  These optional categories have no bearing on the overall pageant scores and do require an additional fee, above and beyond your pageant entry fee.  If you are so inclined you may also compete in: Photogenic, Performance Talent, Community Service, U.S. United Scholar, Peoples' Choice, Cover Girl & even Portfolio for all you photographers out there!

Now for the important part - PRIZES !!  All U.S. United Pageant division winners receive numerous prizes and awards including: Official Rhinestone Crown, Official Embroidered Banner, Banner Pin
Floral Presentation, Rhinestone Jewelry, Fashion Watch, Business Cards, an Engraved Commemorative Award and more!   Some prizes are given upon crowning while others are awarded at the end of your reign.  An important fact to note is that division winners MUST make at least 9 appearances !!! 

 

 Introducing the 2012 U.S. United Royalty - click on their names to visit their Facebook pages!

U.S. United Queen of Queens - Melissa Brown (Georgia)​​

Teen Miss U.S. United - ​Whitney Serauskas (North Carolina​)

Miss U.S. United - Amber Miller (Ohio)​​

Mrs. U.S. United - Ashley Horsely (Ohio)​​  

Ms. U.S. United - Janet Bierer (Montana)​​

 

Elegant Ms. U.S. United - Kia Smith (California)

Elegant Elite Ms. U.S. United - Karen Hauck (Pennsylvania​​​)

Not traditional, but certainly something for everyone.  So, keep this system in mind when you're thinking about competing in a pageant!  

Miss America & Championship Football !!!!!

Hello Friends, Happy New Year!!!!

Yes, I know it's been a while, but we're back.....just in time for MISS AMERICA WEEK!!

This Saturday, January 12th, a new Miss America will be crowned!  I know that Laura Kaeppeler has had an amazing, not stop past 12 months!

Who will be next??  Perhaps my home state of Maryland can take the crown?  (Let's go Joanna!!!!)

What are your predictions and who are your favorites for this year?  What talent will we see?

Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010

 

More importantly will tonight's National Championship Bowl game have ANY bearing on who wins the crown??

Anna Laura Bryan, Miss Alabama 2012

MerrieBeth Cox, Miss Indiana 2013

I don't know about you, but I'm very excited to watch the pageant and see the results!  @MadisonDonovan will be Tweeting live during the pageant, join in!!!

Where are they now?

All of the recent crownings in the Mid-Atlantic Region really have me thinking....."where are they now"?  A pageant girlfriend of mine remarked after Caressa won Miss America 2010, that if she were to ever win the big one, she would never do pageants again!  I asked her why and she remarked that once you've achieved the big one, what was the point of continuing.  My thoughts were - what about the fun? what about the camaraderie , what about the platforms you can promote.

As I thought about it more, I started researching the net to see if I could find where some of my favorites "are now" and if they are still competing.  Interestingly enough, I came across this cool website - Pageant Trivia.  This website has a section on it's front page where former titleholders can update their status.  I couldn't find a directory of former titleholders, but I thought the concept was quite interesting.

Our conversation was still on my mind and couldn't help wondering, should you really give up competing if you win one of the majors?  Will anyone really remember you, what mark have you made, what's your legacy as a former Miss America or Little Miss Perfect?  Will you go on to be a commercial success, a medical success story, national philanthropist or will it just be enough to know you were once Miss International?

Some former Miss Americas and state titleholders have gone on to achieve notoriety....the most {in}famous still being Vanessa Willliams.  There is also Lee Meriweather, Gretchen Carlson, Debbie Turner and Erika Dunlap, but for the most part most Miss Americas "retire" to relative obscurity.

Miss America 1990, Debbye Turner ( Missouri)

In contrast to Miss Americas, more former Miss USA titleholders remain in the spotlight after crowning their successors.  I have a few favorites of my own  - Kenya Moore, Susie Castillo, Shauntay Hinton, Laura Martinez-Herring and of course Ali Landry.

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Miss USA 1996, Ali Landry  (Louisiana)

Even some Mrs. titleholders have gone on to achieve some level of celebrity (if you can call it that).  I mean look at Omarosa - Mrs. District of Columbia America United States 2002.  She's managed to be a part of three popular reality shows.

 

There may be others that have made notable strides in other areas that have made them "famous", in the non-traditional sense that I don't know about.  But for the most part, former pageant titleholders - national, state and/or local - usually return to their normal lives or relative obscurity.    I'm pretty sure they are happy in their lives and have gone on to have wonderful families and careers, but I do wonder - have they continued to compete, do they want to ever compete again? 

There have been some very dynamic women that have held titles in the Mrs. International, Mrs. America, Ms. All-American and Mrs. United States systems and I now my quest to find out - "where are they now"?  Hopefully, they are still competing and continuing to use their titles and platforms better their communities and people around them.  Remember the crown can be used for good :-)