Miss America's Outstanding Teen Competition (8/18/08)

I had the opportunity to spend five days in Orlando, Florida with 45+ of the other Miss America contestants; cheering on our teens at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant! We started off with Tuesday’s Preliminary competition and Emily was the first contestant to compete in talent. Her piano piece was the best I’ve ever heard it and she definitely set the bar high for the rest of the girls to follow.

Wednesday was full of meetings but it gave me the chance to meet some of my fellow contestants. I’ve known Miss Michigan, Ashlee Baracy, since grade school and was so excited to catch up with her and share this experience together. I must say, you can’t beat the hospitality of the Midwest and, as such, Miss Minnesota, Miss Iowa, & Miss Wisconsin & I all became fast friends. Wednesday night, we headed to a fundraiser hosted by the Siegle family. After watching Tiger Woods putt from his backyard and wondering whether or not Shaq was home, we knew we were in the right neighborhood. The event was absolutely amazing and, after sampling five star cuisine from some of the area’s top restaurants, mingling with the Who’s Who of Orlando, and taking an endless amount of photos, we watched as the silent and live auctions raised tens of thousands of dollars for our organization. If that weren’t enough, a $50,000 check to Miss America was presented at the end of the night to go directly into our scholarship fund.

Thursday was our Disney day and we had the opportunity to take some promotional photos and videos with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse! We spent the rest of the afternoon on a private tour of the park where we were so spoiled and never waited in line for a thing. We had a wonderful dinner at Maggiano’s and got to eat with the MAO Board of Directors. Thursday’s preliminary was fun to watch and Emily looked as strong as ever in Active Wear.

Friday was a ton of fun and we got to spend the entire day at Sea World. It was also an off night for the Teens and we celebrated together at a 50’s style Sock Hop – complete with 50s music and All-American food. I had a great time chatting with Nancy Lee, Executive Director for Miss Blackhawk Valley, and enjoyed swapping ideas and pageant stories.

Saturday was the day we had all been waiting for – the meeting with Miss America Reality Check (the reality show) producers. After an hour and a half meeting where just about every contestant asked a question – or two – I’m still not sure of what to expect in September. They are certainly keeping the element of surprise in tact but I’m confident I’m going to have a great time in L.A. To answer your question – Yes…I’ll let them cut my hair…just as long as it’s not too short.

Right before the pageant, I met with Jim and Joy Robbins for some quick interview prep. I’ll be meeting with them a few more times before Miss America and can’t stress how wonderful their expertise, critiquing, and advice is. Please email me if you’d like to get in touch with them – the past two Miss Americas have worked with them…pretty good track record if you ask me!

After an autograph session outside the theater, the Miss America contestants and I headed in to cheer on our girls. It’s safe to say that we all know each other by state but not necessarily by name. It’s wasn’t uncommon to say “Love your dress, Delaware” or “Hey Kentucky, How’s it goin’?” and only added to the surrealism that we’ll all be competing for Miss America in just a few short months. Emily looked fantastic on stage once again but we were definitely disappointed when we didn’t hear her name called into the Top Ten. MAOT did a great job of bringing the non-finalists back on stage for production numbers and walk-ons so we did get to see Emily a few more times on the National stage. Miss South Carolina’s Outstanding Teen, Taylor Fitch, took the crown and was amazingly well-spoken and articulate both in competition and in her speech at the afterglow. Caroline and Angie from Metropolis and I had a lovely breakfast (the afterglow was at 12:00AM!) and were happy to hear Emily had had such a great time with the girls. It was wonderful seeing the Travis’s again and I look forward to seeing them the next time I’m “down South”! Congratulations Emily on your amazing achievement.

I almost forgot – I learned this week that, at least when traveling with Glenn Fox, I must always be prepared to “be” Miss Illinois. On our flight to Orlando, Glenn, a Southwest Flight Attendant, announced to the entire plane that I was Miss Illinois and had me pass out pretzels and take pictures with the passengers on the plane – crown and all. I had a ton of fun but was definitely surprised to be taken “out of cognito”.

I have my first school appearances this week, a keynote speech, golf outing, and Greek Fest – can’t wait!