 Competing for the crown currently held by the 2010 Miss Wayne County, Sarah Suydam (seated) are Jenae George of Harper Woods (back row, from left), Olivia Trocchio of St. Clair Shores, Da'Stanza Murphy of Taylor, Jasmine Jones of Detroit, Ashley Welch of Livonia, Erin Hall of Dearborn, Paula Langley of Novi (front row from left), Sarah Bermudez-White of Dearborn Heights, Jessica Jackson of Detroit, Nicole Marie Johnson of Detroit, Shelby Gardiner of St. Clair Shores and Sydney Learman of Linwood (not pictured). Twelve contestants will vie for the title of Miss Wayne County 2011 at 20th anniversary scholarship program Saturday, Sept. 10.
The program will start at 5 p.m. and will be held at Livonia CHurchill High School on Newburgh Road just north of Joy Road, Livonia.
The Miss Wayne County Organization Executive Director Sheila Sigro's impressed with the caliber of this year's contestants.
“We are very pleased with the number of intelligent, ambitious and talented young women who have entered the competition,” Sigro said. “With the number of outstanding contestants, it will be a challenging task for the judges to choose the next Miss Wayne County.”
Competing in the scholarship program are Jenae George of Harper Woods, Olivia Trocchio of St. Clair Shores, Da'Stanza Murphy of Taylor, Jasmine Jones of Detroit, Ashley Welch of Livonia, Erin Hall of Dearborn, Paula Langley of Novi, Sarah Bermudez-White of Dearborn Heights, Jessica Jackson of Detroit, Nicole Marie Johnson of Detroit, Shelby Gardiner of St. Clair Shores and Sydney Learman of Linwood.
Contestants will compete in five phases of competition at the competition, including private interview, on-stage question, physical fitness in swimsuit, talent and evening gown. During the competition, each contestant will also discuss her chosen platform, a social or community issue of concern to herself and society at large.
 Congratulations to Marissa Cowans, Miss Michigan's Outstanding Teen, who placed first runner-up in the national Miss America's Oustanding Teen competition over the weekend.
Elizabeth Fechtel, Florida's Outstanding Teen, was crowned Miss America's Outstanding Teen. Second and third runners-up were Mi'a Callens, of Alabama, and Reilly Johannsen, of Texas.
Miss Wayne County Scholarship Organization organizers are holding the second annual Miss Wayne County Princess Program. The event is maintaining the mission of the scholarship program to help young women become successful leaders. The Princess Program is for girls ages 4-12. Each princess will receive a tiara and sash and participate in the 2011 Miss Wayne County Pageant on Sept. 10 at Churchill High School in Livonia. They will also be guests of honor at a Princess Tea Party at the Governor Warner Mansion in Farmington. Guests will include Miss Wayne County 2010 Sarah Suydam, the 2011 Miss Wayne County contestants, and Miss Oakland County Outstanding Teen 2011 Cassidy Nugent. This program offers friendship and mentoring and is not a competition. The participation fee is $50. All fees support the Miss Wayne County Scholarship Organization. Participants do not have to be a Wayne County residents. To apply, visit www.misswaynecounty.org. Source: Hometownlife.com
Congratulations to Miss Wayne County 1993 Laurie Honbaum Appier's husband, Kevin Appier, on being inducted into the Kansas City Royal's Hall of Fame! Welcome to the Royals Hall of Fame!: Kevin Appier press conference notes Before his induction ceremony into the Royals Hall of Fame, former pitcher Kevin Appier reflected on his Kansas City career with the local media. The right-hander became the 24th member of the club’s Hall and was elected by previous inductees, select media, front office staff members and fans via online voting. Appier described the event as a great honor and noted that 39 family members and friends came to Saturday’s game to share the occasion. When looking back on his playing career, Appier said that he made a point to demonstrate complete focus each time he toed the rubber. “I had full concentration and intensity on every pitch,” Appier said. “I take a lot of pride in that.” Appier noted that his fondest memory was representing the Royals in the 1995 All-Star Game and making a franchise-best seven Opening Day starts. When asked whether he was more proud of tonight’s induction or his son, Garrett, winning the Kansas state title on the shot put, Appier answered in typical fashion, “Yes,” drawing a laugh from many media members in attendance who covered his career. Source: MLBlogs.com
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Two-Hour Pageant Event Returns
to Las Vegas and Will Air Live on ABC Sam Haskell, Chairman of the Board of the Miss America Organization, announced today that the 2012 Miss America Pageant will return to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for a week of preliminary competitions, culminating in a live telecast on ABC, Saturday, January 14. "The 90th anniversary Miss America Pageant on ABC was a tremendous success, taking the ratings crown as the most-watched non-sports program on Saturday night on ABC," stated Sam Haskell. "With the success of our re-branding of Miss America, we have attracted a new audience and look forward to working with ABC and Planet Hollywood to make the 2012 broadcast event even more memorable for our viewers.” The three nights of preliminaries will take place on January 10, 11 and 12 at Planet Hollywood's Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the preliminaries, as well as the Miss America Live Event will be available soon. For information on all ticket sales visit www.missamerica.org. "We are thrilled to be returning to Planet Hollywood again for our 7th consecutive year," said Art McMaster, President & CEO of the Miss America Organization. "While other cities have pursued hosting Miss America, Las Vegas along with Planet Hollywood and Caesars Entertainment have exceeded our expectations, and we will continue to build on the traditions created in Las Vegas." Miss America has called Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino home since moving to Las Vegas from Atlantic City in 2006. Teresa Scanlan, of Gering, Nebraska is the 90th Anniversary Miss America. For information on Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, please visit http://planethollywood.com. ###
Applications are currently being accepted for the 2011 Miss Wayne County Scholarship Pageant, an official Miss America preliminary. Any woman age 17-24 who lives, works full time or attends school full time in Wayne County is eligible to apply. Contestants will compete in the following categories: interview, lifestyle, swimsuit, evening gown, talent, and on stage question. The winner will receive a cash scholarship and will represent Wayne County at the 2012 Miss Michigan Pageant to be held in Muskegon. The application deadline is Aug. 21. To apply online, visit www.misswaynecounty.org. For more information, call (734) 367-0560 or e-mail SheilaMae116@aol.com. Applications are also available for the Miss Wayne County Princess Program, a noncompetitive pageant experience open to girls ages 4-12. Visit www.misswaynecounty.org to apply. The pageant is set for Sept. 10 at Livonia Churchill High School, 8900 Newburgh, Livonia. Source: HometownLife.com
By Ashlee Baracy The clock is ticking as intensity starts to rise. Preliminary competition is officially over and as I write this entry, the judges are sitting in a room down the hall discussing the top ten finalists. It is almost like a secret society meeting. This is all part of the judging process where each judge will score the top ten contestants that are given to them by the auditors a composite score that will carry over into the Saturday night final competition. In the meantime, the contestants have to try to relax and let fate ride its course, but it is easier said than done. Tomorrow night will be the final pageant for the Teen contestants and that means a night off for the Miss contestants, which also means even more time for the nerves to fester internally since their finals are not until Saturday. IMAGES: Behind The Scenes Countdown To The Miss Michigan Crown Thursday was an incredible showcase of a wide variety of talent ranging from impeccable vocalists and dancers to original performances with the saxophone, marimba, bass guitar and drums! If boy bands were able to become a craze why not a Miss Michigan girl band? It doesn’t hurt that they are beautiful as well as talented. I just may have to work on managing that!
By Rachel Iovan | The Muskegon Chronicle MUSKEGON — The Miss Michigan 2011 competition continued Thursday night at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts, with three more contestants picking up scholarship money and a few extra points into the final round. Half of the Miss Michigan and Teen contestants competed in the active wear, talent, evening wear and onstage question categories Wednesday night. The other half competed in the preliminaries Thursday, with the teen finals set for today (FRI) and Miss Michigan’s crowning Saturday. It was another good night for Miss Southwest, Elizabeth Wertenberger, who won both the preliminary talent round Wednesday and the preliminary swimsuit event Thursday. Wertenberger’s winnings so far have reached $1,000, split evenly across both competitions. The other “Miss” winner of the night was Kelly Oles, who took the top spot in the talent preliminary round with her Broadway vocals number, earning $500. On the “Teens” side, dancer Brooklynn Lambert, Miss Spirit of the State, won the preliminary talent event and garnered a $200 savings bond. The new Miss Michigan will receive a $10,000 college scholarship and the chance to compete for the title of Miss America. She also will be expected to promote her platform and the pageant’s sponsors. Source: MLive.com
 By Ashlee Baracy
The music is cued and the spotlights are up. Cheers echo off the historic walls of the Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon as friends and family of each contestant wave signs and noisemakers cheering for their favorite girl. As the curtains rise, it is at that moment that the butterflies let loose and we are that much closer to crowning a new Miss Michigan.
Each one of these young women have worked their whole lives at sculpting their intellect, morals and talent making them incredible contenders for the crown. As I look around backstage, I can see a wide range of emotions from nervous jitters to beaming smiles. I remember being in those shoes a few short years ago and this year I am honored to soak it all up again as the emcee.
Logistically, all the contestants participated in a ten minute private interview with the judges on Tuesday where they were drilled on questions about politics, current events, community service and more. It is nothing short of a nail-biting press conference. Wednesday and Thursday nights are the preliminary competitions where each contestant takes the stage competing in talent, swimsuit, evening gown and onstage question. After the 31 contestants compete in all phases of competition the field will be narrowed to ten who will re-compete in all of the onstage components of the competition, ultimately being narrowed down to five, then one… Miss Michigan 2011.
The question of the week is: Who will she be?
 Kirsten haglund, Miss Michigan 2007 and Miss America 2008, poses with her grandmother Iora Hunt, who also was Miss Michigan in 1944, during a post-show news conference after haglund won the 2008 Miss America Pageant. (Photographer: Ethan Miller/Getty Images) The Miss Wayne County Scholarship Program sends our sincerest condolences to the Haglund family on the passing of their beloved mother and grandmother, Iora Hunt. She will be greatly missed.
|
RSS Feed