MISS FL USA NEWS!

» MISS TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER USA ANNOUNCED:

Miss Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater USA and Teen USA will be on Sunday, January 15, 2006. It will be a one day event as you each contestant may check in that morning! The location is the Doubletree Hotel, Tampa Westshore Airport. The interview portion will be a casual on-stage question! Mark your calendar as we will be crowning 6 young women! Call 407-896-5787 or e-mail director@missvermontusa.com for an application! Happy Holidays!

» MISS NATURE COAST USA UPDATE:

A new Miss Florida USA and Miss Florida Teen USA preliminary is to held in Citrus County for the first time! Miss Nature Coast USA 2006 and Miss Nature Coast Teen USA 2006 will be crowned Saturday, January 7, 2006 at the Plantation Inn & Golf Resort in Crystal River, Florida. Contestants and their guests will love the southern charm of the nature coast as boating, golfing, tennis, fine dining, and swimming are all within an arm's reach at the resort. Visit www.plantationinn.com.

The winner of each title will win fantastic prizes, along with an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood, FL for a chance at the televised Miss Florida USA or Miss Florida Teen USA crown.

Shalyn (Barnes) Barker, director of the pageant, is looking forward to the launch of their web site as well as the crowning of the new queens. A veteran herself, Shalyn competed in the Miss USA system as a young woman and is looking forward to the other side of the fence. "I can't wait to offer my support to the new Miss Nature Coast USA and Miss Nature Coast Teen USA", she said.

For more information or to become a contestant, contact Mrs. Barker at 352.572.0647 or naturecoastpageants@yahoo.com.

» Miss Weston USA & Miss Weston Teen USA Updates:
The latest from Katy Palidos office is the pageant will now be a one day event to be held on Sunday December 18th at The Western High School Auditorium beginning at 4:00pm. Applications are still being accepted by the pageant directors who can be reached via email at info@kattypulido.com or via telephone at (954) 217-4949. We look forward to seeing everyone next Sunday!

» 2007 Miss Florida USA Preliminary Season Schedule

UPDATED 12/8/05

Dec 11 & 18:

Miss Weston USA & Teen USA Pageants

Jan 6-7:

Miss Nature Coast USA & Teen USA Pageants

Jan 13-15:

Miss Daytona Beach USA & Teen USA Pageants

Jan 14-15:

Miss Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete USA & Teen USA Pageants

Jan 27-29

Miss Sarasota/Manatee County USA & Teen USA Pageants

Jan 29:

Miss Hollywood USA & Teen USA Pageants

Feb 4:

Miss Tallahassee USA & Teen USA Pageants

Feb 4-5:

Miss Citrus USA & Teen USA Pageants

Feb 11:

Miss Polk County USA/Miss Lake Buena Vista USA & Teen USA Pageants

Feb 11:

Miss Sunset Place USA & Teen USA Pageants

Feb 18-19:

Miss First Coast USA & Teen USA Pageants

March 18:

Miss Southwest Florida USA & Teen USA Pageants

April 2:

Miss West Broward USA & Teen USA Pageants

April 8:

Miss Gold Coast USA & Miss Palm Beach County USA & Teen Pageants

April 23:

Miss Treasure Coast USA & Teen USA Pageants

May 6:

Miss Boca Raton USA & Teen USA Pageants

May 7:

Miss Homestead USA & Teen USA Pageants

May 14:

Miss Tourism Super Pageant

MISS FLORIDA TEEN USA TV LISTINGS:

MIAMI/FT LAUDERDALE	WSVN-FOX Channel 7	TBD
NAPLES/FT MEYERS	WINK-CBS Channel 11	TBD
TAMPA/ST PETE/CLEARWATER	WMOR-IND Channel 32	Saturday, December 30, 2005 10:30PM
ORLANDO/DAYTONA BEACH	WRDQ-IND Channel 27	Saturday, February 18, 2006 1PM
TALLAHASSEE	WTLS (Ch. 24, UPN) WTLH FOX Channel 49	TBD
PANAMA CITY	WJHG-TV Ch. 7 NBC	Sunday, December 31, 2005 10:30PM
PENSACOLA/MOBILE	WFGX-WB Channel 35	Saturday, January 7 8PM
OCALA/GAINESVILLE	WGFL-CBS Channel 53	TBD
JACKSONVILLE	WAWS FOX Channel 47	TBD
WEST PALM BEACH	WTCN-WB Ch. 15	Sunday, December 18 3PM
STUART/FT PIERCE	WTCN-WB Channel 15	Sunday, December 18 3PM
VENICE	W56CN-IND Channel 56	Saturday, December 30, 2005 10:30PM
PORT RICHEY	W46BQ-IND Channel 46	Saturday, December 30, 2005 10:30PM
SEMINOLE	WMOR-LP Channel 63	Saturday, December 30, 2005 10:30PM

» There she is, Miss Missouri USA & Missouri Teen USA.

There she is, Miss Missouri Teen USA. O'Fallon resident Breanna Huellinghorst, 16, was crowned Miss Missouri Teen USA Sunday in a ceremony at the Music Hall in Kansas City. She beat out dozens of girls from across the state to represent Missouri in the national competition in the summer. For winning the title, the Fort Zumwalt West High School sophomore will receive a scholarship to Lindenwood University in St. Charles. According to pageant officials, she wants to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism.

Kristi Capel was crowned Miss Missouri USA (left)

Miss Missouri Teen USA is Breanna Huellinghorst (right)

Also Sunday night, Springfield resident Kristi Capel, 22, was crowned Miss Missouri USA. She recently graduated from Evangel University with a degree in broadcast journalism. She works in Springfield as a weather reporter for KSPR 33 News.

» Diaz '06 crowned Miss New York
Kate Carroll/Princetonian Contributor

Adriana Diaz '06 walked away from the Miss New York USA 2006 pageant on Sunday with a silver tiara, a bouquet of red roses and the unmistakable look of a first-place winner. She will move on to compete in the nationally televised Miss USA pageant in April. "This was my first time competing for Miss New York USA ever, so I'm still in shock. It's crazy," Diaz said. "I couldn't sleep the whole night I got back, literally not a wink. I was not in or out. I was totally awake. My mind was racing." The three-day pageant opened Friday in Albany, N.Y. The number of contestants was cut from 110 to 25 after scores came in for the evening gown, swimsuit and interview rounds. The number of competitors continued to drop during subsequent rounds until five were chosen to answer questions about their personal statements. "They saw from my bio that I had done a lot of traveling," Diaz said. "They asked me about my experience living in Paris. I talked about living in Paris and how wonderful it was and all that good stuff." In addition to traveling to Paris, Diaz has spent time in Ecuador and Spain. The Wilson School major speaks Spanish, French and Mandarin, and her parents are both from the Dominican Republic. Diaz's background has influenced her plans for her yearlong reign. "I want to visit schools in inner cities throughout New York, and I want to show kids that insane things like this are possible," Diaz said. "I was born in Washington Heights in Manhattan, which is an immigrant community from the Dominican Republic. I want to focus on that area. Being Miss New York is great, but I want to focus more on speaking out [about] students applying themselves so they can aim to go to good schools rather than [be] Miss New York. This is opening doors for me so I can try to open doors for others."

Adriana Diaz '06 was named Miss New York

on Sunday and will continue on to compete for

the Miss USA title in April. In 2003, Diaz was

crowned Miss Teen New York.

Angela Diaz, her mother, views the victory as a springboard for Diaz. "Adriana is a smart kid who really has wonderful interpersonal skills. She is really good with people and I think she can use that to be a role model for younger people," Angela said. "Sometimes, when you have a title, you have entry into things you might not otherwise have access to." This was not Diaz's first pageant victory. She won the Miss Teen New York USA pageant in 2003 on her third attempt. "I tried in high school for the Miss Teen New York USA pageant. I got an application randomly in the mail and had a family friend that had done it. I had a great time, [but] I didn't win that year," Diaz said.

She tried again in 2002 and was selected second runner-up before taking home the first-place tiara in 2003. It is fairly common for girls to [only] win after several tries, Diaz explained, because to win "you have to figure out how the whole thing runs." But that experience could not fully prepare her for the Miss New York USA pageant. "It was my first time, and I'm young. I was up against women who are 26 and 27 years old who have done this pageant many times [and] who I remember from when I was a teen competing," Diaz said. "It is a whole different ballgame. These women are serious. Teen is lighthearted and fun, whereas Miss is very competitive ... It's still shocking."

It's not so shocking to Diaz's roommate, Nicole Totino '06. "Over the past couple of weeks I've seen Adriana really dedicate herself to achieving her goal of winning Miss New York USA," Totino said in an email. "She made it a priority to work out every day and attend yoga classes in order to be in the best shape she could be in. She was very calm, mentally, about the pageant," Totino added. "She was really just excited about participating and putting her best foot forward." Diaz has a short break this week, which coincides with her 21st birthday, before she begins preparing for the Miss USA pageant, which will be held next April in Baltimore, Md. "Coaches do exist, I will tell you that," Diaz said. "I now have an entourage. I have a trainer, I have [three] coaches, someone to design my dress. Who else?"

Diaz, who is a member of the Cap and Gown Club, said she has received an enormous amount of support from friends and family. "Everyone, everyone, is saying that they're going to come to Baltimore. The entire Cap and Gown Club is saying 'We're there,' " Diaz said. Her fan club may have an impact on the outcome, since for the first time the public's pick will count as one judge's vote. Despite the excitement surrounding her win, Diaz said she has not lost perspective on what is most important to her. "It's not everything at all. In the end, it's just a pageant," she said. "I certainly want to enjoy senior year and do the work I have to do, and not forget why I'm here and that I have a life and other things that need to get taken care of."

» ‘Something in the water?’

Southern Oregon enters the beauty pageant spotlight once again with the crowning of a Medford woman as Miss Oregon USA

BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune

Miss USA state pageant organizers are starting to wonder if there might be "something in the water" in the Rogue Valley. Putting Southern Oregon in the pageant spotlight yet again, after several successes in recent years, Medford resident Allison Nicole Machado was crowned Miss Oregon USA last weekend in Bend. "You guys must have some good water down there," said Carol Lukens, spokesperson for Miss Oregon USA. "Southern Oregon has had, in the last four years, two Miss Oregon and one Miss Teen Oregon who went on to Miss Teen USA."

Allison Nicole Machado, of Medford,

has been crowned Miss Oregon USA.

A Medford resident and product of Phoenix-Talent schools, Machado, 23, is a medical assistant at the Medford Medical Clinic and serves as a surgical "scrub" for Medford plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Jensen. A relative newcomer to pageants, Machado’s first attempt resulted in her being named in September as first runner-up in this year’s Miss Southern Oregon pageant. Urged by the mother of the local Miss Teen USA winner Tami Farrell, "I thought it’d be a great personal challenge for me, so I decided to go for it," Machado said. "When I won I almost couldn’t believe it. I was completely stunned." Machado, whose platform will center on women’s health care, said she didn’t grow up dreaming to be a beauty queen. "I grew up with five little brothers (now age 15 to 22), so I grew up in a very non-glamorous setting. I had to learn to be a lady all on my own," she said with a laugh, but adding that she didn’t change who she is for the pageant. Just as pageants are a first for Machado, her American Indian heritage as a descendant of Oklahoma’s Kiowa tribe is a first for the state pageant.

Lukens said Machado’s natural and inner beauty and her "megawatt smile" likely caught judges’ attention at the Miss Oregon USA title. The Miss Universe Organization, which produces Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, is a partnership between Donald Trump and NBC Television. All its pageants judge contestants using three measures: an interview, and swimsuit and evening gown competitions.

Lukens said Machado could "very well go all the way" in the Miss Universe system. "She’s very fresh. She’d never been in a beauty pageant before and she beat girls who are very seasoned beauty pageant contestants," Lukens said. "And she looked like she could win and be Miss Universe. That’s our goal — for Oregon to have a Miss Universe — and Allison definitely has what it takes to be our first Miss USA from Oregon and then Miss Universe." Machado joins the swelling ranks of Southern Oregonians who have been crowned at either the state or national level for Miss USA. In 2004, Phoenix resident Tami Farrell was crowned Miss Oregon Teen USA and went on to take the title of Miss Teen USA.

Months later, Medford resident Jennifer Murphy was crowned Miss Oregon USA (2004) and was named a runner up for Miss USA. Murphy recently competed on Donald Trump’s television show, "The Apprentice." Alongside Machado this year, 16-year-old Rogue Valley teen Jade Stevens was first runner up for Miss Teen Oregon.

Machado will contend for the Miss USA title in Baltimore on her birthday, April 21. Her next local appearances will be Jacksonville’s Victorian Christmas Parade tonight, and the Festival of Trees in Medford this weekend.

» ROAD TO NATIONALS PICTURE MONTAGE:

Miss Virginia USA’s winning moment

Miss Kentucky USA 2006 Tara Conner

Ashlee Greenwell, Miss Delaware USA and

Erika Savidge, Miss Delaware Teen USA.

How To Accentuate The Positive
With Jewelry That Stands Out

We love necklaces and rings, since they call attention to parts of the body that might otherwise go unnoticed. We're pleased to bring you three designers whose work will accentuate your skin, body and soul.
Put on one of Renata Mann's beachy necklaces and it'll feel like summer all year long. Capturing the essence of the ocean and sand with her knitted nets, ropes and delicate stones, she's managed to create show-stopping neckwear perfect for any season.

Next up, Alex and Chloe. This label's collection is beautifully bipolar. Designs are either bohemian (metals mixing with baubles and wood) or spectacularly simple such as a single glass piece. However, all of the designs are edgy, distinct and will definitely have people talking.

Or check out Christine J. Brandt who mixes semi-precious stones with hand rubbed wood. We've never seen anything quite like her piece, Black Beauty: raw black garnet sitting atop a smoothed ebony base - wow.

There's a necklace or ring for every mood, occasion and outfit. You only need find it. Start with these three. You're sure to find what you're missing.