PRELIMINARY PAGEANT UPDATES!

» MISS GOLD COAST ANNOUNCES WORKSHOPS FOR CONTESTANTS: New contestants as well as those with experience can take advanteage of the training that Miss Gold Coast Paegants, Inc. will be offering the contestants in March. The first will be a “Getting to Know You” luncheon follwed by training on expectations for the pageant April 2^nd along with Interview techniques and swimsuit selection. This will be held March 5^th at The Glory Days Grille (11943 Southern Boulevard, Royal Palm Beach, 33411) from 1:00-3:00pm. Another workshop and orientation will be held on March 19^th and will focus on evening gown selection and competition. The official photographer will also take pictures for the program book. The final workshop and meeting will take place March 26^th. Please visit our website at www.missgoldcoastpageants.com for more information or call pageant director Glenda Byrd directly at (561) 252-2907.

» MISS SPACE COAST USA WORKSHOP APRIL 2^nd: For all potential contestants in the first ever Miss Space Coast USA we present this years Orientation and Workshop to be held at the historic Henegar Center in Downtown Melbourne. The event will take place from 1:00 – 3:00pm on Saturday April 2^nd and will cover all aspects of the competition. This is a great way for either new contestants or those new to Miss USA to learn the secrets of pageant success! For more information or to RSVP please email Pageant Director Rachel Uziel at telair@aol.com or call the pageant hotline at (954) 924-4949.

Miss Emerald Coast USA program will include public speaking training, on-camera practice, wardrobe consultation, stage makeup consultations, prizes and more! Delegates who register for the pageant by March 5 will also get the opportunity to record their opening introductions for the Miss Emerald Coast USA TV show! To attend, please RSVP to amanda@leadingladymagazine.com or call 850-773-2795. Delegates may register online www.MissEmeraldCoastUSA.com.

» Models Needed to Raise Money for the American Red Cross

Panama City, FL, 02/11/05 — LeadingLadyMagazine.com is casting models from the local community to star in the ROLE MODELS charity fashion show on March 1, 2005, at the Edgewater Beach Resort Conference Center on Panama City Beach. All proceeds from the fashion show benefit the local Panhandle chapter of the American Red Cross.

“Each local volunteer model will model an outfit from her own wardrobe that reflects her own personal sense of style,” says Amanda Broadfoot, editor of LeadingLadyMagazine.com. “Each young woman’s choice can be casual, semi-formal or formal; the focus is on fun and individual creativity.” In addition, celebrity guest models will showcase fashions from stores including Diosa Boutique of Panama City and Princess Pageant Room of Dothan Alabama.

The special event is a fundraiser for the Central Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross. “I am proud to be able to support this phenomenal volunteer-based organization,” says Brook Francis, official spokeswoman of the local Red Cross chapter and Chairwoman of the ROLE MODELS fashion show. “Most people have no idea about the wide variety of essential emergency services that the Red Cross provides: safety/CPR training, blood drives, responding with emergency care at the scene of local fires, and providing shelter and support during natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornados – just to name a few. These are local volunteers helping local people in need.”

No modeling experience is required. All aspiring models between the ages of 13 and 25 are invited to contact Amanda Broadfoot at 850-773-2795 (or email amanda@leadingladymagazine.com) to volunteer for the fashion show. The fashion show will be videotaped and a segment on the event will be aired during the Miss Emerald Coast USA TV show, airing live on Comcast on March 20.

“The public is invited to attend the fashion show, to support our local ‘Role Models’ as well as the tireless volunteers in the Red Cross,” says Broadfoot. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 each, and all proceeds go directly to the Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross. Businesses wishing to make a donation directly to the Red Cross may do so on-site and will be recognized during the program.

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STATE PAGEANT ELIGIBILITY STATS

Miss Florida USA 2006

Delegates Entered: 15

Delegates Eligible: 55

Miss Florida Teen USA

Delegates Entered: 15

Delegates Eligible: 40

Every week more delegates become eligible to compete at state.

The season started with qualifiers from the past year. All of each pageants top15 qualify

along with Miss Amity & Miss Photogenic. Each preliminary pageant qualifies delegates

as “at large” status with their finalist, amity, photogenic and peoples choice awards.

Next Pageant Weekend: Miss Carnavale USA February 26, 2005.

THE ROAD TO MISS USA

HANGING OUT WITH MISS MASSACHUSETTES

A 21-year-old college senior is doing her best to put Seekonk on the map ...

and, perhaps, even make it a global power.

Cristina Nardozzi of West Avenue is this year's Miss Massachusetts/USA.On April 11, she will compete in Baltimore, Md. for the title of Miss USA. The winner of that pageant will compete for the title of Miss World later in the year in China.

Nardozzi, the daughter of William and Tonia Nardozzi, is a beauty queen in a whirl these days.

On an almost weekly basis, the blond and statuesque communications major is asked to don her crown and banner and to represent the state for one public appearance or another. In between, there are sessions with a fitness trainer, hairstyling and make-up sessions in Boston, photo shoots, dance rehearsals, and countless other tasks that are far removed from her life as a student at Bridgewater State College.

A "Red Dress" fund-raiser for the Women & Heart Disease association, a "Fisherman's Ball" for the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a Sports Illustrated "Sportsmen of the Year" party ..her "kingdom" stretches from Boston to Berkley to Beverly and all the municipalities in between. She explains that her role is to "show that Miss Massachusetts/USA is there to help the cause-whatever that may be."

Thanks to some networking from her dad and the generosity of Herb Chambers Honda of Seekonk, at least she gets to crisscross the state in a brand new, leased Honda CRV, complete with a Miss Massachusetts/USA crown logo stenciled on the side. "It's great! People beep at me when they go by," she said.

Except for one pageant she entered as a 4-year-old, Nardozzi hadn't thought about competing for the Miss USA title until two years ago, when she received an advertising flier. She had earned accolades for track at both Seekonk High School and at college, and does modeling for the Click Agency, so she figured she would give pageants another try. She came in as second runner up last year, telling her best friend, "I'm going to go back and I'm going to win."

Nardozzi, who will graduate in May, is pursuing a career in television broadcasting.

She is currently interning as a news anchor at BTV 9, a Bridgewater cable channel, and last year made some valuable contacts working on a ticket team for Sports Illustrated at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

"My dream is to host my own TV sports and travel show on the Travel Channel," said Nardozzi. "The Miss USA pageant gets 40 million viewers, and I thought, 'What better way to get exposure in the field of broadcasting?'

Like the Miss Massachusetts/USA competition, the Miss USA pageant ranks the contestants on a swimsuit and evening gown competition and an interview question. There is no talent requirement, for which Nardozzi said she is grateful.” I’m "dance-challenged", she says, laughing, although she is expected to learn a dance number along with all of the other contestants for the Miss USA pageant.

Parents Bill and Tonia are proud and supportive of their only daughter, and, thanks to the demands of the pageant, almost as busy. Bill, a retired Seekonk Police officer, has been visiting local businesses and organizations to drum up interest in the event and sponsorship. "The townspeople have been phenomenal. Everybody has been chipping in," he said.

The Nardozzi family, which includes brother Andrew and 20 other family members and close friends, plans on traveling to Baltimore to attend the Miss USA pageant. The staff of Sports Illustrator’s New York office also plans on being there to cheer her on. Nardozzi said that while winning the pageant has kept her a lot busier than she thought she'd be, it has been a positive experience overall. In appearances at schools, she has told other young girls about the benefits of being in such a competition, while at the same time stressing that "beauty comes in all shapes and sizes". And, for someone like herself who wants to work in TV or broadcasting, she tells them, "It can change your life".