The Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA

Magazine of September 1st, 2005

Victoria Ratliff with Rock & Roll Legend Dion

Dear Miss Florida USA Family:

Welcome to another edition of YOUR Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA Magazine YOUR information source for everything pageantry in the Sunshine State. This has not been your normal week for The Miss Florida USA family. Several of our family and friends have been displaced due to Hurricane Katrina in South Florida and that pales in comparison to what the Gulf States and Northwest Florida have been through. Please remember those who are suffering in your thought’s as it will be along time until life returns to normal. If you would like to help please go to http://www.redcross.org and think on how you can help locally!

Back to the pageantry world the biggest news is the breaking of tradition as Atlantic City will no longer host the Miss America Pageant. We have team coverage in our World Pageant News Segment. Miss Florida Teen USA begins pre-taping next week and we have the latest at Miss Florida USA News. Faces & Places gets to know our Miss Teen USA. Our new Gen Art installment is all about music from unusual places. All the pageant news that fits to print updated on Thursdays and Fridays only at YOUR Miss Florida USA Ezine, the only Ezine in the pageant world!

Grant H. Gravitt, Jr.

Executive Producer

Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA

28 Days until Miss FL Teen USA!

PAGEANT NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

» Anybody want to host a pageant? Call Miss America

By John Curran, Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY — She's 84 years old, she's going broke and she needs new home. The Miss America pageant is looking for a new place to strut its stuff, having cashed in its chips in Atlantic City in a desperate gamble to survive. Can you picture Miss America wearing mouse ears instead of a tiara? Then Orlando — home of Walt Disney World — could be the place. Cowboy boots instead of high heels? That would point to Nashville, the country music capital of the world, where Country Music Television — Miss America's new TV home — is located. The possibilities are endless. Or so Miss America Organization officials hope, having announced their plan to move the pageant in hopes that a new location might revive interest and stop the pageant's financial losses. Pageant officials were already fielding calls from representatives of would-be hosts Friday. "We've received four unsolicited calls today. They want to start talking. They want to talk about the bidding process," said pageant chief Art McMaster, who wouldn't identify the cities involved.

Television helped make the Atlantic

City contest into a link to millions

of heartland living rooms and make the

winners into starts. (AP file photo)

McMaster, who surprised Atlantic City officials with the exodus announcement Thursday, said the pageant could save $1 million by finding a new venue. Staging the annual extravaganza costs too much, he said, and the pageant is hoping another city would pay a fee for the right to host it.

"We are on a very short fuse financially right now," he said. With the next crowning tentatively scheduled for January, the pressure is on to find a new locale and begin planning a theme. The most likely suitors seem to be Orlando and Nashville, although representatives of both places said it was too early to start making reservations. Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Friday he wasn't sure Nashville would benefit from hosting Miss America. His organization has discussed the possibility with Country Music Television officials, though.

"There's a lot of unknowns. We have seen nothing from a bid specification standpoint. We don't know if they need everything for free. Whether they need three days in a performance hall or 10 days," he said. The TV exposure to be gained from hosting Miss America may not be worth it, he said.

Orlando, which played host to the inaugural Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant earlier this month, would seem like a natural, too. McMaster mentioned it Friday as a possibility, but said no talks have been held. "It's a bit premature," said Danielle Saba Courtenay, a spokeswoman for the Orlando-Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We haven't been contacted yet."

The pageant also is exploring the possibility of appearing in a new city every year, like rival pageant Miss USA, which gets big-ticket subsidies from each host city in exchange for on-air promotions and exposure. But Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which runs Miss USA, said those subsidies, which can reach into the millions, are offered because Miss USA shows are telecast on NBC and distributed to 90 countries, making them valuable promotional tools for the host city.

The same is true of Miss Universe, which airs in 170 countries and is a partnership of NBC and casino mogul Donald Trump.

"We sell exposure, basically, and it works for us. We shoot the girls all around town. We make the city or the country an intrinsic part of our telecast, which Miss America never did," she said.

Trump, whose casino company owns three gambling halls in Atlantic City, is already looking to leverage the void left by Miss America by having Atlantic City host Miss USA at some point.

"Atlantic City was never on our options map," he said. "Now, because of the fact that Atlantic City has lost Miss America, we are going to look at bringing it to Atlantic City."

» There Goes Miss America

Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/30/05

The Miss America Organization's 84-year-old relationship with Atlantic City has finally come to an end. Neither party seems to be shedding any tears about it. Both wasted no time in trolling for new partners. The Miss America Organization announced last week that it would be leaving Atlantic City because it was too expensive to run the pageant there. If city or state officials had a broken heart, they did a good job of faking it. They wasted no time in contacting Donald Trump who, in addition to owning casinos, tall buildings a nd golf courses, also owns the Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants. Don't be surprised to see a pageant in Boardwalk Hall sometime soon — one that will actually attract attention from a major TV network.

The Miss America Organization, meanwhile, is casting its gaze toward Orlando, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn., home base of Country Music Television, the niche network that agreed to televise this year's pageant. Neither city seems interested in a serious flirtation. Will Miss America ever be the same without Atlantic City? Will a younger, prettier face make us forget her altogether? Sadly, the answer is probably yes.

MISS FL USA NEWS!

» Pre-Taping News

Barring another bout of bad weather we are gearing up for a terrific weekend of fun and pageantry in our host city of Hollywood. Thursday September 8^th is all about Downtown Hollywood as the ladies will model prizes, shoot their show introductions and take one big dance class at The Hollywood Academy of The Arts.

Friday has an early call to welcome the sunrise on Hollywood Beach. Casual clothes will greet the ladies to model along with some fun on the beach. After a group lunch at Pollo Tropical it will be off to TY Parks Castaway Island for Richie’s Swimwear modeling and then it’s time to romp in the water rides at the park. Afterwards an optional Friday Night Hollywood Broadwalk Concert awaits the young ladies for one final fun event.

Saturday sees the official Miss Florida Teen USA Seminar Day that is mandatory for all titleholders and delegates. Then Sunday is the final fun day of the weekend. Once again an early call awaits as the first order of business is delegate introductions. Then the broadwalk welcomes the ladies for a morning of bike riding, rollerblading, putt-putt golf, paddleball and other silly stuff! After a great pizza lunch at Little Venice on Hollywood Beach’s Broadwalk it’s back to the Holiday Inn for some final prize modeling and then a final fling into the beach as the third annual Miss Florida Teen USA Chicken Fighting Contest will take place!

As always we will have stories and pictures from all the events at www.MissFloridaTeenUSA.com!

» Preliminary Pageants News

Miss Nature Coast USA has a location as the inaugural pageant takes place January 7^th at the Plantation Inn in Crystal River, FL (Citrus County). To email pageant director and Miss Florida Teen USA alumni Shalyn Barker at naturecoastpageants@yahoo.com or via tradition phone lines at (352) 489-6756 for more information.

» 2007 Miss Florida USA Preliminary Season Schedule

Oct. 16

Miss West Coast USA & Miss West

Coast Teen USA Pageants

November

Miss Weston USA & Miss Weston Teen USA Pageants

Dec 3

North Florida Super Pageant

(Tallahassee/Emerald Coast/Panhandle)

Dec 3

Miss Sunset Place USA &

Miss Sunset Place Teen USA Pageants

Dec 11 & 18

Miss Weston USA & Miss Weston Teen USA Pageants

Jan 6-7

Miss Nature Coast USA &

Miss Nature Coast Teen USA Pageants

Jan 29

Miss Hollywood USA & Miss Hollywood Teen USA Pageants

Feb 18-19

Miss First Coast USA &

Miss First Coast Teen USA Pageants

April 2

Miss West Broward USA &

Miss West Broward Teen USA Pageants

April 8

Miss Palm Beach County/

Miss Gold Coast USA Pageants

» State Pageant Corner & Important Dates

Finally we have put together a calendar with all of the important dates for this year’s Miss Florida USA Pageant. Look for it’s permanent home every week at YOUR Miss Florida USA Ezine.

September 8 – 11

Miss Florida Teen USA Pretape Weekend
September 10

Miss Florida Teen USA Seminar Day

September 30

Miss Florida Teen USA Registration and Interview Competition

September 30

Miss Florida USA Preliminary Directors Meeting 1:30pm

October 1

Miss Florida Teen USA Preliminary Competition

October 2

Miss Florida Teen USA Finals

» ELEGIBILITY STATUS

Miss Florida Teen USA

Delegates Entered: 46

Delegates Eligible: 70

Eligibility for Miss Florida Teen USA Pageant:

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.

MISS FLORIDA USA AIRINGS THIS WEEKEND

PENSACOLA/MOBILE

WFGX-WB Channel35

TBD

Will Be Back Next Week!

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

SCANDINAVIA STRIKES BACK

Music From The Land Of Ice And Clogs

Scandinavia Strikes Back

Good news! Apparently, everyone in Scandinavia has quit their day jobs to create incredibly beautiful rock music. The bad news? There's no one left to make your cell phone.

Exhibit A is Husky Rescue who combines down tempo electronica with subtle country music elements. Rescue is on the tips of tongues due to their wandering guitars and gorgeous harmonies. The music is gentle and lush, which got us contemplating deep philosophical dilemmas. Not really, but you get the idea.

Exhibit B is Dungen (which means grove in English), a.k.a. Gustav Ejstes who spent a year composing and playing every part of his album. The result, 'Ta Det Lungt' is full of energetic tunes like 'Panda' and tripped out organ requiems like 'Lejonet & Kulan'. For fans of the 60's sound - strong guitars, light melodies and rapturous drums - it’s a must download.

You're sure to hear alot about Scandinavian music this year, but these two bands are more than their nationalities - they're just plain good.

Instant Gratification

Download Some Husky Rescue
Download Dungen's Lejonet & Kulan
Learn About Scandinavia

Get It Now!