Miss Florida USA Faces

December 10, 2004

Miss Florida Teen USA Alumni Doing Great Deeds!

The best part of being a state director is to see all the lives you have touched. The preliminary system now allows for several “alumni” to get involved with The Miss Florida USA system in their own hometowns. This past weekend so many attended The Tampa Bay Super Pageant that it was hard keeping track of everybody! This is at the heart of our report for this second week in December.

Let’s start with Kristy Stearns (FLTNUSA ’02) who I caught up with at Sunday’s rehearsals. Kristy works with her family treating native Florida wildlife as well as “exotic” animals from all over the world. This non-profit center is called The Stearns Zoological Rescue & Rehab Center and is quite the story. While googling to find out more information I ran across an interesting article from Kristy’s hometown paper and thought you would enjoy!

Former Pageant Contestant Cares For Needy Animals

DADE CITY - Kristy Stearns, former Miss Florida Teen USA delegate now 19, remembers when she was 5 and her mom, Kathy, was driving her to preschool, and the two stopped to rescue baby possums on the side of the road. The Stearns are still saving animals, but now on a much broader scale. The two women, along with their family and an employee, operate a registered nonprofit, Stearns Zoological Rescue & Rehab Center on Blanton Road, outside the city limits.

Kristey Stearn when she is not taking care of lions

& tigers she loves participating in pageants!

``It's a nice variety of animals that she's helped out,'' said Melanie McGavern, a Zephyrhills veterinarian who both refers animals to the sanctuary and helps treat the population there. Some of the animals were formerly kept as exotic pets, and others were living in the wild when they were injured and rescued. Kathy Stearns learned to take care of them all while she was raising daughter Kristy and son Randy, now adults. “I guess I've been doing it for 14 years,'' she said.

She started, as state regulations mandate, by working with another rehabilitator who had a permit from the state. For three years, Stearns worked with her mentor, and learned how to nurse orphaned mammals and birds back to health, where possible, for re-release into the wild. Because Stearns and her husband, Kenny, both work in a landscaping and peat company that his family started two generations ago, Stearns enjoyed flexibility in her schedule that worked to the animals' advantage.

If a rescued bird needed to be fed every 15 minutes, as sometimes happened, she was able to take the winged creature to the office and tend to both accounts and avian duties throughout the day. She got her wildlife rehab permit when her family moved the business north from Hillsborough County to Dade City.

The Stearns Zoological Rescue & Rehab Center is a nonprofit center that relies on the kindness of benefactors to meet the cost’s associated with such an endeavor. Since this is the season of giving feel free to call the Strearns at (813) 714-2555. Or send donations directly to 36909 Blanton Road; Dade City, FL 33523. Another Miss Florida USA family member doing great things!

Catching Up With Former Miss Florida USA's

Had a great conversation with Miss Florida USA 2002 Shannon Ford this past week. Seems she has become quite the New Yorker as she has taken to the city quite nicely. As reported last week she is a Human Resource Consultant specializing in recruiting as well as handling legal employee relations for the firm of ACE USA. She is also quite entrepreneurial as she is also the owner of her own company www.ParkAvePets.com and is taken with a dog of her own! Seems she is a loyal Miss Florida USA web visitor and keeps up with all the prelims every weekend. She passes on her congratulations to Lindsey Shockey for her Miss Hollywood USA win!

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We also had a visit this week from Miss Florida USA 2004 Kristen Berset as she was passing through town on her way to a modeling session in Tampa. In the past few months since giving up her crown she has been working her supermodel legs right off! Her recent shoots include work for Neiman Marcus; Disney; Beall’s and The Tampa Dupont Registry. Don’t feel to sorry for this hardworking former titleholder, seems she had a relaxing Thanksgiving in Denver. You work it girl! As always, here's a few pictures...

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Kristen & Rachel catch up at the pageant home office.

Kudos & Did You Knows:

Two time finalist of Miss Florida Teen USA (’94 & ’95) Cortney Clark looks wonderful and is now a first grade school teacher. She say’s she loves the children and is very happy. She also has her own pageant consulting business called Queens Consulting. If anyone would like her number for pageant training please feel free to email her directly at Ccsunshine1@aol.com.

Got a catch up call with alumni Danielle Wasser and she reports things are great in Los Angeles. Currently Danielle is a freelance news reporter working everything from sports to the red carpet! From Bravo! to KCAL News to entertainment online websites. She also had her own website so visit her online at www.daniellewasser.com!

We also caught up with two time Miss Amity (FLUSA ’03 & ’04) Ann Poonkasem as she performed at this past weekends Tampa Bay Super Pageant. Always in great vocal form she sang a few holiday songs to get everyone in the spirit! We learned that Ann’s grandmother in Thailand passed away this past fall prompting a month’s long stay. She said she loved the shopping and dinning and has fallen in love……with Green Tea Ice Cream! She tells us she is about to pursue her Masters Degree at The University of South Florida beginning in January.

Miss Florida USA alumni Ann Poonkasem and

Courtney Clark after the Miss Tampa USA Super Pageant!

Pageant People in the News:

Paul Allen and his beauty may be serious/MTV Series for Former Miss USA

Could it be that Seattle's wealthiest (and most elusive) bachelor is ready to tie the knot? New York's Daily News reports that things are hot 'n' heavy between billionaire Paul Allen and actress Laura Herring and that marriage could be in the air.

It seems the two met at the Cannes Film Festival in May and have been an item ever since. They were spotted last week at the premiere of "The Aviator" in Los Angeles, looking lovey-dovey. In the past, Allen, 51, has been linked to women from actress Gina Gershon to tennis pro Monica Seles.

Laura Herring

The 1985 Miss USA, Harring, 40, has appeared in "The Punisher," "Mulholland Drive" and numerous other films. She was once married to German Count Carl von Bismarck. She sounds like an interesting lady, who according to one insider, already has met Mama Allen. Allen spokesman Michael Nank was in no rush to confirm the wedding whispers. "We don't comment on rumor and speculation," was all Nank had to say…..MTV has also ordered "Meet the Barkers," a new reality series built around the life of Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and his wife, Shanna Moakler, a former Miss USA turned TV actress.

This Weekend on The Pageant Calendar:

The pageant season heats up again this weekend in Sarasota as The West Coast Pageant Weekend take places at Sarasota’s Bay Shore High School at 7:00pm Saturday Night. Get this, eight titles are up for grabs as these titles are distributed in both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA divisions, West Coast USA, Manatee County USA, Sarasota USA & Ft. Meyers USA. The Road To Hollywood continues with eight more titles this weekend!

Alumni News Wanted!

If you know of any Miss Florida USA alumni in the news please drop us an email to feature them in future articles. Email all info to info@missfloridausa.com! Until next week here to good pageantry!

We found this on Kristen Berset’s website and howled. This is the true definition of “growing into your crown”!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK!

  We found this on Kristen Berset’s website and howled.

This is the true definition of “growing into your crown”!

Past Articles

Faces & Places 6

Faces & Places 5

Faces & Places 4

Faces & Places 4

Faces & Places 3

Faces & Places 2

Faces & Places 1