Miss Florida USA Faces

» THE DATING GAME - Our hero pops the questions to Miss Universe contestant

By FRED GONZALEZ – Miami Herald

So there I was sitting next to a Miss Universe runner-up who had her hair in curlers. Now before you think this happened in either of our homes (and wouldn't that have been a great story), guess again.

Claudia Moreno, Miss Venezuela and first runner-up for Miss Universe in 2000, was getting ready for her photo shoot for Corona's upcoming calendar. It was the last of a two-day Miami shoot, and I was lucky enough to get some time with her between photo sessions.

And there she was, makeup done, hair in curlers. Big curlers, too.So it was time for my interview with a beauty queen. The first question I had to ask: Was she single or dating? ''Dating, for six months,'' she said. ``My boyfriend is here. He's an actor for a telenovela in Venezuela.'' (OK, got that out of the way. Certainly didn't want to star in my own soap opera in which I get pummeled by the novio.)

Venezuela and Colombia are countries known for how serious they take their beauty pageants. It's almost as die-hard as little league baseball in some parts of this country. So what about dating in that environment? Can it be done?

''When I was Miss Venezuela it was hard because I had a boyfriend,'' Moreno said. ``And they always said if you go into the pageants with a boyfriend you are not going out with the same boyfriend.

``Because it's too hard, especially with rehearsal you have to be there all the time. And with Miss Universe it's worse, with makeup, hair, walking, and interviews. And you have to travel for a month.''

Somehow Moreno kept the same boyfriend, but she noted that he was the jealous type (not a good trait when your girlfriend is Miss Venezuela). But what about the rest of the contestants? Is it hard for them to meet guys who don't seem to have an agenda?

''I don't think we have problems. The thing is maybe you can really intimidate some kinds of guys. But I don't think we have problems meeting guys,'' she said. (Well, of course they don't. They are beauty queens.)

'But I have heard that sometimes guys, before they talk to you, they are thinking `I don't know if I should talk to her or not, or maybe she won't talk to me.'' (Now that is probably true. Most guys would talk themselves out of approaching a beauty queen or model for fear of rejection.)

''Me, I talk to everybody and I don't have a problem with that,'' Moreno said. ``But it depends on the person. There are some models who prefer to talk only to other models. ``When I lived in Milan there are lots of models and they don't talk to you if you are not in acting or modeling. It's not easy with the competition they have. In my case I am very easy going and like to talk to everyone.'' (That's evident. She was talking to me.)

Claudia went on to tell me about her previous boyfriends, including one who may have been the love of her life, but for five years their relationship was up and down, and he was jealous. She said now he is dating a famous actress and she believes he has learned how to control himself. ''In every relationship you learn something and as you grow up you see things differently,'' she said. ``I learned a lot in that relationship because it was very intense.''

And in a short time I learned a lot about models and beauty queens. While they may appear to be smug or conceited, maybe that's just the look the photographer was looking for. Away from the camera, these beauties are like many of us, dealing with single-hood and relationships and hoping to meet someone special.

''I don't care where I meet people, at a club, the beach, wherever,'' Moreno said. “But you have to build a friendly relationship first and get to know each other. You need a connection. You have to be grounded -- especially if you are in a beauty contest or a photo shoot, where you are not going to find anything more than that. You have to be humble''

» CATCHING UP WITH MISS FLORIDA USA! Mama Mia’s Dinner Friday June 1^st

After taking a much need week off from publishing we are full of energy and ready to play catch up on all that our fans missed! Here are some pictures from a special Miss Florida USA Family only dinner on Friday night of pretape weekend. What has become a tradition of having a great get together at Mama Mia’s on Young Circle in Downtown Hollywood is made better by wonderful Italian food!

Tropical Depression Barry couldn’t dampen the spirits of this years attendees.

Ms. Donovan and Ms. McKinnon (left) Ms. Webber and Pageant Director Frank Arcidiacono (right)

WJCT-TV recently partnered with Duval County Public Schools and the Jacksonville Public Library for the fifth annual Reading Celebration, a fun-filled event that helps celebrate the reading achievements of the district's Wise Guys Reading Club members.

An exciting part of the Celebration was WJCT's Share a Story, where First Coast adults read and share their love of words with kids of all ages. Bianca, the â€œreal life's kid from Cyberchase was this year's celebrity host. Favorite PBS Kids characters Digit, Curious George, Jaker's Pigley, Maya and Miguel were there as well as Southpaw, the Sun official mascot. Jaxson deVille, the Jaguar's official mascot, entertained the families as he rode through the park.

Many thanks to Share a Story supporters Kayla Perry, Miss First Coast Teen USA; Kimyata Perry Miss First Coast USA and Tasheia Pelham, Miss Jacksonville USA and Myriah Musgrave, Miss Jacksonville Teen USA who generously donated their time

- Kudos to our very own Miss Florida Teen USA Annilie Hastey on her graduation from John Ferguson High School in South Miami Dade this past week! Now it’s on to bigger opportunities like college (still undecided) and maybe becoming Miss Teen USA this upcoming August. We are very proud of you Annilie for not only graduating but being a wonderful Miss Florida Teen USA!

- Kudos to Miss Florida USA Alumni Sheena Monnin on publishing her first children's book entitled “Discover Your Destiny”. The book is available at Ms. Monnin’s online store at www.sheenamonnin.com while the official release date for bookstores nationwide is August 21st. Ms. Monnin is also founder of The Girls of Promise Foundation. Great job Shenna and wishing you continued success!

» PICTURES & STORIES WANTED!

If you enjoy reading the stories of our Miss Florida USA Family and want us to know what great things are happening either during or after you reign please email us at telair@aol.com. We love touting our sorority of outstanding Florida women. Please send us a paragraph (or two) on your appearances, awards or community service and include pictures. We want you to have all of the support of this great lifestyle we call Miss Florida USA!

» 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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK!

We have been traveling the world searching for the perfect picture and this weeks POTW comes from our very own pretape shoot this past weekend. For whatever reason this shot of our Miss Florida USA Jenna Edwards, on Hollywood Beach in her Ritchie Swimwear caught our eye. So with a resound yes, congratulations Ms. Edwards as you are the proud recipient of our Picture of The Week!