Miss Florida USA Faces

Miss England Georgia Horsley speaks candidly about how she has coped with partial deafness.

GORGEOUS Georgia Horsley does betray not any sign of her impediment. But since I have been about her deaf right ear, I wonder if I should speak louder and be more erudite instead of lapsing into my usual slur.

Miss England 2007/8 seems to read my mind as she giggles disarmingly at my discomfiture.

“Hey, you don’t have to raise your voice or speak into my left ear!” Horsley says. “If you speak on my right, I’ll instinctively move my head towards you. I’m not even aware of doing it. I don’t lean forward or, God forbid, put my palm to my ear!”

“At two, I was hospitalised for meningitis, which doctors said caused my right ear to go totally deaf. But I didn’t realize that till I was five, after a routine check at school.”

“I never tell anyone at parties as some people may feel awkward. A few even open their mouths wide to speak, which is hilarious. The fact that it happened so long ago means that I literally grew up with my ‘deafness’. If it were to happen today, I would go nuts trying to cope!”

But Horsley remembers a day when she was 14 and sitting in a corner during a Science class, “I couldn’t hear the teacher properly and kept asking, ‘What did you say?’ The girl behind me thought I was thick, which hurt. I used to be bothered about such things, but as I grew older, I accepted them. I have developed a technique of turning my head into an art form!”

On a lighter note, she adds: “Of course, it is a waste of time whispering sweet nothings into my right ear. And yes, I can turn a deaf ear anytime I like!”

Horsley kept her condition a secret during the Miss England finals in Leicester last June.

“I didn’t want any sympathy votes!” she says. I wanted to win despite my hearing problem and not because of it! I wanted to be judged like the other 89 finalists, based on my qualities. Now when people say I am such an inspiration to others, I am happy and proud.”

It was her second attempt at the title. In 2005, she was chosen Miss York, which allowed her entry into the Miss England finals.

“I was among the top 12 but didn’t win. I was only 18, had never modeled before, had no stage experience and suffered from nerves in front of the audience. After that I took deportment courses, learned public speaking, read all the newspapers daily and became more confident. Two years on, I was well prepared and knew how to present myself in my best light. “

There was double joy for the Horsley family the day she was crowned Miss England.

“My sister Lauren, who was studying medicine, graduated that same morning. My parents drove to Cambridge to see her graduate, then headed down to Leicester in time for the Miss England finals.”

After the contest, Horsley talked about her deaf ear in an interview with Hello! magazine. Many people were pleasantly surprised.

“A lady from Deafway, an association for the deaf, approached me and suggested I learned sign language!”

But far more sobering than partial deafness is the fact that Miss England has encountered cancer on both sides of her family.

When she was seven, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Fortunately, the lump was caught early and removed. Mum had her womb and female organs removed, too. She has a scar under her arm where her lymph nodes were taken out. I remembered it all as I was terrified that I was going to lose her.

“Lauren and I went to hospital and saw mum in bed with blood dripping into bottles. We cried our eyes out and had to be comforted by the nurses. But mum is fine now.”

However, her maternal grandmother was not so lucky. “Grandma had cancer and died from it. Recently, dad’s sister had breast cancer, too, so things don’t look very good for me. But I don’t brood over it as I think it’s like getting run over by a lorry, or slipping on a bar of soap and cracking my skull. I live a normal, happy life and enjoy waking up each morning.”

This is no hollow talk. Three weeks before the Miss York finals, Horsley discovered a lump the size of a chickpea on her left breast.

The doctors removed the lump – it turned out to be fibrous tissue – and the area healed in time for her to take part in the beauty contest.

Right now, Horsley’s main concern is preparing for the Miss World pageant, which will be held in Sanya, China, in December.

She is currently in town to represent designer Eric Way at the opening of his new concession at Parkson Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

Nhan Dan Online – Vietnamese government has agreed to organize the Miss Universe pageant 2008 in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province.

Under the document sent from the governmental office, the Khanh Hoa province People’s Committee will host the Miss Universe 2008 in co-ordination with Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister, director of the governmental office Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a letter to Paula Mary Shugart, head of the Miss Universe organising board, confirming the agreement to hold Miss Universe in Vietnam and saying that Vietnam is welcoming the event.

“The Vietnamese government highly appreciates the organization of the Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam and will instruct relevant agencies to create the most favorable conditions for a successful event.

Doan Thi Kim Hong, chairwoman of CIAT Advertisement Company, Miss Universe Organization’s Vietnamese partner said that “we believe that we’ll meet the demand requested by the Miss Universe 2008 organizing board. The CIAT Company will be responsible for the amount of US $ 15 million, including US $ 7 million for the trademark copyright and US $ 8 million for the origination expenditure. At present, we have this sum of money as well as two letters ensuring the finance to send to the organizers.”

» Kudos & Did You Knows

- Kudos to Myriah Musgrave, Miss Jacksonville Teen USA 2008 was invited personally to Tallahassee, Florida to receive recognition by Governor Charlie Crist. Miss Musgrave, along with the Power Zone kids received acknowledgment for the support for keeping children safe, and their developing their programs. Miss Musgrave also received a special "thank you" letter from Governor Crist for her continued support children across the State of Florida. Great job Myriaha for keeping your community service at the forefront!

- Kudos to Samantha Misener, Miss Naples Teen USA, has been selected as a 2008 National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. Nationally, there are only 16,000 semifinalists in the 53rd Annual National Merit Scholarship Program and they have the opportunity to continue in the competition for more than $34 million in college scholarships. Miss Mizener, a senior at Gulf Coast High School, is part of her school's gifted program and honor roll. All that hard work has paid off Samantha, congratulations!

We have found a great host for all of our pictures before they are formally posted here on our home page. Visit http://virb.com/missfloridausa as we have posted over 150 photos from this past pre-tape weekend. We will also post all timely pictures there after preliminary pageants and special appearances. Always trying to stay ahead of the communications cure here at Miss Florida USA!

» 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!

Our Picture of The Week Committee loves bling! So when we received this picture of Miss Universe 2006 runner-up Kurara Chibana wears a 209-karat diamond necklace valued at 17 billion yen during a De Beers event at Tokyo Midtown. So we present this blinged out picture of the week with some amazing jewelry and one pretty pageant contestant, enjoy!