Miss Florida USA Faces

With a warm tropical breeze coming in from the Ocean it was a beautiful night for the fifty second annual Candy Cane Parade on Hollywood Beach. Our Miss Florida Teen USA Jillian Wunderlich was a special guest in the event themed “Penguins in Paradise”. The over fifty thousand visitors stretched all sides of the world famous Broad Walk saw a display of floats, marching bands, celebrities and roller blade loving penguins.

Grand Marshall Ron Magill with a penguin friend (left) Always a hit with the children! (right)

Grand Marshall Ron Magill of Miami Metro Zoo was the Grand Marshall who -amazed the crowd with a twenty-foot albino python. That certainly drew everyone’s attention! It was great to see all of Hollywood friends their to support our titleholder. Of course our Team Hollywood USA (Yazmin Navarro and Adriana Pedrique) was also spreading Christmas Cheer as they rode on a 50^th anniversary Thunderbird Convertible. The event was a blast and luckily we caught a few fun photos we took Saturday night!

It’s always fun to take a look back on the year that was! And 2007 brought us some memorable pictures and people, not to mention some great pageantry. So put on those flashback glasses and let’s start with this past January.

The year began with preparations in full swing with Miss USA only a few months away. Jenna Edwards Miss Florida USA 2007 was busy making appearances as she headlined the annual Art Deco Weekend. Sister Queen Annilie Hastey was in her environment as she judged Hollywood’s Battle of The Bands. The Road to Hollywood started 2007 in our host city as eight months of local pageants awaited!

Yazmin Navarro, Noelle Johnson and Andi Ramos await the Hollywood USA judging panel

From volunteering with tornado victims in Central Florida to celebrating with Super Bowl winners in South Florida it was quite the crazy month in Florida Pageantry. Then Mardi Gras had several of our titleholders on parade and having fun in Downtown Hollywood. Throw in pageants from Tallahassee to Sunset Place the Road to Hollywood was in full effect.

When tornados hit in Volusia county, Team Daytona Beach USA was there to help!

Ms. Overton is overrun by “The Gold People” at Hollywood’s Mardi Gras Parade

In a very active month we had a Going Away to Miss USA Party; A Queen For A Day Visit; Nicole Miller Fashion Shows; Children’s Reading Events; Environment Clean Up Days and one great Arts Park Opening. Throw in five preliminary pageants and you have one memorable March!

Future singing superstar Chelse Korka reads to the children at Simon Malls Kidget Day

- Kudos to our current Miss Gainesville USA Nikki Rhodes, Miss Gainesville Teen USA Lauren Harmon, and Miss North Central FL Teen USA Emily Nelson who spent their Saturday evening at the Thomas Center Tree Lighting Ceremony in downtown Gainesville. Spreading holiday cheer and good will our ladies passed on the spirit of the season. Way to enjoy the holidays ladies!

Miss Harmon, Miss Nelson and Ms. Rhodes with Gainesville Mayor, Pegeen Hanrahan.

» The Road to Miss Teen USA
Getting to Know Miss Maryland Teen USA 2008

Ana Maria Lawson, a 16-year-old Westminster resident, was recently crowned Miss Maryland Teen USA 2008. With the win, she will travel to the national competition in April.

The aspiring model has done photo shoots for bridal magazines and this month’s issue of Girls’ Life Magazine.

Lawson, a Westminster High School junior, has participated in Washington, D.C.’s Fashion Week and Brooklyn Fashion Week. She has also been featured in two commercials and been asked to model in New York City’s Fashion Week in February.

Q: Why did you participate in the Miss Maryland Teen USA 2008 pageant?

A: Because it was always something that I wanted to do and my mom always talked to me about it when I was younger. She did it when she was younger. And I always used to watch TV shows and I always used to say I want to be like a queen or a winner. So I always tried. And then last year I placed and then I went and tried again and I actually won.

Q: What does it feel like to win?

A: It feels good. It feels really, really good.

Q: How many girls did you compete against?

Last year, I competed against about 133 and this year it was about 100.

Q: What are some of your responsibilities now that you have the title?

A: I have to make sure I have a good reputation. I have to represent the state of Maryland. So I can’t be fooling around. I really have to watch out what I’m doing, every second.

Q: How are you preparing for the national competition? It’s televised, right?

A: I think so. I have to have a fitness coach. And I have to make sure I have a gown and a bathing suit and I’m ready to do interviews and stuff.

Q: What was your favorite part of the pageant?

A: I think meeting all the girls that were there because I thought there were a lot of girls that were going to come back from the year before. But actually, all new girls came back, so I got to meet double time the friends.

Q: What are some of the misconceptions or stereotypes you think people have about pageants?

A: They always think girls are going to sabotage your stuff and are really catty, but nobody is like that in pageants. They are all really nice.

Q: What are some of the other things you do outside of being Miss Maryland Teen USA?

A: I do fashion shows, and I do photo shoots for magazines. I used to dance at Savage Dance Co. but I had to quit that because I can’t really make it to all my classes. I used to cheerlead before, but I had to quit that, too, because I couldn’t make it to everything.

Q: Why did you get into modeling?

A: Because I always watched TV, and I really liked all the stuff that goes on and stuff. I always wanted to be part of it.

Q: What do you aspire to be?

A: Well, if modeling doesn’t work out, then I want to be an obstetrician or a nurse.

Q: So what’s your goal with modeling?

A: I want to be one of those models that everyone knows their name. And I want to be on TV, do commercials, just to be known. Do the red carpet, everything.

Q: What goes into being a model?

A: It doesn’t just happen overnight. You have to go to school; I went to MG Models. You have to stay home sometimes and not go to parties, or not go to dances, not hang out with your friends because you have to stay home or you have to go and do something like a show or a pageant or something.

For me, I have to work at Hoffman’s Ice Cream to help pay for my dad’s gas and help pay for my clothes that I have to buy for the go-sees, or for the interviews or for the shows, and makeup.

So it’s not like I just get everything for free or everybody just gives it to me. I actually have to work for it.

We have found a great host for all of our pictures before they are formally posted here on our home page starting on Monday. Visit http://virb.com/missfloridausa for pictures from Jillian’s parade appearance this past weekend in South Miami. Always trying to stay ahead of the communications curve here at Miss Florida USA.

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!

A little known secret about our Picture of The Week Committee, they love Marilyn Monroe. So when a reader submitted this photo of Ukraine's Tatyana Vorobyova performing during The Mrs. Ukraine Open, in Donetsk this past Saturday Night shall we saw the group was smitten. So when the votes came in it was obvious that Mrs. Vorobyova would be selected as the recipient of our Picture of The Week Honors!