Monday
Recap
April
8, 2009
MISS
FLORIDA USA OFFICIAL PHOTOS:
Our
state representative Anastagia Pierre can now be seen in her swimsuit and
evening gown pictures that will be in this year’s program book. These were
taken last Friday and Saturday and show our Ms. Pierre in fine form and
fashion. Look for tomorrow as we premier her Fadil Hollywood Glam portrait.
MISS FLORIDA USA TWEATS ON TWITTER
For the latest up to the moment reports from our national championship of pageantry simply join us at https://twitter.com/MissFloridaUSA. Several updates a day on everything Miss USA from Florida to Las Vegas!
THE DAY IN PICTURES: LIBERACE MUSEUM
Tara Turnure, Miss Washington USA 2009, Kristen Motil, Miss Tennessee USA 2009,
Alysha Castonguay, Miss Rhode Island USA 2009, and Laura Kirilova Chukanov, Miss Utah USA 2009,
pose for a photo in front of one of Liberace's costumes at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, April 7, 2009.
Alysha Castonguay, Miss Rhode Island USA 2009, and Christy Lynn Dunn, Miss New Hampshire USA 2009,
pose for a photo in front of one of Liberace's stage costumes.
Tracey Chang, Miss New York USA 2009 /
Brooke Werner, Miss Vermont USA 2009
Maegan Elizabeth Phillips, Miss Virginia USA 2009, and Bianca Matamoros-Koonce,
Miss New Mexico USA 2009, look at Liberace's custom cars
FITTINGS PHOTOS:
Anastagia Pierre, Miss Florida USA 2009, in her opening number
outfit during registration and fittings for the 2009 Miss USA competition at the
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Las Vegas on Friday, April 3, 2009.
Patrice Williams, Miss Colorado USA 2009; Bianca Matamoros-Koonce, Miss New Mexico USA 2009; Courtney Courter,
Miss Kansas USA 2009; Rachel Philippona, Miss Alabama USA 2009; Misti Vogt, Miss Montana USA 2009;
and Jessica Lauren McRaney, Miss Mississippi USA 2009, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
Patrice Williams, Miss Colorado USA 2009, prepares for a photo shoot (left)
Chi hair stylist Arturo Gray works on Brooke Werner, Miss Vermont USA 2009 (right)
Getting to Know: Miss Georgia USA
Kimberly
Gittings of Lilburn, who is half-Korean, will represent Georgia in the Miss
USA Pageant, the American preliminary to Miss Universe.
Q:
No disrespect, but how does a girl who battled anorexia wind up in the pageant
circuit? It seems like the pressure to perform and conform to a certain body
type would actually exacerbate the disorder.
A: I suffered with anorexia when I was
in middle school and high school. I’m 5 feet 10 inches and I weighed 97
pounds. So my parents were on the verge of hospitalizing me. I had heart
palpitations, my liver was having issues, my hair was falling out, my nails
kept breaking off, my period stopped. What I did to my body when I was younger
will [negatively] affect my chances when I’m older if I ever want to
conceive kids. But actually, pageants were something of a healing process.
They allowed me to talk about what I was going through. [In pageants] you pick
a platform that you’re passionate about and you talk about these issues
across your state. For me, that’s what I picked. It gives me drive.
Q: Do you feel you’ve conquered it,
or are there moments when you think, “I want to win and I need to be as thin
as possible so I won’t eat today?” Do you still have it or another eating
disorder?
A: I do not. I know how to live
healthy now. I do not ever want to be back in that place again. It took a lot
of time, money, effort and tears to get over it. Now I love to eat.
Q: Speaking of body image, what do you
think of first lady Michelle Obama? Everybody keeps making hay over her bare
arms and her level of fitness.
I think one pundit referred to her arms as “thunder and lightning.”
A: Our first lady should be fit. I
mean would you want her not? She’s an ambassador for the United States and
there’s a reputation to keep up, and I think she’s doing an outstanding
job.
Q: I feel like I’m on stage
interviewing you at the pageant, you’re just so rehearsed.
A: I’ve got a double major in speech
communications, so this is something I’m good at.
Q: You’re 20. You’re a sophomore
at UGA. You’re a cadet in the ROTC program. So if we’re still in Iraq or
Afghanistan once your reign as Miss Georgia USA or maybe Miss USA is over,
would you want to deploy to one of those conflict areas?
A: Absolutely. My father is a retired
Air Force veteran and he has been in Iraq for the past two years. He went back
as an independent contractor with the United States Army. I come from four
generations of Air Force and a military family. So for me, this is what is
expected. I know what it means to sacrifice for your country.
Q: So what do you think of the
president’s plan to refocus our efforts in Afghanistan?
A: It’s needed. If we leave, it’s
almost as if we’re taking five steps back. The foundations there are not
sturdy enough yet. Just like how we’re still in [South] Korea since the
1950s, I feel like our presence will always need to be [in Afghanistan and
Iraq].
Q: So 10, 15, 20 years from now,
we’ll still need a presence in that region?
A: Yes, ma’am. If we totally pull
out, all the work and the lives lost would be a waste.
Q: OK. Pretend I’m a judge: Tell me
how you’d use your reign as Miss USA.
A: What I’m trying to do is support
women everywhere. No matter age, no matter color, no matter how tall you are,
I feel that every single woman is beautiful inside and out and truly has
something special to give. I know that sounds cliché. But I believe that.
Q: Do you have your pageant wave down?
A: Yes, I do.