Miss Puerto Rico

For the record, this is about to be a really short post.

Not because we don't like Puerto Rico, but because the Junkies are still kicking themselves for not taking that immersion internship to Mexico in college.  After a zillion credits in Spanish Language and too many years later, we are seriously inept at doing the adequate amount research on a contestant because everything we find is in Spanish!  Including Facebook pages!  Who knew Miss Puerto Rico and this blog would be yet another reason why we should've given up Christmas vacation???  Ugh!  But I digress...

Here's Laura Ramierez, Miss Puerto Rico 2011... isn't she lovely?

Puerto Rico has an outstanding Miss Universe track record and lots of girls know how to look glamorous!  If Miss America can tap into some of those contestants who are interested in the scholarship opportunities offered by MAO, they'll be in great shape!

Miss Puerto Rico History:  Miss Puerto Rico returned to Miss America in 2010 - after nearly a 50 year hiatus!  Mimi Pabon won Swimsuit in 10, but nothing else of note.

Best Junkie Research Tool: The Miss America Website has all the contestants here...

Who To Watch:  Ummm.... we have no idea.  Based on our research, it appears that all 14 of the contests are brand new this year.. which doesn't give us much to go on.  Admittedly, we're really stretching it here... but if you gotta take a shot in the dark, here's who we're picking..

Kiara Liz Medina - She's on Twitter, has a Facebook page for her local pageant and she's a Flamenco Dancer

Valerie Trinidad - Former Miss Kissimmee Florida Latina competed at Miss Florida Latina, Jazz Dancer

Amanda Morel - Martial Arts Talent

Gonna be just as surprised as you are when we crown Miss Puerto Rico tonight! :)  Junkie Love!!! :)

MAJ

Miss Kentucky

Ann Blair Thornton, Miss Kentucky 2011 did Kentucky proud by bringing home this year's Quality of Life award from Miss America.  And while I desperately wish they'd come up with a better name for this award (as evidenced in this blog we posted back in January), I can't argue with the 'heart' of the award.  Ann Blair lived her platform every day and as she shares, her 'platform journey' and her 'pageant journey' go hand in hand...

If you didn't get the chance to see Ann Blair's finalist video for the QoL, check it out here!  We LOVED the "little reminder" she reveals near the end of this video regarding so many important people she met throughout her journey with her platform.

Here's wishing Ann Blair all the best in the future!

Miss Kentucky History:  The one and only Heather French, Miss America 2000 is the only Miss America from Kentucky.

Best Junkie Research Tool:  You can still vote for your favorite contestant at the Miss Kentucky Website and see each contestant's pertinent information right here...

Who to Watch:  
Jeffra Bland - KY Teen USA 09 & 4th runner up at Teen USA, 3rd runner up in 10, 2nd runner up in 11

Jenna Day - 1st runner up in 11, Prelim Talent winner, poli-sci major, Top 10 at Miss Sweetheart

Ashley Ferry - Miss KYOT 08, 4th runner up in 11

Annie Franklin - 4th runner up in 10, Top 10 last year, daughter of Miss KY 88

Olivia Henken - Semifinalist in '11, lead singer in a band, already has a couple of albums produced

Ramsey Carpenter - Non-Finalist Talent and Non-Finalist Interview in '11

Person of Interest! Melissa Cox is the sister of the new Miss Indiana 2012, Merriebeth Cox!  They're both Baton Twirlers and both adorable blondes!  We've seen lots of sisters compete in the same year at the same state pageant, but different states are certainly more rare!

All the Best to Miss Kentucky!  Good Luck to Everyone in the Bluegrass State!!! :)

MAJ

Miss Arkansas

Kristen Glover, Miss Arkansas 2011 wins the 'Super Smarty Sexy Scientist' award of this year's class.  The girl graduated Magna Cume Laude from Ouachita Baptist University with a degree in Chemistry (For the record, the last time the Junkies even took a Chemistry Class was at the age of 16!).  Her future plans include Pharmacy School at the University of Arkansas... like we said, Super Smarty Pants! :) 

There were scores of photos of Ms. Glover which were Fabulous...

 

Here's hoping Kristen's future lab partner at least has a clue and appreciates who he/she's been paired up with this fall!!! :)  

Kristen was a Quality of Life Finalist Award winner at Miss America this year for her platform called, "Second Chances through Mentoring".  If you've seen her Facebook page or her blog (check it out here) you know her year hasn't been about photos - it's been about the kids.  She's a great role model and has a strong future ahead of her! :)

Miss Arkansas History: Two Miss Americas hail from the state of Arkansas... Donna Axum in 64 and Elizabeth Ward in 82.

Best Junkie Research Tool:  All the contestants are listed along with their prelim competition groups which you can see here for yourself! :)

Items to Note:  From our perspective, this year's pageant seems to have 3 categories:

1. No Brainers

2. Newbies

3. You Never Know... 

Who to Watch = No Brainers:

Simone Mullinax - 2nd runner up in 11, 1st runner up in 10, won Miss Sweetheart last year

Sloane Roberts - 4th runner up in 11, AR OT in 08 and 2nd runner up at MAOT 08

Sommer Allen - 4th runner up in 10, 3rd runner up in 11

Morgan Holt - Semi-Finalist in 09 and 10, AR OT in 07

Who to Watch = Newbies:

Caitlyn Cook - we're pretty sure she can sing and has a great headshot

Mary Lacey Thompson - musical theater major, inside scoop says she's 'a super sweet Southern girl'

Who to Watch = You Never Know:

Rosalyn Taylor - Top 15 in 11, won every category at her local

Helen Winser - Prelim Evening Gown and Prelim Swimsuit Winner in '11

Helen Billingsley - Prelim Evening Gown Winner in 11

Prelims Begin on Wednesday!  Junkies Love Miss Arkansas!!! :)

MAJ

 

 

 

Miss South Carolina

Bree Boyce was pretty darn impressive as Miss South Carolina 2011...

Besides gracing the covers of People Magazine and being featured in Southern Living, she was also a guest on The View, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Extra and other programs.  Truthfully, Bree received more on-camera promotion and publicity than a few of our own Miss Americas have!  And let's face it - if you weighed 234 pounds, wore size 18 jeans and you lost 112 pounds to compete at Miss America, I'd put you on the cover of "Junkie~Love" Magazine too (ummm - don't steal that idea, we may just have to do that!)!  Bree stated in a recent interview that she's headed to Hollywood a couple of weeks after Miss South Carolina... No doubt we haven't seen the end of her yet!

 

We hope she has this photo framed somewhere right next to the one where she's holding her size 18 jeans!  Bree's Top 13 finish at Miss America just goes to prove you can do ANYTHING you want if you work hard and set your mind to it! :)

Miss South Carolina History:  Miss SC has had 2 Miss Americas... Marion McNight in 57 and Kimberly Aiken in 94.

Best Junkie Research Tool:  OMG!  More Videos!!!  Check out this link... You'll be connected to the Miss South Carolina YouTube Channel... only trouble is, they have the Teen videos alongside the Miss Videos, and there's a total of 101 contestants between both programs!  WOW!  You can also see contestant groupings and headshots here at the Miss South Carolina website...

Items to Note: Ummm... this is crazy... but 37 out of 48 contestants are NEW to the Miss South Carolina stage!!!  Do you know how hard it is to do Junkie-Quality Research on 48 girls, let alone checking out the best of 37 rookies???  Especially since we have little-to-no-clue about anyone's Talent!?!  Crazy I tell you!  Do yourself a favor and leave it to the experts!  Don't try this at home! :)

Who to Watch:

Lauren Cabaniss - 3rd runner up and prelim swimsuit winner in 11

Ali Rogers - Miss SCOT 09, 1st time at Miss SC

Summer Rayl - SC National Teenager in 05, 4th time at Miss SC, poli-sci major

Others to Watch:

Mika Friday 

Meagan Garner

Courtney Mauldin

Currie Dickerson

Lustra Miller

Prelims begin Tuesday Night!  Junkie~Love to the Palmetto State!!! :)

MAJ

Miss Washington

Brittney Henry, Miss Washington 2011 had one of the best stories ever for a Miss America contestant!  Although let's be honest, Brittney has said herself that she isn't a 'Cinderella Story' where everyone lives "Happily Ever After"... It's what she's done with the life she has that makes her sooooooooo special!  Whenever you think the cards are stacked against you --- or that someone else has an unfair advantage over you --- just remember Brittney.  That oughta get you out of your pity-party pretty quickly! :)

In case you don't know Brittney's full story, you can read about it here on her personal website...

At Miss America, the Junkies were fortunate enough to see Brittney's Talent and we were thrilled to see her go home with a Non-Finalist Talent award!  So deserving!

There's also a video on YouTube you can see for yourself here...

We also have to say that Miss California, Noelle Freeman and Brittney have been hilarious to watch this year... our personal favorite was this video they made while competing at Miss America... Check it out here... Super Glad these 2 kept everything light-hearted and fun at The Big Dance in Vegas! :)

Miss Washington History:  Although they've never produced a Miss America, we still have a couple of favorites... Honey Castro was 3rd runner up to Susan Akin and Elyse Umemoto was 2nd runner up to Katie Stam.

Best Junkie Research Tool: The Miss Washington site has a slideshow of all the contestants here on their website... For a look at everyone at one time, check out the Miss America link here...

Items to Note:  This is a very interesting group of girls... out of 22 contestants, 17 are new to Miss Washington this year!  WOW!  Could be someone out of nowhere who takes the crown this year... you just never know...

Who to Watch:
Daniela Ferrell - 4th runner up in '11, 2nd time at Miss WA
Kara Jo Morris - 2nd runner up in '11, 2nd time at Miss WA
Alexandra Harrison - 4th runner up in 11, 1st runner up 10 at Miss OR, 1st time at Miss WA
Reina Almon - WA OT in '09, 1st year at Miss WA
Mandy Schendel - Miss WA Teen USA in 08
Jean-Sun Ahn - 4th runner up at Miss AZ in 10

A few more than we normally list on a pageant this size, but it's only because it's anyone's crown to win!!!

All the best to the place we're affectionately nicknaming, "The Starbucks State"!!!  :)

MAJ

Miss Florida

When it comes to photo shoots, Miss Florida Kristina Janolo seemed to cover the whole gamut... First with this FABULOUS photo that we ADORED (and her yellow dress made us think about former Miss Floridas and Miss Americas Leanza Cornett and Ericka Dunlap every time!)... So 'beachy-Florida-esque'...

To this photo of Kristina with another 'Florida-esque' pose (although not quite so 'beachy')... LOL!

Let's just say these are 2 photos you certainly wouldn't see taken in say, Nebraska.  But Florida?  You Betcha!!! :)

Kristina finished in the Top 12 at Miss America - and although you didn't get to hear her sing 'Gold' on National Television, the Junkies heard it during preliminary competition and thought she just might make it through!  Kristina was also the first Philipino-American to win the Miss Florida title - and her little sister Samantha, was First Runner Up in the Florida MAO Teen pageant!  We say, America might just see more of the Janolo ladies in the years to come! :)

Florida History:  Well we already spilled the beans about Miss Americas from Florida... Leanza Cornett 93 and Ericka Dunlap 04 both competed in stunning yellow evening gowns when they were crowned. :)

Best Junkie Research Tool: Each photo of the contestants from the night they won their local title can be seen here on the Miss Florida website... But if you want official head-shots, Talent and Platforms, you'll need to go here to the Miss America Florida page...

Who to Watch:

Laura McKeeman - currently a sports reporter for FOX Florida, Top 15 in 10, 2nd runner up and overall interview winner in '11

Kalen Dennis - 1st runner up in '11, 3rd time at Miss FL

Brittani Robins - new, but Teen USA contestant

Chloe Lupo - roomies in '11 with Kristina Janolo, super beautiful girl, 3rd time at Miss FL

Azah Awasum - Top 10 Miss Maryland '11, daughter of Camaroon immigrants, well-spoken

ALL THE BEST TO MISS FLORIDA!!! :)  The Junkies Love the Sunshine State!!! :)

MAJ

Miss Texas

Miss Texas... 
Where do we begin?
Hmmmm... How about telling you about their record...

In 40 years, Miss Texas has only missed the semi-finalist cut 10 times!!!  Yes - since 1972, Miss Texas has been at least a semi-finalist 75% of the time!   May we say that again... FORTY YEARS!!!

Miss Texas 2011, Kendall Morris was no exception.  In fact, in a previous blog we noted that when we saw Miss Texas walk in the Miss America fashion show, we knew she could win a swimsuit prelim - even if she was ugly!  That girl can WALK (just look up the MA Fashion Show video and see for yourself!)!  Good news is, she's gorgeous (so no controversy there) was styled perfectly at Miss America and did come home with the Preliminary Swimsuit Award along with her Top 10 finish.  Bravo!

Miss Texas History:  Although they have a phenomenal state record, Miss Texas hasn't had a Miss America since 1975... Three total; Jo-Carrol Dennison in 42, Phyllis George in 71 and Shirley Cothran in 75.

Best Junkie Research Tool:  The Miss Texas site has recently been updated and all of the contestant information is here...

Items to Note:  Wow.  If you thought Miss Oklahoma and Miss California were tough this year... let me introduce you to Miss Texas...

In this corner - We have 15 newbies competing for the first time...

And in this corner - We have 3 girls who have all previously been named the

1st runner up at Miss Texas!

So before making any predictions, can we say "Show us the Judges Please??"

Chris Chambers - Assistant ED at Miss Tennessee
Norval Sykes - Former Executive Producer of Miss TX, Vocal Award named for him
Richard Walker - Miss Florida background, Earned Doctorate, VP for Student Affairs
Kenny Mack - ED of Miss New York
Angela Busby - Former Miss Kansas, part of judges panel who chose Laura Kaeppeler
Pamela Dyer - Former Miss Texas contestant - and former Miss TX USA contestant
Angie Rodriguez - Formerly with Miss Maryland, now with Miss Virginia OT

Interesting... Now - here's who we're saying you should watch:

Adrianna Nelson - 1st runner up in 11, 6th in 09, vocalist
DaNae Couch - 1st runner up in 09, 2nd runner up in 10 and 11, baton
Jordan Johannsen - 1st runner up in 10, 3rd runner up in 11, Top 10 in 09, dance and vocal
Meghan Miller - MAOT National Winner 06, semi-finalist 2 out of 3 times at Miss TX
Monique Evans - Top 10 in 11 (8th place), prelim talent and swimsuit
Kenne Nordin - Top 10 in 11 (6th place), 4th time at Miss TX
Christina Tang - Top 10 in 09, Baylor Grad, Law Student at SMU, piano player

Let the Pageant Begin!  All the Best to Everyone at Miss Texas!!!

MAJ

Miss Nevada

Before we get to Miss Nevada, I want to apologize to Mississippi, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Oregon, Illinois and Virginia... It really is nothing personal, we just fell behind.  While much of the research we did on these states would've been great to blog about, the concerns we had for our friends and family members who were escaping a firestorm became our #1 priority and something had to give.  The Junkies promise to make it up to these 7 states sometime in the future... We owe you one!

Now - On to Nevada!

Miss Nevada 2011 Alana Hill will forever be remembered in our minds as the girl who gave the perfect answer on National Television when she didn't make the semi-finalist cut.  In case you missed it (but you're all Junkies so let' face it... everyone reading this knows exactly what we're talking about), Gretchen Carlson (Miss America 1989 and Fox News Anchor) and Brooke Burke Charvet were on-stage with the girls after the evening gown competition and Gretchen started talking about how proud she was of the contestants... She said, 'These girls will go on to be doctors and lawyers and television anchors and politicians... And I hope one day, President of the United States'... to which Brooke says to Miss Nevada, 'That's great... What's next for you?'... That's when Alana replies (without missing a beat), 'President of the United States'. :)  Classic - unscripted and honest!  What a great moment!

In case you didn't know, Alana has a real shot at that Presidential thing... her father is a state senator for the state of Nevada representing Las Vegas.  Additionally, Alana was covering the Miss America pageant in 2010 as a reporter for SUN News and KCSG  - and then participated in 2011!  It's stuff like that which reminds us how much we enjoy blogging about each state!!! :)

OK - Here's what else you need to know...

Miss Nevada History:  Never had a Miss America... and while they've had finalists since this time, we still appreciate and remember Stacie James who was 2nd runner up to Kaye Lani Rae Rafko at Miss America 1988 (who had a great voice and was recovering from Bells Palsy)... then again, maybe it was those fabulous 'la cucaracha' dresses that we loved and adored...

jjjj

Best Junkie Research Tool: The Miss Nevada site does have all the contestants here on their webpage... But you can also discover each contestant's Talent and Platform by checking Miss America site here...

Who to Watch: 12 contestants this year... here's who we picked...

Elizabeth Mercado - 2nd runner up in '11, 2nd time at Miss NV

Madison James - Cute Headshot... but don't try google-ing her name or you just end up with a bunch of stuff on James Madison (true!)

Diana Sweeney - 4th runner up in '11

Randi Sunquist - 3rd runner up in 10, 3rd runner up in 11

THE JUNKIE BLOG IS BACK!!! Good luck to all in The Silver State!  

MAJ