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November 20-22,
2009 Pageant Introduction Jennifer
Vannatta-Fisher / Co-Executive Director Prior to winning the title of Miss Kansas, I worked as a television anchor and producer. As my year began to draw to a close, I had to decide if I would re-enter the world of journalism, or pursue other opportunities. I decided to join the staff of the MISS OKLAHOMA USA & MISS OKLAHOMA TEEN USA pageant. The reasons were simple. First, I love pageants, and believe in the opportunities they offer young women. Second, I enjoy working with others, and I gain personal satisfaction from knowing I’ve helped make a difference in the lives of others. It may sound cliché, but it truly is a blessing to watch our contestants blossom into confident young women, and to know that our pageant helped them to find direction and success. Finally, I decided to become involved in this pageant because I believe in its director. You see, the executive director is my older brother John. John became involved in the MISS USA & MISS TEEN USA pageants 15 years ago. He began as the director for Kansas, and later became the director for Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. He has taken more than 100 women to the national MISS USA & MISS TEEN USA competitions. Under his direction, our states have become regulars in the top-10, top-5, and top-3. There have even been three national winners. However, John is most proud of the 'post-pageant' real-life successes enjoyed by the titleholders and the contestants who write to thank us for their experience. You can read some of the testimonials at www.vanbros.com. John's focus from the beginning, and now mine as well, is for this program to provide a fair environment in which young women have the opportunity to better themselves. We hope the pageant encourages the contestants to gain self-awareness, self-confidence, individual pride, and greater social awareness. We hope each contestant improves her ability to communicate effectively, speak in front of people, and stand up for her beliefs. We encourage our contestants to find issues she feel's strongly about, and to become involved in organizations and causes that speak to her heart. Each young lady who enters this program has different goals, and we strive hard to assist each young woman in her own personal quest. Regardless of what your future career plans are, this is an environment that can open many exciting doors. Each year, future career connections are made by contestants during their pageant experience! Or, maybe you have not decided yet on a future career path. That’s okay too because maybe this experience will help you find something you want to do with your life. This could even be your chance to get "discovered!" Its happened to many young women before! We're especially proud of the fact that many contestants each year have never been in a pageant and they find it to be a rewarding and worthwhile experience. Many have won on their first attempt, and many others return because it was a positive experience. We like to believe that each young woman who participates in our pageant leaves a little more prepared to deal with the world around them, and more importantly, the world ahead of them! Basically, our philosophy for the MISS OKLAHOMA USA & MISS OKLAHOMA TEEN USA Pageant is not about encouraging young women to ‘win’ a pageant, but to encourage excellence in young women, and to help them develop life skills that will ultimately help them win in life by being the best they can be in everything they do. The winners of our State Pageant will each embark on an exciting journey, and receive a prize package including cash, wardrobe, and travel. They will also receive a scholarship offered through our new partnership with Lindenwood University. Our state Teen and Miss winner will receive a Lindenwood scholarship worth $57,600. Not only the winners benefit from this positive experience, or from our scholarship program. Runners-up in our State Pageant will receive Lindenwood scholarships valued at $48,000. Semifinalists in our State Pageant will receive a Lindenwood scholarship valued at $37,600. Also, EVERY young woman who participates in our State Pageant, Teen and Miss divisions, will be offered a Lindenwood scholarship valued at $33,600! Pageant
Weekend: On the first day, it's fun, fun, fun! The contestants enjoy meeting with city officials and other VIPs, attending a fabulous welcome dinner, and time getting to know the pageant staff and other contestants. The second day is full of rehearsals. We bring in a choreographer and a producer, who will put together a great show. The second day concludes with the presentation show. During the presentation show, each contestant is presented to the judges in the preliminary physical fitness in swimwear and evening gown competitions. The third day begins with the personal interview competition. During the interviews, each contestant has the opportunity to meet indi-vidually with each judge for a four minute interview. Each contestant has the opportunity to convince the judges she is right for the job of MISS OKLAHOMA USA or MISS OKLAHOMA TEEN USA. Following the interviews, the contestants return to the theater for more rehearsals. The third day ends with the final competition. At the end of the final show, we will have a new MISS OKLAHOMA USA & MISS OKLAHOMA TEEN USA. The winner of MISS OKLAHOMA USA will advance to the nationally televised MISS USA Pageant, and the winner of the MISS OKLAHOMA TEEN USA title will advance to the MISS TEEN USA Pageant. Should MISS OKLAHOMA USA go on to win MISS USA, she would then advance to the ultimate contest... the internationally televised MISS UNIVERSE Pageant. Pageant
Competition: Scoring
is based on the following:
The top-5 will then each have an on-stage interview. The interview will be conducted by the emcee. She will ask them several questions about their bio, or topics related to their bio. The interview will end with one randomly selected question unrelated to their bio, and submitted prior to the show by either the panel of judges or the contestants. After the top-5 interviews, the judges will make the final rankings based on their overall impression of each contestant. The judges will select a winner, 1st runner-up, 2nd runner-up, 3rd runner-up, and 4th runner-up in each age group. Pageant
Wardrobe:
How
to Enter:
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