Former Miss America, Miss Teen USA and the reigning Miss Haiti Universe Announced as National Judges
In 2014 it was Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011. Last year, it was Katie Stam-Irk, Miss America 2009. UNM is well known for securing forever Miss Americas as their head judge, and this year is no different. USA National Miss was excited to announce that Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev, will be the head judge at Nationals 2016! Stunning delegates and fans alike, the announcement of top-notch judges did not stop there,
as UNM announced two additional pageant superstars to the judges line up: the reigning Miss Haiti Universe, Lisa Drouillard, and Miss Teen USA 2012 Logan West. And our sources tell us that some additional pageant celebrities are slated to be announced to the judges panel soon. This year’s judging panel is shaping up to be epic!
Added Perk: National Delegates to Receive Complimentary National Photo Packages USA National Miss is once again setting a standard in pageantry! This year, the national photos from the official photographer, Amanda Ferguson Photography, will be provided to all delegates compliments of UNM! No more paying hundreds of dollars for national photo packages. At UNM, you will get it for free!
UNM is a Two-Timer at The Pageant Planet! UNM was once again named as a TOP 10 Pageant System by The Pageant Planet, making it a back-to-back honor to be named among some of the industry’s biggest heavy hitters for two years in a row. Congrats are also in order for our national executive director, Jackie Watson, who also earned back-to-back TOP 5 Best Director accolades by The Pageant Planet, that is in addition to the Prestige Director Award that she won at the Prestige Pageantry Awards in Miami. Thanks to The Pageant Planet for making official what everyone already knows: UNM and our national director ROCKS!
2016 Royalty to have a Private Dinner with Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, in Atlantic City During Miss America Pageant Weekend Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, has been involved at UNM since 2014, when she was the head judge for nationals. She also met the 2014 national queens for dinner during Miss America that year, and Skyped with the 2015 national queens during Miss America this past fall as she was not present for the pageant. And our 2016 national queens will also reap the benefits of a one-on-one with this Miss America, as Teresa has confirmed she will have a private dinner with our newly crowned 2016 national queens in Atlantic City during the Miss America pageant this fall. This will be the third year that Teresa spends time with our national royalty. How many pageants give you the opportunity to spend time with a Miss America? This is such an incredible opportunity for young women to be motivated and inspired by someone as incredible as a forever Miss America, and it’s #OnlyAtUNM!
“It was my honor and pleasure to serve as a judge at the USA National Miss 2014 competition. Coming from the Miss America Organization and being unfamiliar with the program, I can honestly say the entire experience blew me away. All of the young women competing were incredibly tough competition, highcaliber ladies who defied stereotypes and brought new meaning to what a pageant contestant is. The entire weekend was incredibly professional, lots of fun, and always carried out with the utmost respect for each and every contestant and their families. I could see that everyone involved had a positive, uplifting experience and that the atmosphere and environment was always one of encouragement and support. From here on out, I would always highly recommend USA National Miss to any young woman looking to gain valuable experience in pageantry, modeling, and public speaking, as well as any girl who wants to make great connections, have a thoroughly enjoyable time, and stretch herself to new limits. Thank you, USA National Miss for all that you do and for allowing me to be a part of this fantastic organization.”
Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, takes a selfie with UNM’s national Teresa Scanlan executive director, Jackie Watson, Steven Roddy of The Pageant Planet, and Miss America 2011 the 2014 national queens during a private dinner in Atlantic City during the Miss America Pageant.
A Parade in Our Honor? Yes, Please! The City of Boca will be hosting a “Welcome to Boca” parade in honor of USA National Miss and our national delegates during nationals week! Our national delegates, reigning royalty, and
Legacy queens will be walking in their own parade! This is definitely another #OnlyAtUNM moment! In addition, the Mayor of Boca, Susan Haynie, will be presenting USA National Miss
with a Proclamation from the city naming it “UNM DAY”. What a great way to kick-off Nationals 2016… with a parade just for us! This is sure to be an exciting addition to nationals week.
ASHLEYlauren and Mon Cheri to Dress Delegates for Opening Number USA National Miss is excited to partner with designer ASHLEYlauren for our 2016 national opening number dresses for delegates in the Jr. Teen, Teen and Miss divisions. These classy designer cocktail dresses are being provided to our delegates at a fraction of the cost! In addition, ASHLEYlauren will be providing our senior delegates with official tshirts! Our Preteen, Princess and Jr. Princess divisions will once again be dressed by Mon Cheri from their Lexi collection, in a custom color cocktail dress that is exclusive to USA National Miss. These dresses, being facilitated by national sponsor Bebe’s Liz’s, are being provided at well below retail. Our delegates are going to look breathtaking on that gorgeous national stage wearing their opening number dresses.
National Interview Award Announced, Adding $1,000 in Cash Scholarships at Nationals USA National Miss recently announced a new cash scholarship at nationals. The delegate with the highest interview award in both the Junior and Senior divisions will receive a $500 cash scholarship! That’s a total of $1,000 in new cash scholarships being offered this year. Sharpen your interview skills, and win big at UNM!
New Non-Performing-Arts Optional Introduced A new and exciting national optional competition has been introduced for Nationals 2016. The NonPerforming-Arts Talent Competition allows girls with non-traditional pageant talents to be awarded on the national level. Delegates with talents that can’t be performed on stage, such as horseback riding, painting, archery and others, will now get the chance to
showcase their abilities at the national pageant and be awarded for it. This optional will be judged by video submissions showcasing the delegate’s nonperforming-art talent. Believing that every girl is talented, UNM now provides all delegates with an opportunity to showcase their talent no matter what that talent might be.
Registration for Nationals Is Still Ongoing There’s still time to register for your appointed title for the 2016 National Pageant this July! But time is running out, and so are state titles, so don’t delay! This is the best year yet to join us for the UNM National Finals in the luxurious and exclusive Boca Resort and Beach Club in Florida. Ready to register? Online applications are still being accepted at:
www.USANationalMiss.com/register
UNM Announces Official National Platform USA National Miss proudly announced a new partnership with The Crown C.A.R.E.S. (Creating A Respectful Environment in Schools). In an effort to support education and awareness of bullying prevention, our national delegates and royalty will be visiting classrooms across America with this anti-bully message as well as fundraising for this nonprofit charity. In addition, The Crown C.A.R.E.S. will be providing additional national scholarships to USA National Miss!
Miss Universe Runway Coach to Offer Exclusive Runway Seminar at UNM Nationals USA National Miss is proud to welcome legendary Miss Universe runway coach Grace Fontecha to UNM Nationals for an exclusive runway seminar! Our national delegates will have the opportunity to work with Grace, who has produced 5 Miss Universe winners including back-to-back Miss Universe winners in 2008 and 2009. This exclusive workshop is offered #OnlyAtUNM and is just one more amazing new addition that is being added to nationals this year. UNM will be flying Grace in from Puerto Rico specifically to work with our delegates in this optional workshop prior to the National Runway Competition. Grace has worked extensively with the Miss Universe organization, and has been actively involved in the Miss Venezuela franchise for many years. USA National Miss is very excited to welcome Grace to Nationals in Boca Raton this summer.
Motivational Speaker to Lead Nationals Orientation Just when you thought nationals couldn’t get any better, USA National Miss announced that author and motivational speaker, Lulu Orange, will be the host for Nationals Orientation! Lulu has over 15 year’s experience in the media industry, having worked as a disc jockey, talk show host, motivational speaker and corporate professional. She is also the director and producer of “OJ in the Morning” and host of “The Boardroom” TV show showcasing inspiring women CEO’s. Lulu also recently launched her own clothing and beauty line, L’Orange Couture and BeYOUtiful Role Models Organization. She has also been featured in commercials and has been crowned several times as a pageant queen. Lulu is currently the director of multiple preliminary pageants for the Miss Florida USA system. Lastly, she is also the co-founder of the Prestige Pageantry Awards. We have no doubt this incredible woman will get all of our UNM ladies pumped up and motivated to kick off nationals week!
Directors Also Get Spoiled at UNM Our national royalty are not the only ones spoiled by our executive director. Our state directors were recently treated to an expense paid Director’s Retreat at the beach in Hilton Head Island. Staying in three private beach houses, the directors enjoyed bonding with one another while discussing all things UNM. We still have some director positions available for 2017. Email maine@usanationalmiss.com to see if your state directorship is available and join our team!
Exclusive Interview with UNM’S Founder and Executive Director UNM’s social media guru, Emma Lewis, recently did an exclusive interview with Founder and Executive Director, Jackie Watson. The entire interview is posted on the We Are UNM Blog, www.usanationalmiss.com/blog. Here are a few highlights:
Q- Some pageant systems are scholarship organizations and some are not, what prompted you to have UNM be a scholarship organization?
A- I felt it was super important to provide scholarship money to the winners because let’s face it – college is expensive, and young women need a college education to reach their career goals. As we progressed throughout the years, we have been able to provide more and more college money for these young women. I was absolutely thrilled last year when we began our partnership with Troy University in Alabama to offer full-ride college scholarships to all qualifying delegates – not just winners. The only other teen pageant I know of that has a college sponsor is the Outstanding Teen program, who also partners with Troy University, so we are definitely in good company with this partnership. In 2015, UNM was able to award over $220,000.00 in full ride college scholarships to Troy University.
Q- What is the meaning behind the UNM crown design? A- The national crown has 5 points, and each of those points represents a character trait that is pleasing to God. Each year, we share the meaning of the crown, the Bible verse associated with it and its immense meaning with our newly crowned royalty. It is a beautiful moment that serves as a reminder that wearing the crown comes with a responsibility to shine a light into the world, and to go about their reign by living those character traits and leaving a legacy.
Q- Miss America 2009, Katie Stam Irk, judged last year’s National Pageant. She said this about you and UNM: “Her passion, her drive, and her motivation for this program is awe-inspiring! She desires to share her faith and ministry by making young women feel special, encouraging them to be their best selves, and empowering them through scholarship earning.” How do you respond to that beautiful compliment?
A- I have no words to express how humbling these words are. Katie has always been one of my favorite Miss Americas, and I still cannot fully wrap my mind around this beautiful compliment coming from someone who I have admired for such a long time. Humbled, grateful and thankful are the three words that come to mind.
Read the entire interview with Jackie, as well as other informative and interesting articles, on our national blog:
USANationalMiss.com/blog
Shoe Designer Marc Defang Names Shoes in Honor of UNM Senior Royalty and National Director It’s not every day that a girl gets a shoe named after her – especially a gorgeous shoe made by world-famous shoe designer Marc Defang. Our senior national royalty are living the dream, along with our national director, who were recently honored by having shoes named after them! You can order your own pair of Jackie, Katherine, Caroline or Gracie shoes at www.MarcDefang.com. How cool is that? Check out these gorgeous shoes, and the gorgeous women they are named after:
30% OFF any Marc Defang order with our special UNM coupon code! Email admin@usanationalmiss.com for the code.
Royalty Spotlight UNM Princess, Sofy, is living in Hollywood during pilot season for her acting career!
March Madness at UNM Means $100 Off Nationals Fee and One Winner of Free Entry! All national applications received during the month of March will receive $100 off during UNM’s March Madness event. In addition, a drawing will be held from those applications to receive fees paid to nationals ($495 value!) It’s March Madness, pageant style! Register online today for nationals 2016 on our website at www.USANationalMiss.com.
UNM Miss, Katherine, was interviewed on the red carpet at New York Fashion Week!
UNM Preteen, Sabrina, won nine 1st place awards at Spring Fling Ballroom Competition.
National Day of Service to be held April 30, 2016 UNM holds two National Days of Service each pageant year, and the next one is being held on April 30th! Our state and national queens will be out in their communities serving, volunteering and making an impact. At USA National Miss, service is a lifestyle! What will you be doing April 30? We invite you to join us in making the world a better place.
Congrats, queens!
Beach Beauties Cruise to the Bahamas Our national royalty went to the Bahamas on their royalty cruise in January and had an incredible time! They even went to a private island and swam with the dolphins during this incredible vacation that was part of their prize package. USA National Miss, Katherine, was unable to make it on the boat because her flight was canceled, however, our executive director will be taking her on a cruise to the Bahamas in April!
USANationalMiss.com