This is a sponsored post; however, all opinions are mine. Thank you Morgan Batts for the complimentary tickets!
On November 4 & 5, I had the pleasure of attending the Miss Alabama USA and Teen USA Pageants which took place at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center in Montgomery, Alabama. This was my first time attending a Miss USA state preliminary. I arrived around 6:00 p.m. on that Friday evening to pick up my tickets. To my surprise I learned that I had front row seating for both the preliminary and final competitions. Was I surprised? Surprised is an understatement! Your girl felt like she was on some V.I.P. status.
Yes, I had prime seating to experience the two nights of glitz and glamour. I also got to sit next to Miss Alabama USA 1985 Allison Sawyer and Miss Tri-State & America’s Elite Miss Director Kerrie Juliana. The preliminary competition opened up with a video about India and the 82 contestants made their way to the stage. During opening number, they were dressed in Bollywood attire as they introduced themselves and completed the statement “If I could teach the world one thing____________”. After opening number, the contestants participated in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. In case you are not familiar with the scoring system, below is the breakdown.
Interview – 33%
Swimsuit – 33%
Evening Gown – 33%
The next morning, the contestants competed in interview and the final competition took place that evening. Once again we saw them in their Bollywood attire during opening number and they introduced themselves once again. Now, on this final night the judges narrowed down the competition to the top 15, top 10, and finally the top 5 in each division. I played “pretend judge” before the announcement of the top 10, and I must say my predictions turned out quite well. Of course, in the end there is only one that came take home the crown in each division. Judges Josh Milko, John Andrews, Michelle Ducote Anglim, and Art Green judged the Teen contestants, and Cal Tindal, Dr. Bill Dorfman, Ioanna Dafermou, Joe Anglim, and Shane Williams judged the Miss contestants. The winners in each division are the following:
Miss Alabama Teen USA
Miss Photogenic: Madison Boyd (Houston County)
Miss Congeniality: Ashley Estes (Jefferson County)
Swimsuit Award Winner: Hannah Claire Hamric (Magic City)
4th Runner Up: Bayley Albinger (Greater Mobile)
3rd Runner Up: Alexandria Griffin (Headland)
2nd Runner Up:Kennedy Cromeens (Shelby County)
1st Runner Up: Hannah Claire Hamric (Magic City)
Miss Alabama Teen USA 2017: Claire Scott (Over the Mountain)
Miss Alabama USA
Miss Photogenic: Savannah Droxler (Pell City)
Miss Congeniality: Hannah Godwin (Oak Mountain)
Swimsuit Award Winner: Baylee Smith (Pike County)
4th Runner Up: Alyssa Knight (Capstone)
3rd Runner Up: Taylor Jones (Stillwaters)
2nd Runner Up: Barron Rae Williams (Lake Martin)
1st Runner Up: Hannah Godwin (Oak Mountain)
Miss Alabama USA 2017: Baylee Smith (Pike County)
So what are my “Krystle Clear” thoughts about the pageant? Well, I enjoyed the pageant overall. I believe RPM Productions does a great job of providing the contestants with an wonderful pageant experience as well as an amazing prize package. The audience also gets to experience a well organized production. On the other hand, I was surprised by some of the results. After being a competitor and coach for several years, I view things from a different lens. Sometimes it is hard to understand what judges are looking for exactly, and I wonder if they miss the mark sometimes. Who knows? When you compete, you always take a risk of not walking away with the crown or an award. That just comes with the territory. In the end, it is not about the physical crown. Was it a journey of self discovery? Improving communications skills? Developing self-confidence? I also believe it is about celebrating the God given talents that are within. I pray the contestants walked away feeling empowered and ready to accomplish their next set of goals.
If any of you are interested in competing in the Miss Alabama USA & Teen USA Pageants, please visit www.missalabamausa.com for more information.
You may be the very person that walks away with the crown next year and have the once in a lifetime opportunity of representing the State of Alabama at the Miss USA Pageant. Hey, anything is possible. Who would have thought a shy, skinny and lover of academics nerd like myself would compete in pageants and actually win crowns? I am a living testimony that there are no limits to what you can do and accomplish.
You are so detail, with you tweet Amen