Today, New Jersey's acting governor and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, along with the Miss America Organization's Chairman of the Board Sam Haskell III and President and CEO Art McMaster, joined Atlantic City officials from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Atlantic City Alliance, and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority for the announcement that the Miss America Organization, the world’s largest provider of scholarships to women, will bring the pageant back home where it first began in 1921, on the beaches of Atlantic City. Simultaneously, the Miss Organization announced a new three-year deal with ABC, its network partner.
In 1921, no one could have imagined that a contest in Atlantic City, created to extend the summer season for tourists, would become one of America's most beloved and recognized traditions for more than ninety years. The Miss America Organization has evolved into the world's largest scholarship program, offering more than $45 million each year to young women across the country to help them realize their educational dreams.
Welcoming the organization back home, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno said, "For decades, the Miss America Organization has awarded scholarships to thousands of young women to help further their goals of higher education and achieve their dreams. New Jersey is proud to once again host the Miss America Pageant here in Atlantic City. We are confident that Atlantic City's famous boardwalk and variety of restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues will showcase the city's vibrancy and attraction to the participants, and many visitors that will attend the Miss America Pageant every year."
Sam Haskell III, Miss America Organization’s chairman of the board, stated, "We are so very proud to bring Miss America back to her birthplace in Atlantic City. We are grateful to Governor Christie and his staff for helping make this possible. Throughout the decades, Miss America has evolved into an organization that enables over 12,000 young women to enter and participate in our scholarship program each and every year. Today, Miss America remains an iconic symbol, and our roots have always stayed connected to Atlantic City. Our proud heritage is rich in history, having been named by USA Today as one of the Top Ten pieces of Americana remaining in our great country today. We now look to the future as we prepare for our most exciting television event ever for Miss America with the support of our network partner ABC. The return to Atlantic City will allow us to showcase our Miss America events where it all began, almost ninety-three years ago."
The Miss America Organization's President and CEO Art McMaster stated, "We are grateful to the Governor of New Jersey, and the Lt. Governor who, along with the agencies in Atlantic City, came together to create a mutually beneficial partnership to welcome back Miss America. This is a monumental milestone for our organization to return to the Jersey shores, where Miss America began. As we depart Las Vegas, we sincerely thank our friends at Planet Hollywood who have hosted us for the last eight years and the City of Las Vegas, who helped us to achieve our best television ratings last January. We will now build on that success and begin a new era by returning the tradition to Atlantic City."
CRDA, AC Alliance, and ACCVA have jointly assisted in paving the way for the return of Miss America, which will bring tourists from around the country to the East Coast’s premiere gaming and vacation destination.
Details of the 2014 Miss America Competition will be announced shortly, and plans are now under way for the September event, live in the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall. Award-winning television producer Anthony Eaton and his company Tall Pony Productions, who have produced the live event in Las Vegas for the past six years, will produce Miss America 2014 in Atlantic City, live on ABC.
Source and photo: Miss America Organization