Three Miss America sisters planned a little family reunion that culminated in the use of pageant skills, platform enhancement, and sisterly love. The project was a CD of exclusive trumpet tracks recorded by Becki Ronen Walenz, Miss Kansas 2009, for classical music students. The collaboration was essential.

When Becki moved to New York to continue her musical education, she was a small fish in a big pond. She’d never lived anywhere but Kansas, but since she did know Claire Buffie, Miss New York 2010, she didn’t feel so alone. Becki developed the idea for the CD through a class project.

“The music on it has never been recorded ever…I wanted to do music that nobody had really touched, that was music kids are playing today all over the country. I did a lot of research to make sure I was choosing music relevant to the kids all over the U.S. and all over the world,” Becki said.

But Becki needed help. She got in touch with Claire and asked her to be the photographer on the project. Claire studied movement to learn how to anticipate her clients’ body language and translate it onto film. She also has experience photography MAO titleholders, and she said her style captures a more relatable subject.

“I knew in the photo I wanted to look a certain way, nothing too crazy, but something that my Miss America class would be proud of. I knew, who better than someone who has been in my shoes than a state title holder?” Becki said.

The third piece to the puzzle was Jen Corey, Miss D.C. 2009. She was on scene the day of the CD cover shoot to get Becki’s hair and make up ready for her album look. Like Claire, there is a rawness to Jen’s technique in styling, and she wanted Becki to look as natural as possible.

For each of the girls, coming together to work on a project of this magnitude was meaningful not just because of its service to the students, but also because of the relationships that were strengthened between Miss America sisters.

“It was really important for me to help support the other girls because we share a bond like no other,” Jen said.

Read how the other state titleholders helped Becki by subscribing to fourpoints! 

Even after seventy-five years, Moberly still recognizes their claim to fame with Miss Missouri–SMILES!

This painting of Mary Sue Klein, Miss Missouri 1937, is on the side of a building in uptown Moberly. A similar picture of Mary Sue was in the Moberly Centennial Book which depicted her her standing on the diving board in swimsuit and sash.

To the right of Mary Sue is five-star General Omar Bradley.

Source: Erma Jean Armstrong, Miss Moberly Co-Executive Director

This June Miss Bay County, Alicia McInerney, will make history at Miss Michigan, presenting a talent that has never before graced the stage.  Alicia will make her mark in the history books by figure skating for the talent portion of the Miss Michigan competition–a first in the history of the Miss America Organization.

“I’ve said since the first time I competed in Miss Bay County, if I make it to Miss Michigan, I want to skate,” says Alicia.

This June Alicia will step out onto a sheet of synthetic ice determined to wow the judge’s panel and audience as she represents Bay County and vise for the title of Miss Michigan 2012.

Growing up Alicia was a competitive figure skater for more than ten years, training locally at the Bay County Civic Arena. Alicia says that rink is a part of who she is. 

“The first time I ever stepped foot onto a rink was at the Civic Arena. I didn’t realize then what it would come to mean to me,” comments Alicia. 

Over the course of her skating career Alicia went on to compete internationally and was ranked eighth in the Midwest in the United States Figure Skating Future Champions Series. Alicia’s skating is taking on a new life through her year as Miss Bay County. Alicia’s passion for skating also led to her platform, Ignite the Passion Within–a movement focused on encouraging young people to find their passion and use it to build a better life. Click here to find out more about the Miss Bay County Organization and Alicia’s journey to Miss Michigan and Ignite the Passion Within.

Source: Linda Bilhimer

Miss Washington County 2012 Twila Tschan takes Newberg, Oregon’s motto to heart. From a young age, she understood that her hometown “is a Great Place to Grow.” The newly crowned titleholder has seen her share of adversity and meets challenges head-on.

In 2011, Twila and her family received the shocking news that the pain she had been experiencing off and on since high school was caused by a cancerous tumor near her spine. They were told that immediate removal of this synovial sarcoma was necessary, but the surgery would leave Twila permanently without function or feeling in her left hand. Twila went home and changed her Facebook status to: “Already have the title of my memoir:  Coming to Grips: How One Woman Single-Handedly Saved the World. Miraculously, two surgeries, six weeks of radiation, and months of physical therapy later, she has basic use of her left hand and is now a one-year cancer survivor.

From this experience, Twila gained a deep understanding of the challenges families of children with severe medical problems face. Through involvement in the Miss America Program and the opportunity to promote the Children’s Miracle Network, Twila is excited to spend her year as Miss Washington County supporting children and families as they hope for their own miracle.

Twila has been a featured speaker and performer at various fundraising and awareness events, most notably at the GoDaddy.com Bowl’s Reading and Literacy day which awards more than $19,000 in Savings Bonds to fifth-graders who demonstrate proficiency in reading and writing. It was from these events that Twila was inspired to adopt Read Across America as her personal platform, and hopes to encourage the love and joy of reading as Miss Washington County 2012.

Last summer, Twila was selected to participate in a Quaker United Nations Office program in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was able to confer with various ambassadors and other high-level officials, as well as experience firsthand the inner workings of the United Nations, the U.N. Human Rights Committee, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Twila’s plans for the future include attending graduate school in either law or diplomacy, and working for the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, or a humanitarian NGO. Before writing the next chapter, however, Twila is looking forward to seeing how the story of Miss Washington County unfolds.

Source and photo: Miss Washington County Scholarship Organization