I don't know if you've heard, but so far 9 former Outstanding Teens have been crowned as Misses and will be vying for the title of Miss America in 2012. The titleholders in thsese states are double crown winners: Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Texas and Kentucky. I cannot imagine how exciting it is for these young women, and for MAOT, to be succesful in the next level of competition. I have hoped that we would see more and more OTs becoming Misses and now that a "generation" has passed, we are seeing it happen!

Do you suppose that competing at the OT level prepared these young ladies for the state level, or are the two competitions so different that it wouldn't make a difference? What are your thoughts?

The 2012 Miss America Pageant will be hosted by Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort

Sarah Stonier holds the title MIss Walking Tall, and it couldn't be more apt. This local Tennessee titleholder overcame great adversity, including homelessness and neglect, before becoming one of the young women who will vie for the title of Miss Tennessee later this summer. You can learn more about Sarah here:

http://tnjn.com/2011/may/06/video-knoxville-woman-turns-fr/

Photo: Miss Tennessee website

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan will visit the Chicago's historic Wrigley Field this Saturday to perform the National Anthem prior to the start of the Chicago Cubs vs. the World Champion San Francisco Giants baseball game. The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX at 7 p.m. ET*! Be sure to tune in!


* Check your local listings

About a year ago, my normally straight hair started to inexplicably curl. Thanks, mother nature! While I am loving my new curly 'do, sometimes I miss my straight hair. That's when I turn to my aveda smooth infusion straightener. I only bought a sample tube, because I was skeptical, but wow! You only need a tiny bit of this product smoothed in your damp hair to make it just about stick straight and very sleek looking. I follow up with a flat iron myself, but you woudln't have to. And when I get up the next morning? My hair still looks basically perfect. This stuff packs some power!

You can purcahse this product at Aveda salons (we have a training school here in Grand Rapids) or on the Aveda website.

Check it out:

http://www.aveda.com/product/CATEGORY14959/PROD15116/Styling/Smooth_Straight/index.tmpl

Photo: www.aveda.com

Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization is pleased to announce a new sponsor who will be awarding a $500 Non- Finalist Interview Award. This award is made possible through the generosity of Valerie Hayes of The Pageant Coach(TM) and radio host of Pageant Talk Radio. MAOTeen thanks Valerie for her continued support of our program and our contestants.

"I'm very excited to be sponsoring the Non-Finalist Interview Award for the Miss America's Outstanding Teen program" said Hayes. "The young women who compete in MAOTeen are the best and the brightest of their generation and it's my honor to promote academic achievement, leadership in community service, and public speaking skills through this award."

Valerie will also be hosting some of our team on Pageant Talk Radio on Friday, March 11 at 3 p.m. CST. Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2011 Lacey Russ, Jennifer McKenna, Princess Camp Coordinator, and Tawni Darby, a new team member that will be introducing our new Teens In Training Camp program will be joining Valerie for a full hour to talk about MAOTeen and the exciting changes that are taking places in our program.

"The MAOTeen program is a clear leader in encouraging positive achievement in our nation's youth," said Hayes, "I'm thrilled to be partnering with them in recognizing the extraordinary achievements of these young women."