1. Be a Business: Like any business, nonprofit local and state pageants rely on networking and marketing principles to run smoothly. In the same sense, you should treat your program as if you are running a professional business—and make sure you have fun sometimes, too.

2. Be Organized: Give all of your directors and volunteers specific tasks and deadlines, to keep things moving swiftly. 

3. Be Social: Young women are constantly on social media—and if that's where they spend most of their time, locals should spend time there, too. Keep in mind, there does need to be a level of etiquette when allowing girls to post to the program social page. Monitor your page and define rules of appropriateness.

4. Be Out There: Consider your brand and image. Utilize radio spots, interviews, videos, advertising, marketing tactics, and, of course, social media in promoting your program.

5. Be Surprising: In order to fill the auditorium at your next competition, you must be innovative and surprising when it comes to ticket sales. Whether you're planning an out-of-the-box event or merely infusing your production with fresh ideas, advertising sneak peeks to potential audience members keeps interest high—and ticket sales, too!

6. Be Busy: Consider phoning in to conference calls, creating workshops for girls to participate in, using Google hangouts, and holding pageant expos. Think outside of the box.

7. Be Invested: Contestants are the most important part of your program. Be invested in them by helping them choose competition gowns, overseeing fitness regimes, or helping with their paperwork. Give them the best experience during their year of service, and they in turn will provide the most value to your program and community.

8. Be Supportive: Consistency is vital to a good pageant board of directors. Make sure to recognize your volunteers' service anniversaries and birthdays, and be there for them if they need you. Support them on a personal level and they will feel comfortable supporting your program, year after year.

9. Be Prepared: The best surprise is no surprise. Make sure all of your bases are covered, especially leading up to pageant day. If there are a couple of hitches, don't worry, it's not the end of the world. Just work your way, as best as you can, through them and everything else will fall into place.

10. Be Excited: There's so much stress and work that goes into running a pageant, but don't forget to do the most important thing—be excited for what's about to happen. These girls are working very hard to be the best they can be and earn money for college while supporting their community and working to overcome the individual challenges they face. You're a part of those amazing journeys, so you have all the rights in the world to be excited for them and what you're doing to help them become confident and wonderful young women.

Thank you, each and every one of you, for your encouragement, belief, and passion. We hope to have made an impact on your personal journey with the Miss America Organization, because you’ve definitely made an impact on all of us at fourpoints.