JANUARY 27-30TH, 2007
MISS AMERICA PAGEANT, LAS VEGAS, NV

I headed out to the Miss America pageant held at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. I had the Mpls Women's Expo in the morning, then hopped on a flight Saturday afternoon which arrived just in time for Sarah Moses and I to grab a bite with former Miss MN State Director Kim Knuttila and her sister Kathryn (the current Miss Heart of the Lakes). We then headed to the Aladdin Theater to watch the last night of Preliminary Competition. It's always fun to see the girls compete in the talent competition, and as luck had it, we got to see Miss MN Nicole Swanson perform her talent (she plays the viola). WOW, that girl can play! We were pulling for her to win the talent award that night, but it went to Miss CA instead (an opera singer). I competed in the Miss Wisconsin MAO program back in college (I'm a '94 grad of the Univ. of WI-Madison...GO BUCKY!), and placed as 3rd RU in the 1994 Miss WI pageant, so I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this system. People (especially the ones who criticize pageants) are always surprised to learn that the Miss America Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for women in the WORLD! How cool is THAT!?!

After Prelims, we (myself, Sarah, Cheri Kennedy, and Sarah's fun sister Bridget Jaeger) headed to dinner at Tao located in the Venetian. We didn't eat until 11:30 Las Vegas time (which was 1:30 our time!), so of course we were starving! Great food in a fun atmosphere but WAAAAY too late! The next morning, Sarah & Cheri worked with some of their clients while Bridget and I went SHOPPING (my favorite pasttime, ha ha), and hit the Miss America Tradeshow. It was good to see friendly faces...I got to chat with Fred Abel of Pageantry Magazine and the always incredible Dale Smith Thomas of Winners By Choice. Later, I ran into the lovely Diane Tucker (Mrs. America 2007), who I competed with in Tucson, AZ (by the way, she looked prettier than ever!). She is doing a great job and I predict she will be the next Mrs. World! GO DIANE! That evening, we met up with good friends Robin Fleming (Mrs. FL Int'l 2007) and Melissa Hagan (Miss/Teen FL Int'l State Director and National Mrs. FL 2006) for dinner at N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms Hotel. That is the thing I love about pageantry--reuniting with friends from all over the country!

On Monday, we had a great lunch at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in the Venetian, and then shopped for a bit (surprise, surprise) before heading back to our hotel to get ready (we had to be in our seats at 4:30 for the live television broadcast). Victoria Broz (Mrs. Nevada) came to our room to get ready, so it was great to see her as well! She was voted Mrs. Congeniality at Mrs. America and I am glad to say that I was one of the people who voted for her! The pageant was great and moved along quickly, but we were disappointed not to hear Miss MN's name called into the Top 10. I thought they picked a great Top 5 but have to admit that when it came down to Miss TX and Miss OK, I was pulling for Texas...I thought she had the beauty of a Miss Universe and thought her talent was in an entirely different league. But that is pageantry for you! You just never know what can happen...

After the pageant, we took a limo to a really fun and cool restaurant called Social House (located in Treasure Island) for dinner. Some of our "MN posse" had to head for the airport immediately following dinner as they were booked on the red-eye flight. As usual, lots of laughs were had and it was a fantastic trip! I can't wait for next year!















PHOTOS:
1) Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop) and I pose in front of the Miss America stage.
2) Gathering at Saturday night's Miss America prelim pageant are L to R: Cheri Kennedy, Kim Knuttila (former Miss MN MAO state director), Kathryn Knuttila (Miss Heart of the Lakes), Sarah Moses (The Pageant Shop), me, Jennifer Hudspeth (Miss Mankato)
3) Chatting with Fred Abel of Pageantry Magazine
4) Running into Mrs. America 2007 Diane Tucker while doing what else--SHOPPING!
5) Out for a fabulous dinner at N9NE Steakhouse are L to R: Melissa Hagan (Miss/Teen FL Int'l State Director & Nat'l Mrs. FL 2006), Cheri Kennedy, Robin Fleming (Mrs. FL Int'l 2007), Bridget Jaeger, Sarah Moses (Owner-The Pageant Shop), me!
6) With Tiffany Ogle, Miss MN (MAO) 2004 just before Miss America.
7) Enjoying a rooftop view at the Palms Hotel!
8) Sarah Moses and I run into Andrea Preuss, Mrs. America 2006. Andrea was the outgoing queen when I competed at Mrs. America--she also was Mrs. United States 2003 and is the only woman to have actually WON both titles! WOW!)
9) Victoria Broz (Mrs. NV 2006), Diane Tucker (Mrs. America 2007/Mrs. Arizona 2006), and I catch up after the pageant.
10) Comparing notes after the pageant are L to R: Melissa Hagan, Sarah Moses, Robin Fleming, myself, and Cheri Kennedy.
11) In the limo on the way to Social House restaurant L to R: Cheri Kennedy, me, Marcia Anderson
12) An after dinner snapshot L to R: Megan (a.k.a. "Haircut", our nickname for her) Herickhoff (Miss Teen Stearns County Int'l 2007), Marcia Anderson, Brie Anderson (Miss Ramsey County Int'l 2007), Cheri Kennedy, Sarah Moses, me