August 2012
43 posts
July 2012
175 posts
- Three of the top five states were the same as 2005 when Allie LaForce competed (WV, MI, OH) - thanks to someone in the chat (think it was Vech?) for pointing that one out!
- Two directors had two girls in the top five - Randy Sanders & Melissa Pitchford.
- Not only was this Connecticut’s first win, it was also their first top five placement. They’ve made the semi-finals only twice before.
- West Virginia didn’t place at all between 1989-2004… but in the past eight years they’ve made the cut four times, placing top five three of those years. Elizabeth’s placement is their highest ever.
- Michigan made the top three for the third time in the past ten years (the others being Alicia Jaros & Catherine Laurion).
- Jessica Morgan was Oklahoma’s first runner-up since Angela Logan 20 years ago, in the infamous 1992 pageant (although Amanda Penix made top 6 in 1997).
- Ohio was officially this year’s most successful state, with two top five placements. This was only the fourth time they’ve placed at Miss Teen USA.
- Oklahoma won their first Photogenic award and Vermont their second Miss Congeniality honour.
- As of 2012 Alabama has made the semis 3/5 Bahamas years, placing every even year.
- California ended a four year placement streak, which had seen their last three representatives finish 2RU.
- Georgia placed consecutively for the first time since 2004-6.
- Hawaii made the semi-finals for the first time since 2007 and won the inaugural Fan Vote. New Mexico also placed for the first time since 2007.
- Utah placed for only the fourth time, their third placement in the Bahamas.
- Wyoming placed for the sixth time, also their third Bahamas placement.
- In “Group 4” (NH-RI) from the preliminary competition, five contestants placed, in an almost unbroken consecutive line, with New Mexico - North Carolina, Ohio & Oklahoma. Conversely, only one contestant from Group 1 (AL-FL) made the cut.
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The top 5: Logan West (CT), Jessica Morgan (OK), Courtney Pizzimenti (MI), Kendall Fein (OH) & Elizabeth Sabatino (WV)
Beginning when she was 12 years old, Logan West endured being relentlessly bullied for being a biracial child.
Six years later, West has made history as the first contestant from Connecticut to be crowned Miss Teen USA, an honor that she received during a ceremony in the Bahamas on Saturday. With her increased visibility, West looks to use her platform to continue speaking out against bullying after having spent the past two years talking to elementary and middle school students in Connecticut about the issue.
“This is a huge issue to me,’’ West told TODAY.com. “Students have been very receptive to the message because it’s a difference between being talked at by a teacher than hearing it from me. I’m a teenager, and I’ve been through it. I was bullied starting at 12 years old and look what I am now.’’
As a middle-schooler and high school freshman, West said she was bullied for “not acting her skin color.” She was punched, kicked and stabbed with umbrellas by a group of bullies until it escalated into a fight where she was suspended from school. During her suspension, she came up with her own anti-bullying program that she began promoting around the state after winning the Connecticut Outstanding Teen Pageant in 2010.
“I lost who Logan was when I was being bullied, but I found that participating in pageants helped me find ‘her’ again as well as gain the confidence to be a role model and voice for others,’’ she said. “During my reign, I hope to share with teens the importance of being true to yourself.’’
West has delivered her anti-bullying message to nearly 20,000 students across Connecticut in the past two years. She also was part of a successful lobby that helped pass a law in Connecticut that requires school faculty members to be trained in managing and identifying bullying.
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Click here to view Logan’s profile, with more photos and info.
Four pages of photos from the final night of competition for Miss Teen USA 2012 are now up on my website, featuring the top 16 in swimsuit & evening gown, the top five, special award winners and the crowning of Logan West as Miss Teen USA 2012!
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Photos from the Miss Teen USA 2012 welcome party are now up on my website!
Click here to see all the Welcome Party pics.
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