Myrrhanda Jones might be the Miss America ‘feel good’ story of the decade…

The Junkies were first hand witnesses to the entire ordeal… We were in Atlantic City when Myrrhanda slipped and fell during her talent rehearsal, tearing her ACL and partially tearing her MCL… We spoke with “Fans of Myrrhanda” (hereby known as FOM to protect the innocent) who were staying on the same hotel floor as The Junkies right after it happened… We told you about her injury in our blogpost regarding our Thursday night preliminary picks… WE STILL PICKED HER on the list because after talking to FOM, we could tell she was tough as nails… AND – we were there when she performed and won the Prelim Talent award on Thursday night.

In all my years of pageanting, I have never, and I mean NEVER seen anything like that before!  The word ‘impressive’ doesn’t begin to cover it!  The girl performed on the Miss America stage with an injury that forces professional athletes to the sidelines!  It’s remarkable that she was able to make an appearance at all – let alone handle her routine, catch all her throws – and ultimately win the Preliminary Talent award!

Then, on the final final night, with a rhinestone-studded knee brace and newly discovered wardrobe of flats, Myrrhanda earned a spot in the Top 5 – returning to Florida with a 3rd runner up finish and scheduling surgery on her knee.  In true ‘tough as nails’ fashion, Myrrhanda was able to rehab her knee enough to enjoy Nina’s homecoming celebration in New York slightly more than a month after her surgery.  If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about Myrrhanda, you’re crazy!

And speaking of crazy – if there was any way we could be at Miss Florida this weekend, we’d make it happen in a heartbeat!  Why?  The competition is FIERCE and it should be an amazing show!  Seriously – Myrrhanda has raised the bar and Florida could have a Miss America on their hands in the next year or two… Who will it be???

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Kalen Dennis – 1st runner up ’13 and ’11, 2nd runner up ’12 ~ and just for some perspective – here’s FL’s track record at Miss America during that time:
      – Miss FL ’11 – Christina Janolo, Top 12
      – Miss FL ’12 – Laura McKeeman, Top 15
      – Miss FL ’13 – Myrrhanda Jones, 3rd runner up
Elizabeth Fechtel – FL OT ’12 – National Winner MAOT ’12
Brittany Wardell – 2nd runner up ’09, top 10 ’10
Chloe Lupo – 3rd runner up ’13, and Prelim INT, 4th runner up ’12 and Prelim SS
Victoria Williams – Top 10 ’13 and ’12, prelim SS in ’12
April Zinober – Top 10 in TX ’12 and ’13, law student at FSU
Kelsey Beck – Top 10 MASS ’13, Harvard Graduate, Mom was Miss FL

Additionally
Brittany Johnson – Top 11 in ’13
Alison Martin – Top 15 in ’12 and ’13
Victoria Cowen – Top 15 in ’13, newcomer award ’13
Megan Cromwell – Top 15 ’13, Prelim Talent
Kalli Kearney – Top 15 ’12, Non-Finalst Talent ’11

HUGE PROPS to our Junkie Research King for all of his assistance – If you live in the state of Florida, GET TO ST. PETE’S THIS WEEKEND and enjoy the show!!!

ALL THE BEST TO THE LADIES OF THE SUNSHINE STATE!!!

MAJ

From Miss Georgia 2013, Carly Mathis’s own blog, regarding her time at Miss America…

 

          “Sunday night was one of the best nights of my life… Ok, I take that back… it was probalby the best day ever.  It’s like all of your dreams thrown into one night.  Everything you ever worked for swirled into a pot and made into a perfect night.  I’m going to start out by saying I was lucky.  There were other women left on that stage Sunday night that were just as talented and qualified to be in the top 10.  I am still so humbled to be one chosen.  I was very calm the entire time I was there.  After I walked out of inteview, I knew they either loved me or thought I was a complete goof ball.  But hey, that’s me y’all… When they called my name Sunday night it’s as if all my troubles and cares went flying out the window.  I had the same feeling I had when I was 10 years old on Christmas morning.  Your stomach starts to flutter and you’re so giddy you can’t even stand it.  I was so happy… anything after top 15 was a blessing.  My name was called two more times that night and I got the same feeling each time.”

What an awesome description of how it feels to be a Top 10 finalist at Miss America!  But Carly’s blog doesn’t stop there – here’s what she has to say to the new Miss Georgia…

     
      “The past few months as Miss Georgia have been crazy, busy, but SO SO SO rewarding. The Miss Georgia class of 2014 is complete and we will soon meet the next Miss Georgia. I’m thrilled for another girl to experience what I have. I can’t wait for her to experience Miss America. But I really can’t wait for her to experience the love, support, and inspiration I have this year. My life is forever changed and I have an entire new outlook on life.”

Junkies congratulate Carly on her Prelim Swimsuit win, her loss of 35 pounds to get there and her Top 10 finish as Miss America.  All the best to you Miss Carly, as you continue to chase your dreams… 🙂

When it comes to Miss GA 2014, we have a little confession to make…

Here’s the deal… Junkies rely on head shots to help us determine our research.  In the case of Miss GA, we were BLOWN AWAY by how many AMAZING head shots there are this year!  After head shots – comes Talent research… And may we just say… There is some SERIOUS TALENT in Georgia this year!!!  WOWZERS!  We had to spend extra time researching this state… Hopefully it’s gonna pay off!

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch!

Maggie Bridges – 3rd runner up ’13, 2nd runner up GA OT ’09, 1st runner up GA OT ’10
Adeline Kenerly – sister of Jameson Kenerly Miss GA OT ’12, Baton Twirler
Courtney Walker – 2nd runner up ’13, Top 10 ’12
Carmella Turner – 4th runner up ’13, Prelim Talent
Betty Cantrell – rookie with a killer voice, 1st place Classical Opera NATS competition ’13
Sidney Shadrix – another rookie, with another amazing voice
Katherine McCauley – sister of GA ’10, Top 10 ’13 and ’12, overall Talent ’13

Pay Attention to these Ladies Also:
Amarinda Trear – Prelim Talent and SS ’13
Reedi Hawkins – Top 10 ’13, Talent Prelim Winner ’12
Haley Henderson – Top 10 ’13
Courtney Hinesley – Prelim SS ’13
Gabrielle Booth – Prelim Talent ’13
Hilary Pulos – GA OT ’08

PS – Junkies are Super Excited to see Miss Georgia 2005 MONICA PANG (1st runner up to Miss America, Jennifer Berry) is judging at Miss Georgia this year!  WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!  Junkies Love Formers!

GOOD LUCK LADIES OF THE PEACH STATE!!!  JUNKIES LOVE YA!!! 🙂

MAJ

Whooooooo Hoooooooooo!  Welcome to our second Junkie wrap-up post of the year!

Because we just finished a FABULOUS weekend at Miss Minnesota, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give you a bit of insight into our weekend!  In short, it was AWESOME!  Besides witnessing the crowning of Miss Minnesota 2014 Savannah Cole (see above and below), we greatly enjoyed the hospitality and graciousness of the MN executive team as well as all of our new friends who “discovered us” during our time at the Pageant 🙂

It’s always interesting to visit different state pageants across the county… You can get a feel for the organization itself based on the leadership team and the kind of girls who are attracted to the competition.  When it comes to Miss Minnesota – we loved the fact that it felt so authentic.  Every single person we spoke with was extremely down-to earth, very genuine and completely ‘at ease’ with themselves.  They’re truly interested in guiding and mentoring young ladies to become the best they can be – and you don’t get an ‘air of pretentiousness’ whatsoever.

And in case you missed it on our Facebook page – we HAD TO POST this photo of Patricia Cummings, Miss MN 1944!  YES – Ms. Cummings celebrated her 70th Anniversary of being named Miss Minnesota this week!!!  SEVENTY YEARS!!!  What an honor to be in the room when she walked in… You can tell why she won the title – she’s tall, stately and still has a ‘presence’ about her.  Such an incredible moment to witness!!!

And of course, Miss Minnesota 2013 Rebecca Yeh was outstanding – exceptionally talented and super kind.  In short, she lived up to every expectation we have of state titleholders and is impressive to the core.

So here’s to you Miss Minnesota!  Thank you for rolling out the red carpet and giving The Junkies a weekend worth celebrating!  We’ll never forget it! 🙂

AND NOW – It’s time to tabulate the results from last night!  If you missed our last post, you can check out where we currently stand by visiting this link… But – how well did The Junkies predict last night’s winners???  Here’s the breakdown… in no particular order… 🙂

Miss Minnesota – 5 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Illinois – 2 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Rhode Island – 2 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Montana – 4 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Delaware – 3 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss New Jersey – 3 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Michigan – 2 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss Pennsylvania – 3 for 5, missed the Winner
Miss Iowa – 5 for 5, listed the Winner
Miss DC – still to come tonight!

I consider this an ‘ok’ weekend of picks so far for us… We’ve done better – but, we’ve also done worse (lol!).  This weekend we were 8 for 9 on listing the winner – but only 29 for 45 when choosing the Top 5 (again – DC is still to come).

SOOOOOOOOO – When you add in the numbers from our previous post…  we’re now 75 for 108 when picking the Top 5 finishers (69%) and 18 for 22 when listing the Winner (82%). 

AND WE’RE GOING TO DO IT ALL AGAIN THIS WEEKEND!!!  In fact, this coming weekend is the SUPER-CRAZY-ARE-YOU-KIDDING-WHY-DO-I-DO-THIS-TO-MYSELF-OVER-AND-OVER-AGAIN weekend of pageants!  We’ll be crowning 14 ladies on Saturday, June 21st – which will be the largest weekend of the season!  That means we’ll be posting lots of state blogs this week in preparation for FOURTEEN NEW QUEENS to come – this weekend could likely ‘make us’ or ‘break us’ when it comes to our percentages above… Here’s hoping we can come out on the positive side of that equation!

As always – Thanks much for taking this journey with us!  Please remember – this whole thing is supposed to be FUN!!!  We’ve seen very few of these ladies compete on stage – and we’ve personally met even fewer of them!  That’s the challenge at hand – how many states can we ‘predict’ simply by looking at their bios and researching how they appear ‘on paper’?  So, please don’t be offended if your favorite competitor isn’t on our list… It doesn’t mean she won’t place and it doesn’t mean she won’t win (see above).  All it means is, we aren’t perfect (again, see above). 🙂

OK!  Must prepare the way for 14 new states to be crowned this week!  More Blogging, More Blogging, More Blogging…

Stick Around!!!

Junkies Unite!!!

MAJ

Miss DC Bindhu Pamarthi is driven, articulate and super-smart.  She’s also currently a law student at Georgetown University…  Yes – we said “currently”…  Meaning, she didn’t take the year off to serve as Miss DC.  Nope!  She’s been handling both duties ALL YEAR LONG!  We’re still trying to comprehend it ourselves… Can you imagine going back to classes on Monday morning after 2 weeks in Atlantic City at Miss America!?!  LOL!  That’s Crazy!

However crazy it is – it goes to prove that Bindhu has an intense ability to achieve whatever goal she sets for herself.  In an interview she gave the night she won Miss DC, Bindhu stated that she asked her mom what she wanted for her 50th birthday.  Her mom ‘thought about it…’ and said, “I want to see you compete at Miss America.  After competing in pageants for over a decade, and in a couple of different states, Bindhu finally brought home the title of Miss DC and gave her mother the birthday present she said she wanted.  We’re guessing another great present might be graduating from Georgetown Law School with honors… one that Bindhu is likely to deliver as well. 🙂

Shifting gears now to this year’s Miss DC pageant – Which is…

W I D E  O P E N ! ! !   In fact, NONE of the Top 5 from last year are back – and only one of the ladies listed below even has MAO experience!  THIS COULD GO ANY WHICH WAY!

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Johanna King – NAM VA ’12, 3rd runner up at Nationals
Cassandra Roper – Semi-finalist Miss MD USA ’14
Teresa Davis – Non-finalist talent award GA ’13, Studied at Oxford
Tara Ward – 3rd runner up DC USA ’10
Amelia Wolf – 3rd runner up DC USA ’12
Ayanna Cowley – NAM – Miss TX Teen 3rd runner up Talent
Melicia Johnson – Miss Black Teen Atlanta ’11

ALL THE BEST LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE OUR NATION’S CAPITAL!!! 🙂

MAJ

Miss Rhode Island 2013 Jessica Marfeo’s story is so amazing – we couldn’t do it justice by posting a link to it.  So – here it is instead – and completely worth the read!

From the Hasbro Children’s Hospital website…

“When she was five years old, Jessica was diagnosed with pneumonia. During her treatment at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Jessica had an x-ray that revealed a lesion behind her lung tissue.  Jessica’s medical team here, including accomplished pediatric surgeon Dr. Arlet Kurkchubasche — the children call her “Dr. K” — hoped and prayed that the spot was just a ganglioneuroma, an uncommon but benign growth.  But Dr. K. also worried that the lesion might be something far more dangerous…and she was right. Jessica had neuroblastoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer usually found in the abdomen…and usually found in children much younger than Jessica.

Dr. K urged the child’s shocked parents to let her perform surgery right away. She knew that in the hands of a highly skilled surgeon, Jessica could be cured with surgery, sparing her the lifelong side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.  Again, Dr. K was spot on. Jessica needed only one surgery. She was back home in Exeter soon after, and her Hasbro Children’s Hospital doctors followed her closely for 10 years. The cancer never returned.

Now 20, Jessica is a lovely young woman who truly has her whole life ahead of her. In fact, you might recognize her: Jessica recently was crowned Miss Rhode Island. She competed at the national Miss America Competition, where she was recognized as a finalist for two awards and earned scholarships to pay for college and graduate school.

“Hasbro Children’s Hospital gave me my life back,” Jessica says. Determined to pay the gift forward, Jessica volunteers as a counselor where she once was a camper, Camp Dotty, a summer program for children with cancer and their siblings at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. She also volunteers in the Tomorrow Fund Clinic, where our cancer patients are treated.

Today, Jessica is at URI studying to become a physician assistant, hoping to give her patients the caliber of care she received at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Her ultimate goal is to become the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. Beautiful.”

Beautiful Indeed.  No wonder she was named the 2nd runner up for the Miss America Quality of Life award.  Excellent work, Miss RI 2013 🙂

Who will follow in Jessica’s footsteps?

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Ivy Depew – 1st runner up ’13, semi-finalist in TN
Alexandra Curtis – NAM Teen RI and National Winner ’11
Victoria Cuartas – 2nd runner up ’13
Amara Berry – would be the first open lesbian to compete at Miss America
Nicollette Peloquin – Miss Teen New England ’12, MA Teen USA Top 15 ’12 and ’14

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!  WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!! 🙂

MAJ