LOL!!! OH – MY – GAWD – What a crazy-freaking-long time it’s been since I’ve even uttered the words, “Miss America Predictions”… Let alone committed to doing them!
For those of you who’re new here, Pageant Junkies was born out of predictions. Here’s the short version of how everything started..
Once upon a time, I decided to wrangle my friends into following the Miss America preliminary competition by trying to predict the winners via email (read the whole story here)… Mind you – These friends WERE NOT pageant people (to put it mildly). These were folks who clearly loved me, because they were graciously tolerating my semi-obsessive attitude towards the upcoming Miss America competition. However, before you knew it, I was calling them my “Miss America Junkies” and the name stuck. We then expanded into all the crazy things you see here… blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and even state predictions.
Except for this year.
Things changed a bit for me personally this year… After taking some time off from my corporate ladder climbing, I decided to get my real estate license, start a new career, and for the first time in 5 years, I did not make any public predictions regarding individual state winners (catch some of our previous predictions here). I also chose not to predict MAOTeen back in July… which left a few people wondering if I was going to turn my back on predicting Miss America this year as well…
Earlier this week, I made the announcement to my most ardent Junkie supporters, that despite the fact that this will be my LEAST researched class in my 12 year history of publicly predicting winners, I WILL be offering a predictions list for Miss America Prelim Winners, Top 15, Top 10 and Top 5.
Call me crazy – But I just can’t stay away.
And here’s the deal – Look, I get it… I’m certainly not the only person who’s ever made MAO predictions in her life (far from it)! Pageant fans have being doing predictions for DECADES! All I am, is someone who had a grand fascination and appreciation of the Miss America program and wanted to see if I could connect with other people who felt the same way. So, I put my predictions online for the whole world to see.
And boy howdy – Did that ever change things!
Now, Pageant Junkies has swelled to over 22,000 fans – which is absolutely mind-blowing to me! I mean – You have to understand… Before the explosion of social media, there was a time when I wondered if I could find even 100 people out there like me! And now, I’m absolutely tickled by the fact that so many of you are “Hopelessly Addicted” to the Miss America program – and are Junkies for life!
Without getting too cheesy (ok, maybe a little cheesy)… I have met some of the most amazing people who have dedicated a good portion of their own lives, to investing in the improvement of young women across this country through the Miss America program. It’s that dedication – and the ability to look a young woman in the eye and challenge her to be more than she is right now – that keeps me coming back for more.
So – Miss America will host their preliminary competition starting the evening of September 6th… And while I won’t be in Atlantic City this year, I will be making my predictions (and offering some mindless chatter and commentary) through our email newsletter. If you’re not on the list yet – just sign up below and we’ll make sure you’re included!
THE ONLY WAY YOU’LL BE ABLE TO READ OUR PREDICTIONS IS BY JOINING THE EMAIL LIST BELOW- WE WON’T BE POSTING THEM ON THIS BLOG!
And there you have it! I’ll offer a few more posts leading up to the preliminary competition to give you some insights as to why I choose who I choose when it comes time… But between now and then – get ready for the quickest 2.5 weeks of your life! We’ll be crowning a brand new Miss America is just 18 days!!!
And when they put that iconic crown on her head, let’s hope she gives us a great big “you-gotta-be-kidding-me-I-can’t-keep-my-mouth-closed” moment we’ll never, ever forget!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 22,000 of her closest friends.
As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.
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