The Miss Michigan competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Michigan in the Miss America pageant. Michigan has won the Miss America crown on five occasions.
The current titleholder is Maya Schuhknect of Buchanan, MI. The graduate of Michigan State University and now former Miss Spirit of the State was crowned Miss Michigan 2023 on June 17, 2023, at the Frauenthal Theatre in Muskegon. Her winning talent was speed-painting a portrait of the late Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginesburg. She will go on to represent the state of Michigan at Miss America on January 14, 2024.
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Michigan titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
2nd runners-up: Monnie Drake (1940), Patricia Hill (1942)
3rd runners-up: Kelly Lynn Garver (1987)
4th runners-up: Janice Hutton Somers (1955)
Top 10: Carole Van Valin (1963), Alecia Rae Masalkoski (1986), Che'vonne Burton (2001), Stacy Essebaggers (2002), Ashlee Baracy (2009)
Top 12: Beverly Bennett (1944)
Top 15: Jane Porter* (1925), Joyce Jean Hurd** (1926), Charlotte Jane Lowe*** (1927), Gerry Marcoux (1941), Doris Evelyn Johnson (1948), Dolores Jane Motter (1949), Madonna Kimberly Emond (2003)
Top 18: Barbara Strand (1933)
Michigan holds a record of 23 placements at Miss America.
Non-finalist Talent: Shirley Swanson (1957), Sarah Jane Noble (1965), Esther Lynne Smith (1966), Toni Jo Abbenante (1968), Linda Susan Kish (1972), Terri Cousino (1973), Bethany Wright (1980), Barbara Jean Crandall (1985), Sandra Kay Metiva (1992), Maria Malay Kamara (1995), Nicole Blaszczyk (2010), Arianna Quan (2017), Vivian Zhong (2021).
Made national news when she used her introduction during the Miss America telecast to highlight the ongoing Flint water crisis rather than state her academic credentials, by stating, "From the state with 84 percent of the U.S. fresh water, but none for its residents to drink..."[9]
Top Ten Finalist - Grammy Educator Award, 7X Semi-Finalist - Grammy Educator Award, 2017 50 Most Influential Music Educators in the U.S., Pi Kappa Lamba, Guest Conductor, Band Adjudicator. 1989 International Spokesmodel for the Cultured Pearl Industry
No Michigan representative at Miss America pageant[47]
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