Miss Vermont USA

For the state pageant affiliated with Miss America, see Miss Vermont.

Miss Vermont USA

Formation	1952
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Buckhannon
Location	West Virginia
Membership	Miss USA
Official language	English
Website	Official website

The Miss Vermont USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Vermont in the Miss USA pageant. It is formerly directed by Sanders & Associates, Inc., dba- Pageant Associates based in Buckhannon, West Virginia from 2004 to 2017 before GDB Theatre and Pageant Productions becoming the new directors of the stage pageant since 2018.

Vermont produced a Miss USA, Carlene King Johnson in 1955. The most recent placement was by Kelsey Golonka in 2022 after 40 years, who reached the semifinals. Vermont holds the record for most Miss Congeniality awards, having earned a total of five.

Six Miss Vermont USAs have competed at Miss Teen USA, five as Miss Vermont Teen USA, and one as Miss New York Teen USA. Three have also competed at Miss America, including Miss USA 1955 Carlene King Johnson, the second out of six Miss USA winners who competed at both pageants.

Prior to 2022, no sisters had been held the Miss and Teen titles in a single state. Vermont became the first state to have biological sisters holding the statewide Miss USA and Miss Teen USA titles simultaneously, when Kelsey Golonka crowned Miss and her sister Kenzie crowned Teen. ^[1]

Samantha Vocatura of Stowe was crowned Miss Vermont USA 2024 on June 9, 2024. She will represent Vermont for the title of Miss USA 2024.

Gallery of titleholders

• 
  Michelle Fongemie, Miss Vermont USA 2004
• 
  Sarah Westbrook, Miss Vermont USA 2013
• 
  Miss Vermont Teen USA 2015, Alexandra Marek, and Miss Vermont USA 2015, Jackie Croft

Results summary

• Miss USA: Carlene King Johnson (1955)
• 1st runners-up: Mary Verdiani (1969)
• Top 11/12: Sandra Bette Taft (1971), Georgia Davis (1982), Kelsey Golonka (2022)
• Vermont holds a record of 5 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

• Miss Congeniality: Mary Verdiani (1969), Donna Sue Thorton (1974), Constance Crabtree (1975), Nancy Jeanne Wierzbicki (1978), Michelle Fongemie (2004)

Winners

Color key

•   Declared as Winner
•   Ended as runner-up
•   Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age [a]	Local title	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2024	Samantha Vocatura	Stowe	27	Miss Stowe			Previously Miss World Vermont 2023
2023	Jenna Howlett	Bridport	21	Miss Addison County			Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2019
2022	Kelsey Golonka	Montpelier	22	Miss Montpelier	Top 12		Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2017 [2] Top 15 at Miss Teen USA 2017 Sister of Kenzie Golonka, Miss Vermont Teen USA 2022
2021	Joanna Leigh Nagle	Colchester	27				Shortest reigning Miss Vermont USA at 9 months and 21 days
2020	Shannah Weller	Middlebury	23				Longest reigning Miss Vermont USA at 1 year, 6 months and 27 days
2019	Bethany Marie Garrow	Rutland	20
2018	Maia-Jena Allo [3]	Colchester	20
2017	Madison Trimbey Cota [4]	Bellows Falls	20				Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2014 Semifinalist at Miss Massachusetts 2018 [5]
2016	Neely Whitlock Fortune	Burlington	24				Cast member of Bravo program Camp Getaway
2015	Jacqueline "Jackie" Nicole Croft	Winooski	23				Contestant at National Sweetheart 2012
2014	Gina Bernasconi	Colchester	19
2013	Sarah Landi Westbrook	Burlington	25
2012	Jamie Lynn Dragon	Milton	25
2011	Lauren Carter	Burlington	21
2010	Nydelis Ortiz	Essex	20
2009	Brooke Werner	Granville	22
2008	Kim Tantlinger	Burlington	22
2007	Jessica May Comolli	Montpelier	22
2006	Amanda Gilman	Danville	20
2005	Amanda Lee Mitteer	Brattleboro	26
2004	Michelle Fongemie [6]	Williston	26			Miss Congeniality [7]
2003	Jennifer Lee Ripley	Barre					Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 1999 Later Mrs. Vermont America 2009 under her married name, Jennifer Bisson. [8]
2002	Brooke Elizabeth Angus	Essex					Miss World USA 2006
2001	Katy Johnson [9]	Burlington [9]					Previously Miss Vermont 1999; [10] successfully sued Tucker Max in 2003 claiming he was using her name and photograph to promote himself [9]
2000	Katie Bolton	Colchester
1999	Nicole Lewis	Windsor
1998	Catherine Bliss	Burlington					Previously Miss New York Teen USA 1990 [11]
1997	Lisa Costantino	Burlington
1996	Nancy Anne Roberts	Middlebury
1995	Jennifer Cazeault	Winooski
1994	Christy Beltrami [12]	Williston					Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 1987 [12]
1993	Jodi Sicely	Burlington
1992	Bonnie Kittredge	Burlington
1991	Margaret Corey	Brattleboro
1990	Stephanie Bessey	Chester
1989	Stacey M. Palmer	Burlington
1988	Stacy James Sisson	Rutland
1987	Carole Woodworth	North Bennington
1986	Tracey D. Morton	Rutland
1985	Angie Cummingham	Rutland
1984	Sue O'Brien	Waterbury Center
1983	Leslie Lucchina	Barre
1982	Georgia Marie Davis	Bennington	22		Semi-finalist
1981	Jeannette Wulff	Montpelier
1980	Judi Mason	Randolph
1979	Katherine Rechsteiner	Sugarbush Valley					Previously Miss Vermont 1975 [13]
1978	Nancy Jeanne Wierzbicki	Rutland				Miss Congeniality
1977	Anne Kent	Castleton
1976	Susan Parsons	Poultney
1975	Constance Crabtree	Poultney				Miss Congeniality
1974	Donna Sue Thorton	Poultney				Miss Congeniality
1973	Bonnie Height	Poultney
1972	Stacey Becker	Poultney
1971	Sandra Bette Taft	West Dover	24		Semi-finalist
1970	Cynthia "Cindy" Jurewicz	West Dover
1969	Mary Verdiani	Montpelier	19		1st runner-up	Miss Congeniality
1968	Susan Glynn	Mt. Snow
1967	Elaine Farrell	Burlington
1966	Peggy Eckert	West Burke
1965	Andrea Kenyon	North Bennington
1964	Freda Elaine Betts	Bennington
1963	Ellen "Bunny" Centerbar	North Bennington
1962	Barbara "Bobby" Ann Kearney	Springfield
1961	Susan Nielson	Poultney
1960	Carole Mary Demas	Burlington
1959	Sandra Laquerre	Barre
1958	Doreen Patricia McNamee	Brattleboro
1957	Marjorie Link	East Harwick
1956	Dolores Wettack	Westminster
1955	Carlene King Johnson	Rutland	22		Miss USA 1955		Semifinalist at Miss Universe 1955 Previously Miss Vermont 1953
1954	Georgia Laurise	New Haven, CT	24
1953	Kathleen Marie Eugenia Surrel	Brooklyn, NY	22
1952	Elizabeth Whitcomb	Essex Junction

Note

1. Age at the time of crowning

References

1. Perron, Darren (March 28, 2022). "Sisters crowned Miss Vermont USA and Miss Vermont Teen USA". WCAX-TV . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
2. Collier, Kayla (December 1, 2016). "Confidently beautiful: Vermont pageants show that beauty is more than skin deep". Stowe Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
3. "Miss Vermont, Teen USA 2018 crowned at Spruce Peak". Stowe Today. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
4. Cross, Caleigh (2017-10-12). "Miss VT queen, teen to be crowned at Spruce Peak". Stowe Today. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
5. "Lawrence's Gabriela Taveras is Crowned Miss Massachusetts 2018". The Valley Patriot. 3 July 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
6. Jacobson, Erica (2013-11-17). "From CVU to Miss Vermont USA". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
7. "Local Angle". The Burlington Free Press. 2004-04-16. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
8. "2009 Mrs America". Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
9. "Beauty queen's name ordered off Web site". Florida Today. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
10. Grantham, Loretta (1999-09-18). "Johnson uses spotlight to impart wholesome values". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
11. "Pageant Winners". The Burlington Free Press. 1997-11-05. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
12. Walsh, Molly (1994-02-11). "Miss Vermont is 'born and raised'". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
13. "N.J. has edge in beauty show". The Central New Jersey Home News. 1975-09-02. Retrieved 2018-07-11.