Hermona Girmay of Seattle was crowned Miss Washington 2024 on July 6, 2024, at the Capital High School Performing Arts Center in Olympia. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.
History
Washington first sent delegates to Miss America in 1926 with Leona Fengler, Miss Seattle. She was sponsored by the Seattle Times newspaper, a practice common in the early days of Miss America pageants. She was pictured in the paper leaving in a biplane for her cross-country flight to Atlantic City, where she was voted "Prettiest Girl in an Evening Gown."[citation needed] In 1987, Fendler was featured again in the newly-revived Miss Seattle Pageant.[citation needed]
The Depression and war years caused sporadic participation by Washington contestants in the Miss America pageant, but the Miss Washington pageant was revived in 1948 and held in Ephrata, with a $1000 scholarship offered to the winner.[1] In 1949 the pageant was a "financial flop" and the winner had to seek community donations to fund her appearance at Miss America. At the time the organization was so deeply in debt that the titleholder's tiara was nearly repossessed by the manufacturer.[2][3][4]
From 1961 to 1997 the pageant was hosted by Vancouver, under a number of executive directors before moving to the Tri-Cities under the directorship of Chamber President, Dorothy Schoeppach. Under the direction of Schoeppach the local programs again grew from 9 to 22.[citation needed] Two years later the pageant moved to Tacoma under the directorship of Joan Dehn and Mike Shinkle.[citation needed]
The competition was held in Renton or Des Moines, WA beginning in 2008 under the directorship of Charlie VanTramp and then Peggy Miller and Patti Belik, except for 2021, which was held at Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, WA, due to pandemic restrictions.[citation needed] . In 2023, the competition as well as all of its annual events moved to the Capital High School Performing Arts Center in Olympia.
The Miss Washington Scholarship Organization is a 501(c)4 organization, and its scholarship arm, MWSO Miracle, Inc. is a 501(c)3, where donations are tax deductible.[5][6]
Following is a visual summary of the results of Miss Washington 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.
Placements
2nd runners-up: Anna Mae Schoonover (1939), Sharon Vaughn (1960), Sharon Rogers (1983), Elyse Umemoto (2008)
3rd runners-up: Honey Castro (1986), Jacquie Brown (2011), Alicia Cooper (2017)
4th runners-up: Laurie Nelson (1979)
Top 10: Lauren Waddleton (1965), Susan Buckner (1972), Leslie Mays (1974), Kathleen Moore (1975), Doris Hayes (1981), Jennifer Wall (1990), SoYoung Kwon (1992), Kristen Eddings (2007), Mandy Schendel (2013)
No Washington representative at Miss America pageant[52]
Related Research Articles
Miss Wyoming is a state-level pageant that sends winners to compete for the title of Miss America. The competition, which awards scholarships, is open to women aged 19 through 28.
The Miss Kentucky competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Virginia competition is a scholarship pageant for women, with the titleholder representing Virginia in the Miss America pageant. The competition was founded in 1953 as a scholarship contest for young women, although women had represented Virginia in the Miss America pageant since the 1930s. Four Miss Virginia winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America, including former national titleholder Caressa Cameron.
The Miss Illinois is a pageant program affiliated with Miss America, which is competition for women models representing the state of Illinois.
The Miss District of Columbia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss America Pageant.
The Miss Georgia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Georgia in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Maryland competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Maryland in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Idaho scholarship program is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Idaho in the Miss America pageant. The current titleholder receives a $4,000 cash scholarship to any accredited institution of her choice. She also represents the state of Idaho for the live ABC broadcast of the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Massachusetts competition is a scholarship pageant put on annually by the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Foundation, Inc. The winner of the pageant receives the title of Miss Massachusetts and represents the state of Massachusetts at the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Montana competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Montana in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Nebraska competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nebraska in the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Nevada competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss America competition, and the name of the title held by that winner. The first Nevadan to compete at Miss America was Carol Lampe in 1949.
The Miss New Hampshire is the scholarship program that selects the representative for the state of New Hampshire in the Miss America competition.
The Miss Oregon competition is a regional scholarship competition that selects the representative for the US state of Oregon in the Miss America pageant. The annual event includes contestants from across the state and awards scholarships to the participants.
The Miss Washington's Teen competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Washington in the Miss America's Teen pageant. The competition is held each June in Olympia, Washington and consists of five categories; private interview, health and fitness, talent, evening gown and on stage conversation.
Elyse Umemoto, is an American dance team manager and former Miss Washington in the Miss America circuit. She is known for finishing third place at Miss America 2008, and for competing on the reality competition show Survivor, following her stint as Miss Washington.
Elisabeth Gabrielle Jackson is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Bellingham, Washington, who was crowned Miss Washington 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015.
Miss America 2018, the 91st Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 97th anniversary in 2017. This discrepancy is due to no national pageants being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression. The 2018 pageant was held in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, September 10, 2017. This was the first Miss America pageant to be held in Atlantic City since the Miss America Organization headquarters relocated to Boardwalk Hall.
For the state pageant affiliated with Miss Teen USA, see Miss Maryland Teen USA
Miss America 2019, the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression. The 2019 competition was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On May 23, 2018, it was announced that the pageant would air live on ABC on Sunday, September 9, 2018. This was the last Miss America to be aired on ABC before it was moved to NBC beginning from the 2020 pageant.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
