53 Newly Crowned Miss America Contestants
Meet in the Sunshine State To Begin
Countdown To The 2010 Miss America Pageant
Linwood, NJ -- August 6, 2009 -- President and CEO of the Miss America Organization, Art McMaster, announced today after nearly a 50 year absence, the 53rd contestant, Miss Puerto Rico was crowned over the weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
With the final contestant crowned, the plans are underway for the 2010 Miss America Pageant, which returns to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for a week of preliminary competitions, culminating in a live telecast on TLC, Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m. EST.
All 53 contestants will gather and meet for the first time in Orlando next week to visit the Orlando sites and enjoy getting to know one another before the competition heats up in January.
"We are thrilled to host our newly crowned state titleholders in Orlando," said Art McMaster. "We have a wonderful opportunity to have our incredibly diverse, talented and beautiful contestants all in town to support our sister program, the Miss America Outstanding Teen Pageant on August 15th."
The Sunshine State welcomes the newly crowned contestants where they will enjoy a visit to Universal Studios, participate in Dairy Queen's Miracle Treat Day to support the Children's Miracle Network, as well as enjoying some fun in the sun before they go to the MAOTeen Pageant.
The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. For more information, go to www.missamerica.org.
Katie Stam, of Seymour, Indiana is the current Miss America.
For information on TLC, please visit http://tlc.discovery.com.
For information on Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, please visit www.planethollywood.com.
Press Contact:
Sharon Pearce
Miss America Organization
609-653-8700 ext. 117
sharon@missamerica.org
