Bits and pieces from the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant…

Black evening gowns, out. White evening gowns, in.

We all should cheer alot for the contestants who don’t have the big organizations backing them up. Everyone deserves a pep club!

Need judges who know dancing. Looking at their resumes, the judges probably were really good at judging who interviewed well and who handled herself well. But their areas of expertise were education, drama, cosmetics and pageants, and I would love to see one who knew the dance world or music. 

Kristen Blair, new Miss T, has a great set of pipes. Girl can sing. Actually, there were several who knocked it out of the park, vocally. Miss Fort Worth, Faith Bates, and Miss Texarkana, Adrianna Nelson, are two who come to mind.

Gloria Gilbert Barron’s quick wit is razor sharp. Fun emcee. Production numbers were lively. The pageant is a great evening’s entertainment, no matter who wins.

Did they induct anyone this year into the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant Hall of Honor? If they did, I missed it.

Loved the hour of entertainment before Friday’s pageant began. All singing, which was great, but could we add some others? Again, dancing anyone?

Talent comes in all forms–electric guitar, drums, even painting on stage.

Friday’s final pageant was dedicated to the memory of the late B. Don Magness. I missed him last year, though, when he wasn’t there. Seems wrong for him not to be there, but I think he would have wanted the show to go on.

Wish I could walk like those pageant girls do. I want their perfect posture. Where do you learn that? Does charm school still exist? That must be my problem. My mom kept signing me up, and I kept refusing to go. Mom was right. I could have used it.

Sam Haskell III, chairman of the Miss America board, paid a visit to promote his best seller, Promises I Made My Mother. On stage Wednesday night, he said what people around here have been saying for a while. Rebecca Robinson should have been Miss America. He said it loud and clear over a microphone. And he’s right.

Mark July 3 on your 2010 calendar. That’s the night for the Miss Texas 75th anniversary gala. Chairman Marvin Blum is already working on it. Should be great fun.

Miss North Texas, 22-year-old Kristen Blair, sang her way to the title of Miss Texas Friday evening, winning the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The new Miss Texas wore a powder blue evening gown when she was crowned Miss Texas by outgoing Miss Texas, Rebecca Robinson. Blair now will compete for the title of Miss America at the Miss America Pageant Jan. 30 in Las Vegas, NV. Blair, a vocal performance major at the University of North Texas, sang Nessun Dorma in the talent competition. Her vocal talents made her a preliminary talent winner earlier in the week.

The Miss Teen Texas Pageant was held simultaneously at Texas Hall on the UTA campus. Miss Teen Frisco, Taylor Lowery, won the Miss Teen Texas title. She, too, had won a preliminary round earlier, but in the physical fitness category.

First runner-up to Miss Texas was Miss Carrollton, DaNae Couch. Others in the top five were Miss Grapevine, Ashley Melnick, second runner-up; Miss Fort Worth, Faith Bates, third runner-up; and Miss Frisco, Kathryn Dunn, fourth runner-up.

In the teen pageant, first runner-up was Miss Teen Texas Panhandle, Jordan Sheets. Rounding out the top five were Miss Teen Tarrant County, Destiny Velez, second runner-up; Miss Teen Harris County, Ali York, third runner-up; and Miss Teen Grapevine, Hadley Smith, fourth runner-up.

As Miss Texas, Blair will receive a $12,000 scholarship to the college of her choice. Blair graduated from high school in the state of Washington before entering the University of North Texas, according to Heather Edwards Bruce, the executive director of the Miss Southlake Pageant.

Friday’s pageant was dedicated to the late B. Don Magness. Magness, long associated with the Miss Texas organization, died last July, and his widow, Jean Magness, serves as CEO and executive director of the pageant.

[caption id="attachment_2324" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Miss North Texas, Kristen Blair"][/caption]

Kira Morris, Miss Harris County, and Kristen Blair, Miss North Texas, won the preliminary competitions of the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant Tuesday night at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Morris was named the winner for “physical fitness in swimsuit, and Blair sang the classical piece Nessun Dorma to capture the talent prize during the second evening of competition at Texas Hall on the UTA campus.. Both are 22 years old and students at the University of North Texas. Dunn, 19, attends Baylor University and won the swimsuit competition. Nelson, a 21-year-old student at Houston Baptist University, took top honors in the talent competition for her vocal performance of “How Great Thou Art.”

This week 37 young women are vying for the Miss Texas title and the chance to go on to January’s Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas. The last preliminary event will be held Wednesday evening, with the finals scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday. The pageant will be broadcast live Friday via a webcast, and details are available at www.misstexas.org.

Monday night, the first night of the pageant, Kathryn Dunn, representing Frisco, and Adrianna Nelson, representing Texarkana, were named preliminary winners. Dunn, 19, attends Baylor University and was awarded the swimsuit honors. Nelson, a 21-year-old student at Houston Baptist University, took home the talent award for her vocal performance of “How Great Thou Art.”

The Miss Teen Texas Pageant is being held simultaneously with the Miss Texas competition. Winning Tuesday evening were Reilly Johannsen, Miss Teen Ellis County, for physical fitness and Micayla Merrifield, for talent by playing My Heart Will Go On on the harp. Monday night preliminary winners for the teen pageant were Miss Teen Frisco, Taylor Lowery, for physical fitness and Miss Teen Plano, Madison Fuller, for talent with her ventriloquism act.

The Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant will crown a successor to Rebecca Robinson, Miss Texas 2008. Robinson, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Spanish, performed a high-energy tap dance to “Hey Pachuco!” to win the Miss Texas title. Among her many accomplishments this year, she was chosen to sing the National Anthem at The Cotton Bowl and was selected as the subject of a United Way of America video promoting education.

To become Miss Texas, a contestant must first win a local competition within the state. During preliminaries, the competitors are broken into three groups, with each group presenting a different part of the competition for the judges’ review. Those scores will be used to select finalists to compete in Friday’s finals.

The Miss Teen Texas Pageant, a competition that began in 1990, also will crown a new title holder Friday evening. The current Miss Teen Texas is Sydney Capello.

Tickets are available from Central Ticket Office. Check CentralTicketOffice.com.

Preliminary winners will be updated this week at www.eSocialWorld.com.