Advertisement But the 200-strong “Smaby Nation” were able to save their vocal cords to wish Smaby well during the “visitation” after the pageant as she was not chosen as one of the 15 finalists. Smaby and 38 other contestants changed into casual street clothes and sat onstage for much of the rest of the two-hour live telecast, which was shown for the third year on TLC.
 |
Miss Wisconsin Kristina Smaby, left, was announced Saturday as the winner among Miss America contestants of the Green is Gorgeous contest put on by Green T with Tamara, an environmental news Web site hosted by Tamara Henry, at right.
Photo by Randy Erickson |
The 53 state winners onstage in Las Vegas (including the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) started with roughly 13,000 contestants in local pageants. The one that remained standing, the one crowned as the new Miss America, was Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron, a 22-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University communications major.
Finishing as runners-up to Cameron were, in order of finish, Miss California Kristy Cavinder, Miss Tennessee Stefanie Wittler, Miss Louisiana Katherine Putnam and Miss Kentucky Mallory Ervin.
“Miss America’s loss is Wisconsin’s gain,” said Marna Holley, who was the first director of the Miss Holmen Pageant, which was the first of Smaby’s four local titles. “We’re happy to take her home and turn her loose to keep doing the great things she’s been doing. She should have no regrets.”
Smaby’s supporters had high hopes going into the evening that she would be a finalist. On a one-hour special aired Friday night, Smaby was revealed as one of 12 finalists for whom America could vote. At the “Cow Party” at the exclusive Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers, everybody with a cell phone sent in their text messages to vote for Smaby. After the party, Smaby Nation members fanned out across Las Vegas, asking people to text for Smaby everywhere from McDonald’s to “the Deuce,” the iconic double-decker bus that prowls the Las Vegas strip.
This year’s Miss America finale featured a new wrinkle. After the three top public vote-getters were announced — the women from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky — along with 11 other finalists picked by the judges, the remaining candidates were handed ballots onstage and told to vote for one last finalist — and they couldn’t vote for themselves.
The Smaby Nation wanted to hear them announce “Miss Wisconsin Kristina Smaby,” but Miss Oregon was the contestants’ popular pick.
“They always try something new to try to keep it interesting,” Holley said. “It’s TV, so they try to mix it up every year.”
It’s frustrating for traditionalists, she said, but there’s also an understanding that creating a more entertaining television program is vital to the program’s future.
There was at least one bright spot for Smaby on Saturday night. It was announced that she was the winner of the Green is Gorgeous competition among the Miss America contestants. The contest was sponsored by the Green T with Tamara Web site, which aims to promote environmental awareness and report “green” news.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
