Advertisement Smaby finished second in that competition, but came back the next year and won the Miss Holmen title, her first of four local crowns. Even after Smaby won Miss Wisconsin last June, Zillmer didn’t really envision her daughter taking part in this annual ritual that began in 1921 as a bathing beauty contest in Atlantic City, N.J., to keep the tourists around for one more weekend after Labor Day.
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Miss Wisconsin Kristina Smaby and her mother, Kathy Zillmer, are pictured at the end of the post-pageant Miss America reception at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. For more photos from Miss America week, check out the online photo gallery.
Photo by Randy Erickson |
Not that she didn’t think her daughter had what it takes to be Miss America. “I knew there was something special about her, her character,” Zillmer said. “She’s always been a caring person.”
In an interview Friday morning, a day before her first child and only daughter would have her moment in the national spotlight, Zillmer can definitely envision her daughter competing for the Miss America crown. And winning.
“She would serve the job well because she puts 100 percent into everything she does, and that’s exactly what Miss America is about,” Zillmer said.
Smaby has a very good chance of being one of 15 Miss America finalists at the nationally televised finale on Saturday night at Planet Hollywood. Friday afternoon it was announced that Smaby was one of the four top vote-getters in her contestant pool, the Alpha group.
A total of 12 contestants — with four each from the other two groups — have a chance to make the finals based on text-messaged votes after a pre-pageant special Friday night on TLC, “Miss America: Behind the Curtain.”
Considering the large number of followers and supporters Smaby has through from her years in the pageant scene, from the La Crosse Oktoberfest family (she was Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest) and her former dance students at Misty’s Dance Unlimited, it would be no surprise to see Smaby amass a lot of votes.
If Smaby does become a finalist, that means Zillmer and Smaby’s father, Frank Smaby, will have to leave the Smaby Nation section in the back of the 7,000-seat Planet Hollywood Theatre and sit in VIP seats with the other finalists’ parents. That way, they can be more easily televised.
If Zillmer could choose, she’d rather not be on national TV. She doesn’t even like to have her picture taken. But it’s a sacrifice she’s more than willing to make for her daughter, who has made so many sacrifices and worked so hard to get to Miss America.
It’s been a grueling week for Smaby — and for all the contestants — but Zillmer said she believes her “Miss Kristina,” as she’s known to her supporters, is up to the task.
“I’m sure she’s exhausted, but she doesn’t show a lot of emotion outwardly,” Zillmer said. “She’s pretty tough.”
Smaby on the Smaby Nation
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
