Service - It's been a while.

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten from a good friend was: "Hilary, don't let them rent space in your brain." It sounds so trite and so easy ... but it's quite a difficult skill to master.

I admit it, I still check out the Voy board. There are a few young women in the Miss Ohio program that have captured my interest, and I suppose that I just can't let go. Maybe I have this hope, somewhere deep down, that the whole organization isn't a conglomerate of egomaniacs and morons.

However, today's letter from The Fearless Leader (Art McMaster) really struck me. I'll post it, then my thoughts after the letter.

State Executive Directors:

We are extremely proud of the accomplishments that the Miss America family has achieved over recent years and the spirit of teamwork that is allowing our organization to experience even greater success. This year’s record TV ratings for the 2010 Miss America Pageant reflect a continuing growth and resurgence with our historically important organization.

Our commitment to maintain an open dialogue has never been stronger and our continued success is interdependent. Your commitment is greatly valued as we continue making this wonderful organization the very best it can be. We are sincerely committed in promoting our core values, as well as, protecting this organization from assaults on its integrity and operation.

Unfortunately, some recent events have occurred that were designed to undermine our great organization and impede the momentum we have created. We have always met and overcome such challenges and obstacles whenever they appeared, whether in a complaint letter from an angry parent or a disappointed contestant, someone intent on undermining state leadership and even deliberate attempts to discredit the national organization and circumvent the policies that regulate our program.

We have prevailed over all these and more through the years, and we have remained united. More importantly, our bond strengthened as we worked together to rebrand and rebuild our presence throughout the country. The principal seal of this bond has always been the Miss America Organization's support of, and loyalty to, the leaders of our State Organizations.

The one cornerstone of our organization that must remain infallible is the integrity of our judging system. Recent attempts to breach this basic tenet by ignoring conflicts of interest cannot be tolerated. It is paramount that everyone does their due diligence when selecting and approving judges at the local and state levels. Even though we have specific guidelines, the national office has received numerous questions relating to pageant coaches. Under no circumstance may any type of coach be a judge in the Miss America Organization - even if they coach in an unpaid capacity.

In addition, anyone openly disparaging, discrediting or detracting any state organization, its leadership or the Miss America Organization - including present and past actions, cannot be permitted to serve in any capacity. We will not support any person or organization that supports or aligns itself with persons engaged in malicious activity that undermines the integrity of the Miss America Organization system.

Nevertheless, our organization is yet again under assault and we must formally announce our position and make it clear that we will not be daunted by aggression, whether direct or subtle, that undermines anyone, let alone the whole of the Miss America State Organizations. We have deterred these attempts and will continue to do so with your support.

It has also come to our attention that a group has formed with intentions to act as a comprehensive prep team for the contestants in the Miss America Pageant system. They have initiated their presence with announcements directly to contestants and local directors, undermining current state leadership and insist the key to success exists with their guidance and counsel. We strongly state that this group is not operating with the endorsement of the Miss America Organization. The Miss America Organization cannot allow any group to interfere with the right of our states to operate, conduct and produce their annual competitions. We believe that our state organizations are the Miss America experts and strongly recommend that our states handle the coaching of our program’s contestants themselves.

Although the National Office will be represented at the 2010 Miss America Homecoming, it deeply saddens us that our officers will not attend this event due to the direct involvement by an individual who has previously attacked this organization and various members of its leadership. We feel that an appearance by this organization’s Chairman of the Board, President or any other MAO Officer would contradict our position. We remain steadfast in our resolve to protect this organization and it is in the best interest of the organization that we do not attend.

We truly depend on you for our continued success and our ability to operate as a cohesive organization. Please accept our deepest gratitude for your consistent support.



Sam Haskell, III Art McMaster

Board Chairman President & CEO

So here's my first thought: My parents may have made their fair share of mistakes with my sister and I. No one's perfect. That said, the one thing that I'm proud to have been taught is to value my opinion. By that I mean that it's not only my right, but my RESPONSIBILITY to question authority. Only those that refuse to discuss their position and its trappings are those that have something to hide.

Sadly, I fear that this is the beginning of the end of Miss America. And oddly enough - I have very mixed feelings about it. My heart hurts, because I know that this will be the end. However, I have a bit of joy in knowing that - maybe someday - someone with ethics and integrity will resurrect it.

Success - Issue 3 Passes in Ohio

Politics and pageants often go hand-in-hand. Contestants are often asked about their views on current issues and current events, and their answers can either make them famous or infamous.

A current event in Ohio is the passage of Issue 3. This will enable four casinos to be built in the state ... one each in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo. These "gambling palaces" generally come complete with hotel space and other amenities.

Wouldn't it be lovely if the MOSP "leadership" took advantage of the need for the Penn National Gaming folks to get some good will in Columbus? I mean, it's been released that Issue 3 was soundly defeated in Franklin County ... but since it was a statewide issue and passed, the good people of Columbus were outvoted. Now, Penn National needs to win over the local residents and create some good will and support. And hey ... since the state pageant needs theater space and hotel rooms ... hmm.

According to this Columbus Dispatch article ... now's the time. Get in contact with their PR department and pitch it.

Success - Audits and movement. subtitled: Nerdy Girls Are Hot.

Question Of The Day, courtesy of the Miss Ohio Voy Board ...

Considering they paid out less than $40K in cash scholarships last year, I consider that a problem that needs rectified. Wouldn't you agree? Where's the other $160K going, that is, if your figures are correct and you have any idea what you're talking about?

That's what several of us have asked in the past. And, depending on the person, we've either gotten a pat on our little red head or outright ousted for asking (John and Kathy from Ashland, anyone?)

A few years ago, after a particularly scathing meeting of the Local Directors to discuss this issue, the board commissioned an auditor to review the books. Now, doing what I do for a living, I knew how this was going to end. I silently rolled my eyes and sighed heavily while everyone else waited with hopeful hearts that FINALLY we'd get some answers. So ... anyhow ... they had a financial "audit" that said they were A-OK and operating within the confines of the law. The outrage with that answer was loud and proud, alas it was precisely what I expected to happen.

The "passing grade" the current "leadership" received from the auditor may very well be true, but operationally they're not sound. See, financial audit and operational audit aren't mutually exclusive, but they are two vastly different things in theory and in practice. Financial looks at compliance with laws and regulations (in this case, specifically the IRS code 501c3, the code that grants MOSP their tax-exempt status as a charity). Operational audit, in contrast, looks at the processes and procedures used to conduct business. Operational soundness does not guarantee financial success, and vice versa ... but an operationally sound business is more transparent, easily managed, and tends to run more smoothly. Profit is not indicative of operational control, but sound operational control generally leads to higher profits. I could talk about audit and compliance all day ... oh wait. I do. Silly me. :)

Anyhow, the costs to produce a stage show of that magnitude / budget would likely be in the $200,000 annual range, I don't doubt it. But (at the risk of injecting corporate-speak into a pageant board), it's necessary to contain costs in the current economic climate. Cut the corners that don't really matter to the consumer (the contestants, their families, our sponsors), get documented processes and procedures in place to get more volunteers involved with some of the tasks needed to have the annual pageant and/or to raise capital, and work hard to grow the customer base (recruit new locals and contestants).

That all said ... I can honestly tell you that the board isn't interested in that. I presented my ideas (without definitive details, as I'm not about to give up my hard research work without having a say in its execution). They weren't interested.

Success - Where's Waldo?

More accurately ... where's the pageant?

As has happened every few years for the past two decades ... the rumor is circulating that Miss Ohio is leaving Sunny Mansfield. As long as I've been around Miss Ohio, the city of Mansfield has hosted it, at the 1,402-seat Renaissance Theater. This seat count includes the balcony that the Clayland Crew sends out the "whoop whoop" from.

The city has always been "home" to the pageant to me. And they try to make it "home" for everyone else, too. They have a cadre of host homes and volunteers, ready to open their hearts to the contestants and their families. Transportation is offered by hostesses - some second-generation - and involves moving approximately 100 people around the city. Local businesses donate meals and gifts to the girls during Miss Ohio week too.

However, the scuttlebutt (I just love that word) is that Miss Ohio is moving to Zanesville. This rumor is further fueled by the fact that John Kunkel, MOSP board member, is the manager of the Secrest Auditorium. The Secrest seats 1,775 patrons and has already played host to a number of pageants (Miss SEO and Miss Muskingum Valley come to mind right now).

Both cities are small towns, and both have been hit HARD by the economic crisis. I question whether either place can afford to host the event, but that's not my place to say. The leadership in those communities know their budgetary constraints, not me.

So ... which one is the right fit? Mansfield? Zanesville? Only time will tell.

Personally, I agree with the poster on the Voy board that said that they'd like to see the pageant in a bigger city. The hard part isn't necessarily the venue, but the required support from the site and the community. And Mansfield, in that regard, will be a tough act to follow.

Service - Is The Platform Issue Dead?

The only thing constant in life is change, or so I hear. And Miss America is constantly schizophrenic.

We've went from a true bathing beauty contest to a pageant filled with accomplished, talented, and beautiful women, to "it's not a beauty pageant, it's a SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM", and now to ... what?

Does Miss America still have an identity?

Historically, Miss A has always been the slightly glamorous girl next door, the do-gooder that had a bit of a sparkle in her eye. Miss America was at home with both ribbon-cutting ceremonies as well as pediatric cancer wards. Some of the best-loved Miss America winners were beautiful humanitarians.

But now, since the advent of the CMN alliance ... has the individual platform issue went by the wayside? Should our Miss Ohio abandon a personal platform and go with CMN ... or maybe even have a personal platform that relates well to CMN? Taking it a step further ... should we abandon the platform issue altogether and have a single community service focus (be it CMN or something else)?

I don't know the answer right now. I want to see how this year's pageant goes to make a judgment call. But it's certainly food for thought.

Success - Miss Kentucky's blog

Sorry guys - I'm kinda wimpin' out today. I feel horrid, and it's my anniversary. I don't feel horrid BECAUSE it's my anniversary. Just wanted to be clear.

Anyhow.

Miss Kentucky's blog. Have you read it lately?

I just can't get enough of her. She's adorable, down to Earth, and she has that x-factor. She's accessible.

Check it out ... Small Town Crown - Mallory Ervin, Miss Kentucky 2009

The post on October 19th is awesome. It details a few days in her life ... school tours, hair appointments, even a "hot date" with Heather French Henry.

Great job, Miss Kentucky! That's a great way to leverage social media to get your message across.

Success - Coaching

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” - The great Knute Rockne.

The million-dollar question is ... what's the plan? Who sets the goal, who knows what to do to succeed? And another famous quote ...

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein.

Anyone that's been around Miss Ohio / Miss America pageants in the Buckeye State for more than about a week can understand. You know that the "leadership" doesn't exactly mentor contestants very well. They're not very forthcoming with information and inspiration, but often pooh-pooh those that are willing to offer a different perspective. They don't particularly want to DO any preparation work, but EVERYONE wants to be on "the prep team".

Look, I am very self-aware. I'm not the most fashionable person on the planet. I often opt for comfort over fashion (my Crocs with Jibbitz are the height of my pret-a-porter wardrobe, natch). My hair color and cut hasn't materially changed in ten years. And makeup? I go to the MAC counter once a year and tell them to have at it. My place isn't on "the prep team", because that's not something that I bring to the table as an asset.

When I competed, I sought help from professionals. I knew that I would have to have help to be successful. For pageants other than Miss Ohio, I leveraged the knowledge and successful track record of Donna's Studio to help me be my best. During my Miss Ohio days, I worked with Judy Kyees ... her advice and support was exceptionally helpful to me, and I went from being a clapper to consistently placing (and in one instance, I should have won).

The best of the best always have coaches and advisors. After all ... Tiger Woods is one of the most talented players in the world, but he still has advisors. Why should our contestants be any different?

Ohio has consistently enforced the unwritten rule that contestants shall not be "coached". I really don't understand this attitude! The states that are successful year over year have resources a mile deep (Oklahoma and Texas come to mind), and they don't fault their contestants for using them.

I wish I could understand why there's an "anti-coaching" sentiment in Ohio. Since we haven't had a contestant that's won an award at nationals since Amanda Beagle ... we need to bring coaching out of the shadows and into the forefront. We need to challenge our contestants to develop themselves, and we need to challenge our "leadership" to stop their egotistical narrow-sighted thoughts that they're good enough, they're smart enough, and dog gone it people like them.