The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America (but none since 1975). Almost all contestants have either received or are in the process of earning college or postgraduate degrees and utilize Miss Texas scholarship awards for furthering their education.
To become Miss Texas, a contestant must first win a local competition, a process requiring personal commitment, hard work, and talent. A young woman may compete at the local and state level more than once, but may only compete in the national Miss America competition one time. Hundreds of women participate each year in the local pageants, culminating in the selection of local finalists who compete for the Miss Texas title in July. The state pageant was held in Fort Worth for 36 years before relocating to the University of Texas at Arlington's Texas Hall in 2009. In 2012, the pageant moved to the Allen Event Center in suburban Collin County. 2014 marked the beginning of the Miss Texas pageant at the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson, Texas.
Once chosen, Miss Texas and the local winners become representatives of their generation, using their stature to address community service matters and other contemporary issues, which are of particular relevance to young Texans and women.
In 2010, Miss Texas celebrated its 75th anniversary, and Randy Pruett wrote a book, A Dream as Big as Texas, to document the stories of the 75 women that were crowned Miss Texas.
Margana Wood of Austin was crowned Miss Texas 2017 on July 1, 2017 at Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2018 on September 10, 2017 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Video Miss Texas
Results summary
The year in parentheses indicates the year of the Miss America competition the award/placement was garnered.
Placements
- Miss Americas: Jo-Carroll Dennison (1942), Phyllis George (1971), Shirley Cothran (1975)
- 1st runners-up: Moselle Ransome (1927), Alice Emerick (1937), Shilah Phillips (2007)
- 2nd runners-up: Penny Lee Rudd (1963), Carmen McCollum (1977), Jonna Fitzgerald (1986)
- 3rd runners-up: Linda Loftis (1962), Sharon McCauley (1965), Mae Beth Cormany (1973), Suzanne Lawrence (1991)
- 4th runners-up: Sheri Ryman (1982), Tamara Hext (1985), Yanci Yarbrough (2000), Margana Wood (2018)
- Top 7: Caroline Carothers (2017)
- Top 8: Molly Hazlett (2008)
- Top 10: Mary Nell Hendricks (1959), Susan Logan (1967), Judy Mallett (1974), Mary Ellen Richardson (1976), Lori Smith (1978), Sandi Miller (1979), Terri Eoff (1981), Dana Rogers (1984), Stephany Samone (1987), Rita Jo Thompson (1988), Leah Kay Lyle (1990), Rhonda Morrison (1992), Arian Archer (1995), Michelle Martinez (1997), Tara Watson (2001), Mary Lisa Dalzell (2003), Jamie Story (2005), Morgan Matlock (2006), Kristen Blair (2010), Kendall Morris (2012), DaNae Couch (2013), Ivana Hall (2014), Shannon Sanderford (2016)
- Top 12: Ashley Melnick (2011)
- Top 13: Polly Below (1945)
- Top 15: Rosebud Blondell (1926), Patricia Allen Green (1936), Charmayne Smith (1939)
- Top 16: Margaret Sommers (1951), Monique Evans (2015)
- Top 20: Stacy James (2002)
- Top 23: Ruth Elizabeth Brand (1923)
Awards
Preliminary awards
- Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Jo-Carroll Dennison (1942), Phyllis George (1971), Shirley Cothran (1975), Carmen McCollum (1977), Tamara Hext (1985), Molly Hazlett (2008), Kendall Morris (2012), Margana Wood (2018)
- Preliminary Talent: Jo-Carroll Dennison (1942), Linda Loftis (1962), Carmen McCollum (1977), Sheri Ryman (1982), Jonna Fitzgerald (1986), Stephany Samone (1987), Suzanne Lawrence (1991), Shilah Phillips (2007)
- Preliminary Interview: Mary Lisa Dalzell (2003)
Non-finalist awards
- Non-finalist Talent: Marilyn Turner (1960), Mary Cage Moore (1961), Gloria Gilbert (1983), Sunni Cranfill (2004)
- Non-finalist Interview: BaShara Chandler (1994)
Other awards
- Miss Congeniality: Joyce Courrege (1944), Luna McClain (1947), Rebecca Robinson (2009)
- Louanne Gamba Instrumental Award: Kendall Morris (2012)
- Quality of Life Award Winners: Suzanne Lawrence (1991)
Maps Miss Texas
Winners
In popular culture
In the long-running television series Dallas, the character Sue Ellen Ewing had purportedly won the title of Miss Texas in 1967, long before the events of the show took place (1978-91). She had entered the pageant as Miss Dallas.
The song "Almost" by the band Bowling for Soup features the line, "I almost dropped out of school at fourteen where I almost made out with the Homecoming Queen, who almost went on to be Miss Texas, but lost to a slut with much bigger breasts."
References
External links
- Miss Texas official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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