Subject: Miss Earth United States checks out Fort Collins' environmental efforts
Author: John
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] Date Posted:06:18:27 09/26/08 Fri
Miss Earth United States checks out Fort Collins’ environmental efforts
PHOTO: credit Carol Hirata
cutline: Jana Murrell tours New Belgium Brewing Company.
Beauty For a Cause
For many, the appearance of Miss Earth United States, Jana Murrell, in Fort Collins last week went undetected. The pageant is a smash-hit internationally, with roughly 90 countries competing in what is now the third largest international beauty competition behind the Miss World and Miss Universe contests. But stateside, it’s still gathering steam.
Jana Murrell tours New Belgium Brewing Company.
Carol Hirata
The pageant isn’t beauty divas preening for endorsements and celebrity status; it requires its participants to be spokeswomen for the environment.
Murrell, who won the Miss Earth United States title at the national competition in Portland, Ore., visited Fort Collins over the weekend to appear at the Sustainable Living Fair, where she modeled eco-friendly clothing. Before the fair, she spent Thurday and Friday touring the city’s FortZED Restaurant Initiative trailblazers: Mugs Coffee Lounge, Austin’s American Grill and the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. She also made a special stop by New Belgium Brewery.
“You get the glamour and the glitz, but you’re coming together for a good cause,” said Murrell, 26, a physical therapist and former TV anchor for Omaha, Nebraska’s KETV Channel 7.
Murrell said she was impressed at the enthusiasm Fort Collins expressed about environmental initiatives. She was particularly impressed with McCabe Callahan’s efforts at Mugs Coffee Lounge.
“He’s doing a lot not only for the environment but for the community,” she said. Murrell said she was especially impressed by Mug’s vegetable garden in the basement of the shop.
Carol Hirata, marketing director for Earth Pageant Productions, said that Jana’s public position as a beauty queen puts her in a unique position to voice support for environmental causes.
“If Jana were to walk into a room full of people, of course she’s going to turn some heads because she’s tall and pretty. But you put the sash on and people want to talk to her,” Hirata said. “You get someone like Jana that’s very articulate who can talk to children and at the same time talk to officials.”
