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Miss Teen United States 2006
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Date Posted: 20:31:42 09/19/06 Tue
I am Elizabeth Wilson from Georgia, the newly crowned Miss Teen United States 2006. I cannot tell you what a thrill is it to have received this title! It has been a journey not to be forgotten.
I am an eighteen year old from Lilburn, Georgia on the outskirts of Atlanta and have participated in modeling and print ads. I am a recent graduate of Parkview High School where I was a member of Beta Club, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Spanish Honor Society, Gwinnett Student Leadership Team, and also a member of the varsity soccer team for four years serving as captain the last two. Our high school soccer team won state championship titles during two of those years; what a thrill that was and a great group of girls and coaches. I also participated in cheerleading for three of the years. My senior year was remarkable in that I was voted on the Homecoming court, won the school PTSA fundraiser of Miss Parkview (the first pageant title I ever won!) and then, huge surprise, I was voted Prom Queen; it was a senior year not ever to be forgotten. I come from a prestigious high school that was ranked as 7th in the country by Sports Illustrated, and Newsweek ranked in the top 5 % of high schools in the United States. Go Panthers!
My platform is “Time for the Troops”. I initiated this program with my high school soccer team. During my freshman year, a fellow player had a brother sent overseas. The distress on this tight knit family touched us all. Then we learned that our coach had a brother serving as a Ranger Captain overseas also. Since we saw the impact on our “soccer family,” we felt we could do something to help those serving our country. It would be a comfort to their family members at home to know others were thinking of them. From this, sprang “Parkview Soccer Supports the Troops”. It’s been very successful since the beginning. We have been able to ship over one ton of goods to help relieve the living conditions our troops were enduring. We collected items through the school and over $1,600 to cover shipping costs and purchases. A few times, we even had enough baked goods shipped, so hopefully everyone one of the 130 plus men in the company got a taste of home.
Since this began, the brother of our teammate returned home safely, however, our Ranger Captain has returned for another tour, so our support continues. Our Captain and his company were to return to the States about the time the Teen United States pageant took place, but, I learned when I got home their stay has been extended. I asked all the girls participating at nationals to send me a letter and their pictures (guys always like a photo of a pretty girl!) to forward for posting in their headquarters tent. Please understand it does not matter what our thoughts on this war are, just that we have our fellow Americans serving overseas and need to show them that we care about them and want them to come home safely. Anyone who would like to contribute mail, pictures or any support, please send it to Miss Teen United States 2006, P.O. Box 171, Lilburn, Georgia 30048.
My journey for Miss Teen United States began with the Miss Georgia Teen Pageant in February 2006. What a blast that pageant was. I had such a good time that weekend, met many wonderful fellow contestants and was thrilled several friends came to watch me compete. Having their support meant the world to me that day. Friends of mine had my mailbox decorated with signs and balloons. I was announced at school the following week with the principal giving me a special gift. I also received state sister Queens from that pageant who went on with me to participate in nationals in their divisions. Nationals! Oh my goodness. Nationals!!!! The excitement of going to a national competition was something beyond my imagination. The preparation was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. My State Director, Roy Jordan, did so much to help me; we met several times, although we lived 2 hours apart, talked on the telephone, and emailed a great deal. His support and guidance was wonderful. I cannot thank him enough for his friendship and confidence in me. He is such a kind man and a true gentleman.
And then we went to Las Vegas! Wow, what a great place to have a national competition. The excitement begins the second you step off the plane; the whole town is charged with electricity. Walking through an airport completely across the country while proudly wearing a banner to represent my state was such a new and electrifying experience. Representing my home state in this completely new environment was very memorable. We arrived at The Orleans Hotel, a great place to hold this event. Somehow they got all of my luggage to my room! It was fun from the very beginning in that I immediately started seeing other contestants. We were treated so well by everyone; Las Vegas sure knows how to do things up right! We had a great time getting to know all our fellow queens during practice, practice, practice, but Kathy Peel knew how to make it fun. We traveled together for lunches at the hotel and to TGI Friday’s. We made appearances at Planet Hollywood for the Super Model with Style Contest (huge surprise to me when I won that one!) and toured Caesar’s Forum Shops with shopping at Tadashi. We signed autographs and took pictures with crowds of shoppers through the whole mall; it was a blast!
The morning of the day before the pageant we took group pictures poolside at The Orleans. Later, we had our personal interviews followed by more activities that just kept happening. We could not have had a better time. And then pageant night finally came. Make up, lights, hairspray! Then we were on stage; the time had arrived. All of the contestants were all jitters as we waited for the curtain to rise and to show the audience what we had been working on all week. We performed a really fun opening number that set the tone of the night. Following that was the bathing suit competition and then formal wear as anticipation rose. What fun! Then the final time arrived. Miss West Virginia, gorgeous Erica Goldsmith, was second runner up and Miss Virginia, statuesque Erica Bullock, as first runner up were announced. Oh, but there were still so many gorgeous and fabulous girls still on stage! I could not believe my good luck and fortune when my name was called as the winner. Reality hit that it was my name I heard and I was thrilled beyond words! I think I almost knocked Heather Jenkins, Miss Teen United States 2005, over with excitement and disbelief as she gave me a congratulatory hug onstage. I will never forget that moment as Heather crowned me her successor.
I returned to my great state of Georgia to find huge signs and balloons across my garage placed by friends. I was also able to see many of these friends before they started leaving for their various schools. I, too, will leave to attend the University of Georgia in the Honors Program, looking forward to studying for a business degree, and hope to do a study abroad semester. I used to say my major was broadcast journalism, but now I am not so sure. I also used to say, when I was very little, I wanted to be a cheerleader or a movie star. Well, I was a cheerleader, and maybe that “star” is still in my future. But, for now, I will be a Georgia Bulldog and yell “Go DAWGS!” and chant, “Sick ‘em! Woof, woof, woof!” (Yes, we truly do that at UGA).
Nothing would be complete without mentioning the fabulous National Directors of Lynda Samuels and Barbara Mohr. Their generosity and warmth towards me has been one of the treasures from this experience. I look forward to this year and their friendship with great anticipation.
Being Miss Teen United States 2006 is an honor, and I will do my best to represent this title well. I am looking forward to returning to the glamour and excitement of the National Pageant 2007 in Las Vegas next summer! It will be such fun to participate in the activities again, and to see all the new candidates with their excitement. Perhaps it will be YOU, and I can’t wait! In the meantime, I am going to enjoy this year and all that it has to offer, proudly serving as Miss Teen United States 2006.
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