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Subject: Contestants- You are the only ones with the leverage to change Miss Ohio. Author: Be willing to walk away, or Choose to be Used. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 17:14:24 07/07/21 Wed To the contestants, their parents, local directors, volunteers and anybody else who cares about this program: There was a post on Guru a while back saying a group of contestants have declared they are not coming back to Ohio because they feel the pageant was rigged. I spoke with a reporter who said 9 out of the 11 local EDs are banding together to demand answers from the Miss Ohio Board of Directors. (BTW- They'll deny, deny, deny, play all nice, and try to soothe you until the scandal blows over. I’ve seen this many times over these tumultuous last 5 years or so–– when a scandal erupts and everyone gets hopeful there will be a change in the stranglehold of leadership, both at Miss Ohio and Miss America. Like in 2014 when Miss America revoked the Ohio franchise and fired the entire board of directors without explanation. This OH Board had been working *from the inside* for years to remove Steven Oliveri which would have occurred that year, only for the head of Miss America to hand the program right back to him. The state program lost 10? local titles, so they allowed Festival winners to compete. Or when Sam Haskell was removed… only to be replaced by the disastrous Gretchen and Regina, who had 27,000 Change.org signatures demanding they resign. They didn’t and were sued by formers for their malfeasance. The missteps and legal costs Miss America has made has nearly bankrupted the program. Or when 27 states stood up to Gretchen and Regina, but ***the others were too scared to lose their franchises to use their group power to force a change***. Miss America revoked the state licenses of TN, GA, PA, WV and threatened 15 others with probation. >> The MAO’s actions spurred the creation of the Miss Volunteer America pageant. << Or when at Miss America 2019 they had only 3 ‘celebrity’ judges with no way for them to actually score the girls- no scoresheets or electronic tabulators. And the 2RU saw on a teleprompter that she didn’t make the Top 2, but they hadn’t had the last competition yet! Miss America is shady from the top down. Girls say they’re not coming back, then they get the itch or think with all the top girls gone that maybe they’ll have an easy win. Locals say they’ll band together, but they really like playing pageant. I do too. They’ll focus on their local program and the value of mentoring young women. So what does it really matter to them who ‘wins’ Miss Ohio, as they all go to Miss America anyway. ALL THIS to say… When is it REALLY enough? When is it REALLY enough to step up, band together, and end this years-long fraud? It’s *heartbreaking* to give up something you love especially if it’s been a big part of your life. I put the pieces together years ago and realized then, people just can’t or won’t believe a program they idealized is corrupt until they see it for themselves. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube now. What exactly are you holding on for? That they might not let you crown the next girl they use to bankroll the winner they pick? How would you feel crowning another young woman to go to MO knowing what you know? You’ve got to fight for the program you want and be willing to walk away if it isn’t changed. That’s your only leverage. If a group of 10 girls from the Miss Ohio pageant have a press conference to announce they are not returning because they believe sponsorship played a role in the results, >> they will make national news. Attention will be brought! << It may not result in the changes that are needed in leadership , but it’s not about them. Standing up to Steven is about your standards for yourself. You’re saying, I love this program but I won’t involve myself with *anyone* who cheats ME (especially of scholarship MONEY). You never had a shot at that $10,000, the title and opportunity of Miss Ohio you dreamed of, that you had to wait 2 years to compete for or the money and experience you get for competing in Miss America, and being Miss Ohio. You were used to bankroll the pageant. Refuse to be used. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Subject: Someone PLEASE get this gold into the hands of every single contestant that competed in 2021. Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 18:48:41 07/07/21 Wed [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: This is 100% spot on. And it's been going on a LOT longer than the last 5 years. I have said the exact same thing from back when my daughter competed well over 5 years ago, but nothing has changed except for the one year that Steven was not in charge. I used to volunteer, donate, help mentor, etc, But I know, from the inside out, of many ... um, shall we say "unusual" happenings under Steven's regime. I had judges tell me they questioned the results, knowing how they scored. I've seen Steven's paper shredder under his auditors table. I've had ED's tell me that results couldn't possibly be what they were, but they have no way to prove it. A Board member questioned SO to find out how a contestant could have possibly ended up placed where she did, with no response. Give it up. It's not going to change, and there will always be girls who will step in thinking they will be Miss Ohio because there is little competition. MAO is dead. Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 08:39:33 07/09/21 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Ladies/EDs-GO TO THE MEDIA-IT’S TIME FOR PUBLIC RIDICULE AND AWARENESS Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 21:26:49 07/09/21 Fri I truly commend each one of you that chose to address Steven and the Board, regarding the disgraceful actions that occurred at the 2021 pageant. I cannot imagine what that experience was like, nor, the amount of courage that it took to have to address them, and look in the eyes of those ‘leaders’ that have held the keys to all of your hopes and dreams….and at the same time, the amount of anger and disappointment that must have run through your blood, KNOWING that despite your hard work, those same ‘leaders’ completely created an unfair and uneven playing field YET AGAIN, for you all. While questionable foul play has been occurring for YEARS, this is the FIRST time that you all have access to PROOF of historical and financial interactions that have, and continue, to transpire between a MAJOR program sponsor and the new Queen! This is not ‘sour grapes’ or ‘gossip’….this is real, blatant cheating that occurred….and the public MUST BE MADE AWARE. Your collective voice and power, by way of inactivity for the 21-22 season sends the loudest message to those cheaters that pretend to lead. MAO is as sneaky as each state, so while I would not hold your breath for anything to occur at that level, going to the media and creating a public forum/attention to surround this ‘pay to play’ situation, is the only way you can hope to see change. As a former local titleholder, and one that wished and worked SO hard tp see my dreams unfold, I know that taking this step is asking a lot of you. What will happen? Will I be ‘blackballed’ in the future? As an ED, will I lose my franchise? I get it. BUT, why would any candidate or ED wish to put all of their heart, soul, money, and time into such a blatant and corrupt program any longer? With Steven and his inside cronies, NOTHING will change. The situation is so twisted and SO wrong…..and to know that you have the power collectively to take this forward to the media/public, perhaps is the greatest action you can take for our beloved Miss Ohio Scholarship Program. The chance for investigation, (particularly due to the dirty exchange of money/power), is quite possible. You can’t play with ‘donations/non-profit organizational illegal activity, nor should the town of Mansfield that has given SO MUCH to all of us, be positioned to NOT know the truth any longer. Ladies/EDs….if there has ever been a time to do the right thing for all of you and for the future of this program, NOW is the time. Do the RIGHT THING….. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> Subject: The local EDs should go to the media. Ladies that have aged out should go to the media. Past candidates that don’t plan to continue in Miss Ohio or any other pageant should go to the media. Ladies who want to compete elsewhere should not! No other pageant is going to want to crown a girl seen as a troublemaker even if she’s trying to do the right thing. But if most of the candidates that are still eligible quietly go elsewhere (USA or Volunteer) & the local EDs struggle to find quality girls to compete, Miss Ohio gets far less money from the candidates & attendance is down even further than it already is then something will happen one way or the other. I don’t even know that I think MA will be around much longer. I’d be shocked if it makes it 5 more years & anything before that would be no surprise. 2.0 & the people on the board then ruined MA. There’s no coming back now sadly. Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:33:55 07/11/21 Sun [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> Subject: Advising competing girls not to speak up to a money rigged pageant because you think they'll get blackballed in another system is wrong. Trust me, the Volunteer system knows how corrupt the MAO is-- that's what caused its inception! Author: and they ALL know of Steven and Sam's schnanigans [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:15:19 07/11/21 Sun [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> Subject: Volunteer may know & USA may know but that doesn't mean they want a troublemaker. They are happy to have girls that leave Miss Ohio & go to them but not with a troublemaker label on them. They're adults they can make their decisions but I'm entitled to my opinion Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 19:17:33 07/11/21 Sun [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: There's good trouble and troublemakers and you'd think adults in those positions could tell the difference. Why would you want to be part of a system that would blackball you because you rightly stood up for yourself? Isn't that the whole problem here, nobody with the courage to stand up to clear croneyism? Author: You can have your opinion, but it encourages cowardlyness [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:23:49 07/12/21 Mon [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: Speaking up and standing up to OBVIOUS disrespect is not causing trouble. Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 23:39:22 07/12/21 Mon [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: I don't disagree with you at all whatsoever but if girls want to continue in Miss Ohio then they have to play by the board's unspoken rules Author: No name [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 20:12:45 07/14/21 Wed [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: WTF would any girl stay in this program unless they are too inexperienced an/ or naive to realize they will NOT be competing for Miss Ohio, only funding it for Steven's girl. Author: And her family better be wealthy or she needs to get a sugar daddy. [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 22:54:36 07/14/21 Wed [ Post a Reply to This Message ]