15 Miss America Contestants Now Eligible for America’s Vote
Voting open from January 23 at 11 PM ET through January 24 at 5 AM ET
January 23, 2009
Las Vegas, NV – January 23, 2009 – Tonight’s finale of TLC’s four–part reality series COUNTDOWN TO THE CROWN revealed the 15 Miss America contestants who are now eligible for America’s vote. Based on the highest votes, four women will automatically secure a spot in the semi–finals of the 2009 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT, which airs live from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on Saturday, January24, 2009 at 8 PM ET, only on TLC.
America can vote for their favorite candidate at tlc.com/missamerica and via text messaging. Voting is open from January 23, 2009 at 11:00 PM ET through January24, 2009 at 5:00 AM ET.
The 15 “gold sash” winners are:
- Miss Alabama – Amanda Tapley
- Miss California – Jackie Geist
- Miss Delaware – Galen Giaccone
- Miss Florida – Sierra Minott
- Miss Georgia – Chasity Hardman
- Miss Hawaii – Nicole Fox
- Miss Idaho – Elise Davis
- Miss Indiana – Katie Stam
- Miss Iowa – Olivia Myers
- Miss Kansas – Emily Deaver
- Miss Ohio – Karissa Renee' Martin
- Miss South Dakota – Alexandra Hoffman
- Miss Texas – Rebecca Robinson
- Miss Virgin Islands – Shamika Thomas
- Miss Wisconsin – Briana Lipor
A photo of the 15 “gold sash” winners is available for download at ftp.discovery.com,user name: tlcftp, password: PRESS, folder: MA09 Gold Sash.Media contact: Dustin Smith, (310) 435–4079 (cell), dustin_smith@discovery.com
About TLC
TLC's innovative docu–series and reality–based programming include favorites Jon & Kate Plus 8, Little People, Big World, What Not to Wear, and LA Ink. The channel introduced Miss America Reality Check in 2008, which helped drive the Miss America Pageant to its highest rating in years. TLC defined home design with Trading Spaces and continues to renovate the genre. TLC's daytime lineup includes the Emmy Award–winning A Baby Story. The channel is available in more than 96 million homes in the US, nearly 8 million homes in Canada and through the website at TLC. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries.
About Miss America
The Miss America Pageant – and the scholarship program itself – is among the most enduring endeavors in modern American history. From its humble beginnings as a "bathing beauty'" contest in the 1920s, the Miss America Organization today is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organizationand its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance, helping young women all across the country to reach their dreams and goals. For more information, go to Miss America.