OK Ms America Twice!

[Karried]

Okay, maybe some of us wish it was the Nobel Peace Price but hey, we'll take what we can get!

Two times in a row the state has taken the title..

I was watching the Good Morning America and they said " Oklahoma must be doing something Right" Yay!


Miss Oklahoma wins
Miss America: Back-to-back crowns for state
Lawton student becomes state's sixth queen in pageant.


By Brandy McDonnell
Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS — Lauren Nelson, an aspiring Broadway performer from Lawton, on Monday became the sixth Miss Oklahoma to win the Miss America Pageant.

Nelson, 20, received the crown from fellow Oklahoman Jennifer Berry, 23, of Tulsa, who won last year's pageant. Rarely have contestants from the same state won the title in back-to-back years. Monday night's win for Nelson also set another benchmark: With her victory, Oklahoma ties California for the most Miss Americas.
"It's an honor to follow in Jennifer's footsteps. ... I don't think it matters what state you come from, if you're the right girl for the job, you should be Miss America,” Nelson said in a phone interview Saturday from the pageant site, the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Only twice before had two women from the same state won the pageant in consecutive years. Pennsylvanians Henrietta Leaver and Rose Coyle won in 1935 and 1936, respectively. Mary Ann Mobley and Lynda Mead of Mississippi won in 1959 and 1960.
Also, Mary Katherine Campbell of Ohio held the title in 1922 and 1923, when contestants could compete in the pageant more than once.
Nelson, a sophomore music theater major at the University of Central Oklahoma, got off to a promising start at the Miss America Pageant. She won the swimsuit contest Thursday in the first of the three preliminary competitions. After months of working out and watching her diet, Nelson said the win was gratifying.
On Monday, she made the field of five finalists, who moved on to compete in the talent competition after completing the swimwear and eveningwear portions of the pageant.
Others making the cut were Miss Alabama, Melinda Toole; Miss Georgia, Amanda Kozak; Miss Mississippi, Taryn Foshee; and Miss Texas, Shilah Phillips.
Viewers voted Toole as Miss Congeniality. Later, Nelson, Kozak and Phillips were named the three finalists.
"I always have the mindset that you prepare before you come. You prepare and you do all you can to get ready beforehand so once you get here, you go let all that hard work show on stage,” Nelson said Saturday. "So, I'm at peace with whatever happens ... I've left it all out on the stage for the judges.”
Rooting for ‘home girl'
In crowning Nelson, Berry culminated her yearlong reign, in which she traveled about 20,000 miles a month to appearances across the country.

Although she was supposed to remain unbiased, Berry said before the pageant she would be rooting for her "home girl.” She and Nelson know each other from the Miss Oklahoma pageant system.
"We have our own sorority, so she's one of my sisters,” Berry said in a phone interview last week. "So, I'm very proud of her. She's done a great job preparing.”
Nelson joins an exclusive group of Oklahomans who have become Miss America.
Oklahoma's past Miss Americas are the late Norma Smallwood (1926), Jane Jayroe (1967), Susan Powell (1981), Shawntel Smith Wuerch (1996) and Berry (2006).
During the semifinalist round, each contestant was asked to respond to a question. Nelson's was that women make up greater than 50 percent of the population, but only earn 76 cents on the dollar, compared to men. Nelson was asked how she would change that.
"By being a good role model,” she replied. "That would show that we are strong.”
When asked if she would change anything about herself, the 5-foot 6-inch woman replied, "I'd probably be 3 inches taller,” and added she thought that might have helped her in the swimsuit competition.
During the talent portion of the pageant, she sang "You'll Be in My Heart.”
While winning the Miss America Pageant is the culmination of a childhood dream, Nelson said she would have been happy finishing her reign as Miss Oklahoma. She started last fall visiting schools as the state titleholder, speaking to almost 10,000 school children at more than 90 schools. "I'm happy to be Miss Oklahoma. It's definitely a win-win situation for me,” Nelson said before the national pageant. "When I was a little girl, I always watched Miss America, but I never dreamed I'd be one of those girls up on the stage. It's just the neatest thing. ... It's just a huge thrill.”

[Bobby H]

Lots of people in Lawton are really excited about Lauren's big win.

Two of my coworkers are members of Centenary United Methodist Church in Lawton where the Nelsons are also members. They've known Lauren since she was just a little kid. My boss' wife was at a house party last night where lots of friends were watching the pageant and rooting for Lauren. When Lauren was crowned Miss America 2006, one of the ladies joked, "we know Miss America...and Miss America knows us!!"