On Thursday, January 3, 2013 fifty three of the most intelligent, talented and beautiful women in the nation arrived in Las Vegas for the 2013 Miss America Pageant, which is being held for the seventh consecutive year at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
In honor of their arrival at Planet Hollywood, the casino/resort held a welcome ceremony that was hosted by Jeff Civillico, headliner at The Quad Resort and Casino. The afternoon ceremony marked the first time the public and members of the media had an opportunity to meet and photograph all of 53 lovely contestants including Miss Virgin Islands and Miss Puerto Rico.
The contestants’ arrival kicked off a week of preliminary competitions (interview, lifestyle and fitness, talent and evening wear, culminating in the live telecast from the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood on ABC, Saturday, Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. (EST) tape delay (PST).
On hand to announce this year's Quality of Life Finalists finalists were Sean McBurney Vice President and Assistant General Manager of PH Resort and Casino, Vince Alberta Vice President of Public Affairs of the Las Vegas Convention Authority; Sam Haskell, III, Chairman of the Board of the Miss America Organization and Art McMaster, President and CEO of the Miss America Organization.
The seven finalists and their personal platform issues are:
Miss Alabama Anna Laura Bryan - P.A.W.S for Autism: People and Animals Working Side-by-side
Miss Delaware Alyssa Murray - Mela-No-MORE: Skin Cancer Advocacy & Awareness
Miss Idaho Whitney Wood - Handbags of Hope: “Giving Women Confidence They Can Carry"
Miss Maryland Joanna Guy - Jo’s Jars
Miss Mississippi Marie Wicks - Eyesight To All Regions (eyes.T.A.R.)
Miss Tennessee Chandler Lawson - “Feed Hope: Fight Child Hunger”
Miss Washington Mandy Schendel - Do Something: Enriching Youth, Cultivating Leaders
The 2013 Miss America contestants are as follows:
Alabama - Anna Laura Bryan
Alaska - Debbe Jo Ebben
Arizona - Piper Stoeckel
Arkansas - Sloane Roberts
California - Leah Cecil
Colorado - Hannah Porter
Connecticut - Emily Rose Audibert
Delaware - Alyssa Murray
District of Columbia - Allyn Rose
Florida - Laura McKeeman
Georgia - Leighton Jordan
Hawaii - Skyler Kamaka
Idaho - Whitney Wood
Illinois - Megan Ervin
Indiana - MerrieBeth Cox
Iowa - Mariah Cary
Kansas - Sloane Lewis
Kentucky - Jessica Casebolt
Louisiana - Lauren Vizza
Maine - Molly Bouchard
Maryland - Joanna Guy
Massachusetts - Taylor Kinzler
Michigan - Angela Venditti
Minnesota - Siri Freeh
Mississippi - Marie Wicks
Missouri - Tippe Emmott
Montana - Alexis Wineman
Nebraska - Mariah Cook
Nevada - Randi Sundquist
New Hampshire - Megan Lyman
New Jersey - Lindsey Petrosh
New Mexico - Candice Bennatt
New York - Mallory Hytes Hagan
North Carolina - Arlie Honeycutt
North Dakota - Rosie Sauvageau
Ohio - Elissa McCracken
Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton
Oregon - Nichole Mead
Pennsylvania - Jordyn Colao
Puerto Rico - Kiaraliz Medina
Rhode Island - Kelsey Fournier
South Carolina - Ali Rogers
South Dakota - Calista Kirby
Tennessee - Chandler Lawson
Texas - DaNae Couch
Utah - Kara Arnold
Vermont - Chelsea Ingram
Virgin Islands - Aniska T. Tonge
Virginia - Rosemary Willis
Washington - Mandy Schendel
West Virginia - Kaitlin Gates
Wisconsin - Kate Gorman
Wyoming - Lexie Madden
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