Eleven girls from across
Hawai’i gathered on O‘ahu the week before Labor
Day to participate in the Miss Young International USA Beauty
Pageant at the Cirque Hawai‘i in Waikiki. The event,
a sister pageant to the Miss International, the third largest
in the world, was produced by Alicia Michioka Jones, a 2002
HPU graduate with a B.A. in Advertising and Journalism. Jones,
who resurrected the pageant after a 20-year hiatus in the
islands, said that one of the most rewarding aspects of being
the pageant director was “working with the girls, seeing
them achieve goals, and seeing them, through the process,
grow as individuals.”
The girls stayed at The Wyland Waikiki Resort and Spa on Royal
Hawaiian Avenue, just a block away from Cirque Hawai‘i,
on Seaside, where the pageant and its preliminary events, including
a fundraiser for the Hawai‘i Humane Society, were held.
In the week leading up to the pageant the girls were treated
to a real breakfast at Tiffany’s. The Tiffany Company Waikiki
store closed its doors for a morning for a special celebration
for the contestants, and during breakfast Tiffany’s management
presented each girl with a charm with her name engraved on it.
Jones expressed the pageant’s gratitude to all the sponsors,
including HPU, which offered scholarships for the winners, and
international fine artists Americo, Eva, and A.B. Makk, whose
exhibition of paintings created an elegant atmosphere in the
Cirque Hawai‘i lobby. In the future, Jones foresees more
girls from the mainland participating. For the 2009 pageant,
Jones said, there is already a lot of mainland interest: “I
can see having girls from all 50 states [next year],” Jones
said.
Amanda McCown from Kailua-Kona was crowned Miss Young International
USA this year and Kristen Stephenson-Pino from Mililani was crowned
Miss Young International Hawai‘i. Included in the prizes
both girls received was a 50 percent scholarship to HPU, original
paintings by artists from the Makk family, and an all-expenses
paid trip to Taiwan and to the International competition in Manila
in December.
The first, second, and third runner up girls were also awarded
25 percent scholarships to HPU.
Jones herself competed in pageants and by doing so helped pay
her college tuition with the scholarships she received from them.
In 2003, she was named Miss Hawai‘i USA and went on to
make the top 10 in the national Miss USA 2003. Jones used her
title to team up, earlier this year, with John Walsh of America’s
Most Wanted, to do a special on Hawai‘i’s missing
children.
The contestants will be present at a fundraiser to support their
participation in the international competition on Oct. 4 from
5:30-8:30 p.m. at Nick’s Fishmarket in Waikiki. Tickets
are $10 at the door and include pupus, entertainment, and a silent
auction.
