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October 2007 Edition Of
"The Excellence"
 The "L" Word! (L for Love, L for Life and L for
Luscious)
OMG, where did the time go? I'm
excited to experience the transition from Miss Gay America to former title
holder in a national pageantry setting. The
passing of the crown signifies the passing of several roles.
The duties and responsibilities that come along with the crown are transferred
to the newly crowned queen. The prestige of being the prime representative
within the pageant system is transferred. Unfortunately, the limelight and
attention sometimes goes as well.
think a small part of me will miss all of these things….even the
duties!
I hope to maintain the certain level of professionalism that I challenged myself
to withhold over the past year. Developing
this attitude towards my craft has shaped me into a better, stronger, and
fiercer entertainer. I’ll strive to maintain the respect that I've earned
through my level of entertainment coupled with interpersonal skills, thus making
me approachable and hopefully making me marketable.
Lastly, I will always remember and hold
dear, the experiences, both good and bad, that I’ve lived for the last year.
I plan to use these experiences throughout the course of my life to help
me to make educated decisions going forward.
So with my final excellence article as Miss Gay America, I think I can finally
give you all my interpretation of what Excellence is to me!
Excellence is knowing what to say to the competitor that finishes last at each
prelim to motivate them to pick themselves up off of the ground and brush
themselves off.
Your travels may take you to the cities of some of the contestants that competed
against you at Miss Gay America. You
may be placed in a situation where you have to perform and administrate for
those contestants and their supporters, who might still be bitter that you were
crowned. Excellence is being strong
enough to overlook the gossiping and catiness and to step out on stage to give a
flawless show to those people that are truly there to support you with the hopes
of trying to win over those bitter parties.
Excellence is arriving in a city in another time zone having only gotten a few
hours of airport sleep with a smile on your face and a positive attitude.
Excellence is hitting the stage and
performing your heart and soul in an ill fitted, borrowed, costume because your
luggage didn’t arrive on your flight.
Excellence is sitting through critiques
after a long day of pageantry when you just want to hit the bed before your
early morning flight to the next prelim.
Excellence is performing for a crowd of 15, 5 of which want to see you dance
like your life depended on it.
Excellence is performing for 20 video phones in the audience after having to
throw on a quick face and barely having enough time to get zipped up into your
costume, knowing that the difference between your ponytail on your head and the
ponytail on the floor is 6 bobby pins.
Excellence is being able to laugh at the negative/derogatory comments posted
about you on the message boards by idiots too scared to say them to your face.
Excellence is realizing that some of those same idiots sat in the audience
trying not to live for you and your performances while their friends are loving
you.
Excellence is saying thank you for every dollar bill that was offered to you
with a smile on the person’s face.
Excellence is being okay with not being
perfect, but trying to be the best you can be!
Excellence is whatever you want it to be. As
long as you remember that your job comes first, and you have people to impress!
We have now finalized our playing field for the 2008 Miss Gay America Pageant.
All of our contestants have qualified with the last 7 preliminary results
as follows:
On 9-9-07 Miss North
Carolina
was held in
Greenville
,
NC
. There were 9 contestants dressed
and ready for competition. Miss
D. Meanor received a well deserved reception during farewell and placed the
crown on the head of Coti Collins. Coti's
1st alternate was Nicolette Starr. Good
luck ladies!
Miss
Texas
was held in
Dallas
,
TX
at The RoundUp Saloon on 9-11-07 through 9-13-07.
With 21 contestants at registration, the pageant was off to a great
start. Jade De Sante was incredible
and looked amazing each night. Her
farewell, and all of the gowns she wore through the competition were
breath-taking. Congratulations goes
out to Chanel LaMasters for edging out the competition to earn the coveted Miss
Gay Texas America title. Her 1st
alternate was Amber Stevens.
I was treated to a great weekend at the Parliament House as their special guest.
Thank you Bob Taylor for all that you do!
Chantel Reshae was awesome in helping the promoter with a nicely
functioned preliminary. On 9-10-07,
Five contestants duked it out on the Parliament house stage, however Coco
Montrese snagged the crown and the ticket to Nationals with Alexis Mateo as her
1st alternate.
Des Moines
,
IA
held its first Miss Gay America prelim in
several years at the ........ nightclub on 9-14-07.
The promoters really put a lot of hard work into making their first year
with this contest a success. It
definitely showed. 3 Contestants
showed up for registration with their game faces on.
Congratulations are in order for the new Miss Iowa America, Chanel
Cavalier. Her 1st alternate is
Alycia Starr.
I was immediately whisked away to
Little Rock
Arkansas
for the Miss Arkansas America Pageant. It
was held at the Discovery Complex on 9-15 and 9-16.
The formers/Arkansas
America
board really know how to run this ship quite efficiently.
I didn't have to lift a finger other than my normal MGA duties of
verifying scores. There were 19
contestants vying for the title. Congratulations
goes out to Alexis Larue on becoming the new Miss Arkansas America, and her 1st
alternate was Kaina Martinez.
Miss Heartland
America
was the final regional for this pageant season.
A very successful prelim held in
Cape Girardeau
,
MO
on 9-29-07 hosted 6 contestants. Andora
TeTee was crowned Miss Heartland
America
with Rochelle D’Leight earning 1st alternate honors.
Finally, Miss Tennessee America was held
in
Nashville
,
TN
on 9-30-07. There were 3
contestants vying for the state title. All
3 contestants were extremely professional and congratulated Mercedes Alexander
on her win and Misty Meanor on securing her spot to Nationals as 1st
alternate.
My opening production should be successful.
I think you all will be pleased with the end result.
Although I must say. One
dancer has just torn a ligament in her ankle. L
Wish me luck in trying to find a replacement 2 weeks before giveup!
See, even though I’m not competing, I’m going through the same kinda
drama that the contestants are going through.
Hot Performance Song List
Jennifer Lopez – Do it Well
Alicia Keys – No One
Keyshia Cole – I Remember
The end!
Thank you to my anonymous readers for
the positive feedback on the excellence articles.
As you all know, writing them wasn’t my favorite Miss Gay America duty.
I’m only a prayer away!
Luscious
Miss Gay America 2007
 From the desk of Larry & Terry
Are you ready?….
In our Miss Gay America office, we have an
8” x 10” framed photo of those who were fortunate enough to be crowned as
Miss Gay America. With each time, that we enter the office and see the wall of
photos, which is located behind our desk, we almost daily wonder, whose photo
will occupy the 37th position on our wall…In our three years of
management/ownership of the national pageant, we have learned more than we ever
could have imaged but all things considered, we always, end the pageant season,
and realize that we have made our mark in history, with continuation of the
finest in female impersonation pageantry and realize that the most recent year,
no matter how stressful it may have been, had its share of rewards…
This is the time of year that really makes us nervous as we nervously await the
identity of Miss Gay America 2008. We have 54 eager individuals, each who think
that they are ready to be the next Miss Gay America. The Judges of the Miss Gay
America 2008 pageant have an extremely difficult job ahead of them, as according
to Luscious, the competition this year, as a whole, has been incredible and
there is “new blood” that is preparing to fight for a Top 10 finalist spot.
We have provided each contestant with the information needed to have a basic
understanding of the job requirements of a Miss Gay America….we trust that the
contestant will exercise due diligence and know what they are getting into. As
Luscious can attest, the job of Miss Gay America is not easy. The very basics,
that we, L & T Entertainment expect of the next Miss Gay America titleholder
is to be beautiful and entertaining. The audience expects the same, but the job
goes far deeper than that. Many discuss the administrative side of competition,
but until as Miss Gay America, you are faced with sometimes unpopular decisions,
such as having to ensure appropriate judges behavior, appropriate contestant
behavior, appropriate promoter behavior or enforcing the many, many rules of
this pageant system, you may not truly understand the administrative side of
reigning as Miss Gay America. We had rather not have so many rules and
regulations, but we can assure you that each rule and regulation in place, is
there to ensure a fair contest, a smooth contest, and to provide the structure
and rules needed for the reigning Miss Gay America to enforce the standards of
this system. The regulations are also there to hopefully help Miss Gay America
to better enjoy his reign. We do not want the next year in the life of Miss Gay
America 2008 to be stressful. It is our responsibility to make a judgment call
as to who will best serve as promoters for the next pageant season. We want
promoters who will take the initiative to read and re-read and then read again,
all of the rules in the Promoters Handbook, and then to enforce the standards
and structure that exist to ensure all, including promoters and contestants, a
great pageant experience.
Once the Judges have made their selection, we will immediately begin a training
program to ensure that Miss Gay America 2008 is as administratively prepared as
his predecessor. We constantly strive to find new ways to make the job of Miss
Gay America, an easier one, but unfortunately, the job will remain difficult.
The playing field is level as of today, and there are 54 possibilities as to who
will receive the distinct honor of being called Miss Gay America 2008. No matter
the system, as one time or another, almost every competitor has wanted nothing
more than to become Miss Gay America but not everyone is cut out for the role.
It is about the look, the walk, the talk, and the duties, that will make others
take notice of a job well done. We have heard many accolades to Luscious-Miss
Gay America 2007…and he has earned each of them. He has had to prove why
he was crowned. No one gave him the respect that he has received throughout his
reign…he has earned it.
So, we ask you the contestants to consider what you want to accomplish during
your reign. Some may only want to continue the great legacy and be only as good
as those who wore the crown, prior to him, but some also want to leave a mark on
the title of Miss Gay America, that no one, in our life time, will ever forget.
Once you are crowned, you have to become selfless…no, you cannot forget who
you are and what you do, but there are many, many others to consider, with your
every action, other than yourself. Your every word and deed must keep in mind,
the best interest of the Miss Gay America pageant system. Almost overnight, Miss
Gay America 2008 will become a mentor, pageant expert, guidance counselor, grief
counselor, pageant director, administrator and friend. If you notice, never,
were the words entertainer or beauty queen mentioned. That is because, just like
L & T Entertainment, the world expects, at minimum, the
basics out of a Miss Gay America, which is to have the look and to have the
talent… the rest, is what the new Miss Gay America must prove, which is that
he is ready for the job and wants to do the job to the best of his ability, and
for the continuation of the “best of the best” in female impersonation….
So contestants, before you arrive to Memphis, in a few days, you need to take
some “me-time” and honestly ask yourself if you truly have a basic
understanding of the job requirements of a Miss Gay America, then ask yourself
one more question….Are you ready?
Until
next time….
Larry and
Terry
From
A Former-
Raquel Chevallier-Miss Gay America 2005
 Hello
everyone out there in the land of rhinestones and eyelashes!
I hope this finds you well and enjoying life.
This summer has been a very busy one.
Most of my summer was spent preparing for the 18th annual Miss Gay
Louisiana America pageant.
This being Chevallier Productions’ third year of holding the prelim, we
allowed ourselves
to enjoy it, since we’ve tried to make it a well oiled machine.
This is only because of the great support we receive.
We certainly could not do it alone and we’re so grateful to those who
help us each year.
The pageant was a wonderful
success, with Savanna Delorean MGLA 2006-2007, reigning beautifully this past
year. Savanna
gave an incredible two night step down, ultimately crowning
Chelsea
Delorean Divine as MGLA 2007 and Hailey Alexander as 1st alternate.
In one of Luscious’ articles
this year she mentioned to be careful what you wish for, because you just might
get it. Becoming
Miss Gay America is a life altering experience, but it’s what you make of it.
You can choose to sit and wait for the prelims or you can decide to jump
on the road, promote yourself and make your mark in history.
Your job as Miss Gay America
doesn’t end after you relinquish the crown.
This being said, promoting yourself before
you win is as equally as important as during the reign.
It makes such a difference once you win Miss Gay America to travel places
and have people already know you or have heard of you.
Also, once you’ve been on the circuit, the greater chance you will come
across someone who will actually judge you in a contest.
All these things help you to prove that you hold the qualities and
attributes to be Miss Gay America.
Many promoters do not have large budgets, but offering your services at little
or no cost, will help you in the long run.
For three years before I won, I sent out packages to all the promoters to
network myself and only asked for the help in travel expenses.
Believe me, it’s not always going to work, but even if you get three
out of all the prelims, that’s already a lot of exposure and a foot in another
door for the day that you return to their prelim as Miss Gay America.
Although this is a competition, it is so important to make friends along the
way. Finally,
it’s in “Raquel’s Reality” that as the pageant season races toward Miss
Gay America 2008, please remember to take the opportunity to meet and get to
know the people around you.
I’ve made some wonderful friends, throughout the country, that will
last a lifetime simply from the years of competing and traveling.
I look forward to see you at this year’s Miss Gay America pageant.
All
my love,
Raquel Chevallier
Miss Gay America 2005
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A Note From The Editor
The Excellence strives to be an informative newsletter delivered to the promoters,
contestants, audience and other supporters of the Miss Gay America Pageant System throughout the year. Should there be any issue or topic of discussion a promoter would like to see addressed (or to write an article to be published) in a future newsletter, please contact the editor via
Email.
Please note, any article, comments, or opinions faxed, mailed, (postal or electronics),
or otherwise sent to any of our "addresses" become our property and carry an implied consent of publication should we choose to do so. No articles will be published in which one or more of the following occurs:
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