Miss New Mexico visits county today

Staff Writer

Article Launched: 06/20/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Christina Olmi, the winner of the Miss New Mexico 2008 pageant, will visit Farmington today. Olmi's first appearance will be at 2 p.m. at the Farmington Public Library, where the public will have the opportunity to meet her.

She will then participate from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in "Sticker Shock" at Dino's Mart in Crouch Mesa. The goal of "Sticker Shock" is to discourage underage drinking by placing stickers on alcohol packages that state it's a felony for a person younger than 21 to purchase alcohol. The event is hosted by Youth in Action.

Olmi's platform during the Miss New Mexico pageant was the prevention of underage drinking. Following the "Sticker Shock" event she will return to the Farmington Public Library for a barbecue exclusively for teens aged 13 to 19.
—The Daily Times

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Miss New Mexico visits Farmington

By G. Jeff Golden The Daily Times

Article Launched: 06/21/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Miss New Mexico Christina Olmi, 24, traveled from her home... (Lucas Ian Coshenet/The Daily Times)

CROUCH MESA — Miss New Mexico Christina Olmi and Miss Indian Farmington Jerae Curtis worked alongside local teenagers to campaign against underage drinking Friday.

Youth in Action, a youth branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, organized a "Sticker Shock" at Dino's Mart in Crouch Mesa. The teens and the two pageant winners placed yellow-and-white stickers on packages of beer that read "Hey you! It is illegal to provide alcohol for people under 21."

Olmi's platform during her Miss New Mexico campaign was "DWI — MADD and the aftermath." She stressed that MADD supports those involved with a DWI crash throughout the entire ordeal and provides services well after the initial event.

"MADD is there the whole time," Olmi said.

The youth leader of Youth in Action, Anna Doherty, said the organization participates in numerous public events, such as the San Juan County Fair and "Sticker Shock," to get their message to the people.

"We do different things in the community to fight underage drinking," said Jonathan Bacon, Youth in Action member.

Having Miss New Mexico at the event gave the group a louder voice.

"I think it was very cool that she would travel all the way here to help fight the drinking problems in San JuanCounty," Doherty said.

After the "Sticker Shock," the youths, Miss New Mexico and Miss Indian Farmington retired to the Farmington Public Library to refresh themselves with a catered barbecue from Fudd-ruckers. People interested in joining or assisting Youth in Action can contact the Farmington Public Library.

Olmi, of Albuquerque, won the Miss New Mexico pageant June 7 in Alamogordo and is preparing for the Miss America pageant Jan. 24. Her talent is pop singing, and the song she performed at Miss New Mexico and hopes to perform again at Miss America is Jordin Sparks' "This Is My Now." She chose the song because of its meaning and its relation to her MADD platform.

Olmi said she hopes to bring additional credibility to the Miss New Mexico organization during her reign, showing people the organization is proactive and does a lot of good in communities across the state.

Coming Monday: New Miss Indian Farmington promotes awareness of her heritage.

G. Jeff Golden:

jgolden@daily-times.com.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Miss New Mexico Pageant Isn't About Eye Candy

By Dan Mayfield
Of the Journal
      Since Jenny Marlowe, Miss New Mexico 2008, won the Miss America Reality Show (and $20,000), all eyes are now on New Mexico to be a force in the 2009 Miss America Pageant.
    So, when Carol Henry asked me to judge the contest to pick Miss New Mexico 2009, I sweated it. I, along with four distinguished judges, were to pick the best of New Mexico's young women in Alamogordo last weekend.
    Yeah, my buddies gave me enough grief about it for weeks. But, man, it's a tough job.
    It may sound trite, but we did want to give crowns to all the contestants. These young women do represent the best that New Mexico has to offer. They're smart, talented, quick on their feet, and academically and community-minded women. The Miss America Organization is a scholarship organization, and the women were competing through the various pageant arts for thousands of dollars in scholarships to help further their academic ambitions.
    This year's winner, Miss Albuquerque Christina Olmi, is well suited to the job. Her platform of community service includes working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
    But being a judge isn't all about the eye candy. The most important parts of the pageant are an interview and the talent portions. During the interview, the judges tried to discern which women were most in tune with the state, our values here, and could represent their chosen community organizations the best.
    The local hostesses in Cloudcroft made sure we were all comfortable, entertained, and well fed at local eateries like the Western Bar. But the stress, the idea of knowing that my choices would reflect New Mexico for a year, have weighed heavily on my conscience all week.
    This competition means a lot, not just to the competitors, but to New Mexico. The winner will wear The Crown for one year and represent New Mexico on national TV next year during the reality show and the annual Miss America show.
    But the competition is worth more than that. The women competing — who can't be older than 25 at the time of the national competition — are in this for scholarship money.
    I was the only New Mexican on the judging panel, and the only one who hasn't been involved in the Miss America Organization before. The other judges, however, are the A-team recruited by Carol Henry, executive director of the Miss New Mexico Scholarship Program:
    n Jim Jones, a former director at the Gates Foundation, as in Bill, as in the second-richest man in the world. Jim was in charge of Gates' philanthropic work in Africa. Starting next week, he will head up the ExxonMobile Foundation. He has judged several dozen local pageants and one Miss America and is very clued into the pageant's inherent drama.
    n Bonnie Sirgany, who probably had the best job in show business: The traveling companion for Miss America. Every other month, for the last 19 years, Bonnie has gone everywhere Miss America has. She tried to keep nosy boys out, make sure Miss America is on time and was on hand to help Miss America in any way she could.
    n Luanne “Lulu” Gamba, the former head of the Rhode Island Miss America pageant system, has judged more than 50 local pageants. She, like the rest of us, stumbled into the MAO, first as a stage director and producer and later as a director.
    n And of course, Mrs. Cash. Billie Cash is the mother of this year's MC, Kellye Cash, Miss America 1987. Mrs. Cash is an author, recording artist, motivational speaker and more. She has a very Southern gentlewoman outlook and is always prepared with something nice to say.
    Kellye Cash, this year's MC, has several stories about her Uncle Johnny. Though she doesn't sing quite like Johnny, the Cash family apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. She's engaging, personable, gregarious and talented.
    The Miss America system isn't just a beauty pageant. These are all young women who have scholastic ambitions. The scholarship program gives thousands of dollars for young women to study anything, from cosmetology to law, medicine and, mostly, communications.
    They're tested heavily on everything from their platform of community service to their fashion and common sense in the pageant.
    The back-breaker part of the contest is the interview. It's not televised on the Miss America show, but it's worth 30 percent of their final score. It's fast paced and our questions were designed to be open-ended. No yes-or-no answers, please.
    As a judge, this was critical. As Miss New Mexico — or better yet, Miss America — the winner will be counted on to visit schools to talk about her platform. She will be asked to visit hospitals, to MC charity events, and to be a face of New Mexico. The interview portion of the contest was designed to bring out a contestant's wit, class and personality. Trust me, it taxed the judges just as much as the contestants as we tried to avoid dead time and keep contestants on their toes.
    Sure, the elegance of the evening-gown competition and the spontaneity of the on-stage question show which women have poise, grace, and can think on their feet. But it's the swimsuit portion that gets the most questions from audience members.
    The goal is to find a girl who can feel comfortable anywhere as Miss New Mexico and is comfortable enough in her own skin to handle the modeling contracts that will inevitably come her way.
    The experience, however, has taught me that Miss America Organization is about much more than beauty. The women in the competition are the best the state has to offer.