Miss America

It is no secret. I love pageants. I have been watching them since I was a little girl. I would make paper sashes and wear them around the house until they ripped apart. Now as an adult, I have been photographing local pageants for work since 2000. You could say that is really the only girlie thing about me.

The 2012 Miss America Pageant was held Saturday at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada. And I watched it live, of course. Laura Kaeppeler, Miss Wisconsin, was crowned Miss America 2012 by Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011. Kaeppeler beat out first runner-up, Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma.

Kaeppeler started the competition off wearing a white bikini. During the evening gown portion, she wore a stunning black beaded gown with lace on top and short sleeves. Kaeplleler said the inspiration of her gown came from Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's wedding gown. I could see the similarities in the lace. For talent, Kaeppeler performed a beautiful operatic rendition of "Il Bacio". The last part of the competition was the onstage question. Her question was whether Miss America should declare their political affiliation. Keappeler answered, "Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they represent everyone as well. And in these economic times, we need to be looking forward to what America needs, and I think Miss America needs to represent all. "

Kaeppeler's platform is Circle of Support: Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents. She wants kids of incarcerated parents to feel less alone and to have mentoring and a relation with their parents. Her father, Jeff, served 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud when she was starting college.

Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma, was the first runner-up. Her platform is Milk: It Really Does a Body Good. Thompson started the competition as ABC's America's Choice pick. She was chosen online by viewers voting for their favorite contestant. Thompson wore a red bikini in the swimsuit competition and a white sequined dress in the evening gown competition. During the talent portion, she performed an Irish step dance to "Warriors" . Her onstage question was whether the government should weigh in on what we feed our kids. Thompson said, "I believe that parents should be the ones who are teaching their children how to eat and then it wouldn't be the government's responsibility to step in".

I was disappointed that two ladies didn't make it into the Top 15, Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger and Miss Kansas Carissa Kelley.

Wertenberger performed at a local pageant I was photographing last summer. She was intelligent, charming and could dance. I thought she had a chance of making it far into the competition. Wertenberger didn't walk away from Miss America empty handed. She was second runner-up for the Quality of Life award, which is for community service. She also won the Duke of Edinburgh award - Young Americans' Challenge. This award was created in 1956 by Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Young Americans' Challenge is a non-competitive, self-development program for young people ages 14-25.

As for Kelley, Saturday was the first time I had ever seen her. When she said she came from a state that had some characters like Amelia Earhart I instantly liked her. I am fascinated with Earhart. How did she just disappear without a trace? Anyway besides mentioning Earhart, I thought she was a stunning woman. Kelley's platform is "No Kid Hungry". A partnership between the Miss Kansas Organization and Numana, Inc., which holds food packaging events and sends meals to areas of greatest hunger, was set up. Kelley visited Haiti recently to meet with over 200 children who received the Numana meals. Besides the children in Haiti, she also has worked in food banks in Kansas.

After Kaeppeler's win, she has already started her year of service as Miss America 2012. Kaeppeler will travel the country to encourage all young women to pursue a college education and will focus on interest in the arts, science, technology, engineering and math, also know as STEM. She will also travel almost 20,000 miles every mouth to speak about her platform Circles of Support and as the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

First photo: Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler reacts after being crowned Miss America Saturday at The Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. (Associated Press/Eric Jamison)

Second photo: Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson competes during the 2012 Miss America Pageant Saturday. Thompson was named first runner-up behind winner Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler. (Associated Press/Eric Jamison)

Third photo: Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger (Alan Carson)