Miss VC 2012: The Miss California Pageant, Part 4: The Final Night!

And finally, the big night: the crowning of our new Miss California 2012!!
The opening number established the theme of the 1940s and patriotism; it was SO much fun to dance! Each contestant also got an introduction each night of preliminaries and the final night of competition, which I thought was really wonderful!

Me with Some Fellow Alpha Sisters!

Me & Miss Victor Valley Bethany Richardson =)

Getting Introduced to the Audience!

Noelle Coming Onstage to Announce the Top 15!

At the end of this opening, however, Noelle and Ariana (Miss CA '10) announced the top 15 semi-finalists that would compete that evening for the title... when they called the names of the semi-finalists, I, of course, was hoping to hear my name; however, all I really wanted to hear were the names of 15 ladies that understood the nature of the job (one of service and sacrifice) and that were willing to hit the ground running with it. Although my name was not called, I was for the most part very pleased with the judges' choices and was excited to see who would take home the crown! The top 15 competed in swimwear, then were narrowed to 12; the top 12 competed in talent, then were narrowed to 10; the top 10 competed in evening wear, then were narrowed to 5... and then the top 5 answered a political question and were ranked, leaving a winner standing with the title of Miss California 2012!
The 43 of us who did not make it to the semi-finals got the opportunity to watch the rest of the night's competition and eat ice cream, which was very fun (and, after not having ice cream for four months, tasted amazing!)! We cheered on all of the girls and were finally brought back onstage for the final moment... the top 2 were both wonderful women: Miss South Coast Crystal Lee and Miss Southern California Regional Leah Cecil. Both ladies were genuinely kind, respectful, and nice to all of the contestants backstage; I felt a real warmth from both of them, and I feel honored to have both them in my life as friends of mine! Either lady would have been an incredible Miss California... but there could only be one, and the judges selected Leah! Since she was first runner-up last year, it was a real pleasure getting to see her come back and win!
Following the crowning, there was a final gala in which the contestants appeared in their evening gowns and were escorted in by an escort (mostly fathers) and introduced individually. From there, lots of pictures were taken, and lots of food was consumed! It was also a time for me to congratulate Leah on her success and chat candidly with our panel of judges, all of which were very nice people!