Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell waves to the crowd during the 2017 Miss America pageant “Show Us Your Shoes” parade Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Atlantic City. I hope that by the end of my year, we’re starting to reward politicians on compromising instead of just defending themselves.
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It was a great night for Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields as she won the Miss America Competition on Sunday.
During the Q&A part of the competition, Savvy was asked to give her opinion of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Meeting reporters after the pageant, Shields elaborated.
“Our country was founded on compromise”, she said.
The 21-year-old beauty was an early favorite in the competition as she won the preliminary talent round earlier this week, before going on to top the leaderboard and take home the much sought after title on Sunday (09.11.16) at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
The night’s 2nd runner-up was Miss New York Camille Sims, and the 3rd runner-up was Miss Washington Alicia Cooper.
Pairing her evening gown with classic pageant curls, Savvy’s just-below-the-shoulder length hair still maintained its shine and curl even after her dance performance during the talent portion of the show. She had already received a $25,000 scholarship – along with other prizes – for winning her state title.
Miss Missouri Erin O’Flaherty, the first openly lesbian contestant in the pageant’s history, did not crack the top 15. All runner-ups won scholarship money, the non-profit Miss America Organization said.
The night’s celebrity judges including Mark Cuban, Gabby Douglas and Ciara praised Ms. Shields and congratulated her on her win after the event.
The top 15 finalists were: Kentucky; Washington; Massachusetts; Arkansas; South Carolina; Idaho; Iowa; Texas; California; Oklahoma; Maryland; New York; Tennessee; Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The nationally televised finale will be held in Boardwalk Hall. Numerous contestants noted the solemn anniversary, professed strong support for America’s armed forces and struck patriotic themes.
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The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.
