The Miss Ohio Scholarship preliminary program began last night with contestants responding to a question and answer session and participating in the swimsuit, talent, and evening gown portions of the program. In the evening gown showcase contestants were escorted by members of the 179th Airlift Wing. With various song and dance routines were performed during the program by the group “Rising Cardinal.”
Miss Miami Valley Cayla Hellwarth gave the talent-winning performance of the evening. She performed the Andrea Bocelli piece “Con te partiro.” This year’s Miss Ohio program was Hellwarth’s fourth year competing, and she said she considers Italian “a beautiful language.”
“I chose to sing it in the traditional voice because I have a minor in Italian,” she said, “I feel like it is a part of me.” Hellwarth spent four weeks studying in Italy and stayed in Lecce the majority of the time.
Hellwarth won the $500 talent scholarship, sponsored by Richland Bank. She also received the award for the contestant to raise the most money for The Children’s Miracle Network. The Children’s Miracle Network has raised over 8.6 million dollars for CNMH and Miss America Scholarships.
Miss Montgomery Valley, Heather Wells, has competed in the program six times; and this year she won the swimsuit competition a second time. She received a $500 scholarship sponsored by Richland Bank.
Wells is majoring in nutrition and she hopes to develop individual nutrition plans in the future. “I do distance running to keep in shape, and dancing,” she said. She averages four miles when she runs and participates in 5Ks and 10Ks for fun. Her ultimate goal is to run a marathon.
Besides recognizing the Miss Outstanding Teen and Princess Camp programs, the event also recognized four women as Ms. Primrose. Primrose Retirement Communities is a sponsor of the Miss Ohio Program.
The Miss Ohio program continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. In the second half of the preliminaries, Miss Mansfield Alissa Brumbaugh will have the opportunity to speak about her platform: Life Skills: Educate, Enrich, and Empower. She will perform her talent tonight. The finale of the Miss Ohio program will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre.
On Saturday, the public will be able to choose the People’s Choice with up to one hundred votes per person, at a cost of one dollar per vote. This is the first Miss Ohio People’s Choice award, and the chosen contestant will be the eleventh competitor in the final round. This year, Graham Auto Mall was recognized in the sponsorship hall of fame and they are the sponsor of the People’s Choice scholarship.
