For the love of God & Pageantry!

By Guest Contributor, Terri Montague (Miss America Judge, Fabulous Aunt, and all around sparkly lady.)

Oh, for the love of God AND PAGEANTRY! With the 2014 Miss America Pageant rapidly approaching, it’s time to dust off your tiaras, gather your friends, print those judging ballots, and let the fun begin!  After all – everyone is qualified to judge!

As long as I can remember I've had a love and fascination for the Miss America Pageant. Everyone has a favorite Miss America, mine by far will always be Miss America 1971, Phyllis George.

I'm pretty sure she came up with that “Chicken By George” a while back because she knows how much I love chicken!

From slips and falls during the evening gown competition, to the rambling answers of the onstage question “that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, ummm, some people out there ... such as, uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe ... All I can say to Miss South Carolina is “Bless Your Heart”. I love every minute!

I desperately miss Burt Parks belting out – "There she is, Miss America". Burt Parks hosted the Miss America telecast from 1955–1979. While several others have tried – none will ever compare to Mr. Parks.

After several years elsewhere, the Miss America Pageant has finally made its way back to Atlantic City. It started there in 1922, as a bathing suit competition.  Who knew those bathing suits were considered so revealing back in the day? Needless to say, they've come a long way. Some want to take the swimsuit competition out of the pageant, I say leave it alone. It’s how this whole Miss America thing got started and it’s a great incentive to shed a few pounds for those of us watching from the comfort of our couch with a variety of party snacks.

Every girl dreams of dressing up in a fancy evening gown. It’s my favorite part of the competition. From Sherry Hill to Tony Bowles…..in a crowd you can hear “Oh, I love that” or “that is the ugliest gown I have ever seen". Variety is the spice of life, right? And there is usually a wide range. The Miss America stage never fails to bring some lovely gowns. Here is one of my favorites. Ally is not only wearing one of my favorite gowns but she is one of the most beautiful contestants I have ever judged.

The talent portion can always be tricky. Sometimes it is the longest 1 minute and 30 seconds of your life. Other times, you don’t want it to end.  In my 29 years of judging pageants, I have had a lot of both. My favorite talent was a Miss Texas a couple of years ago that danced to the Cotton-Eye Joe on Pointe. Now that my friends is talent! RAW TALENT (and possibly raw toes)!

The crowing ceremony is literally the grand finale. The looks of shock and appreciation when they are crowned are priceless (and sometimes a little over the top). Seriously, how surprised can you really be? Did you momentarily forget you are competing in a pageant and for the last 10 minutes you've been in the top 5? Oh goodness!

I don't know about you, but I always have a wonderful time texting my friends during another successful year of Miss America. The dresses flow, the talent is fierce, and during the crowing ceremony, the mascara melts. But in the end, a new Miss America is crowned and another girl's dream comes true!

I hope you'll join me for the festivities. Tune in on September 14th and get your ballots ready!

Overall, this is my favorite pageant winner. Anyone recognize her?

Yep, that's me! And my beloved Aunt Terri taught me everything I know!

See you soon, for the sequins!