Date: Fri 12-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Miss-America-Hirou-Fraser

Full Text:

Newtown Girls Take Home The Crown, Top Placement, At Watertown Pageant

(with photo)

BY SHANNON HICKS

There is a huge difference between becoming a beauty queen and becoming Miss

America. Newtown resident Sarah Hirou is on her way to becoming Miss America.

She is a lovely young lady, but she is not a beauty queen.

Beauty contests are just that: women compete against each other primarily to

determine who is the most beautiful of a group. On the other hand, Miss

America competitors use their intelligence to select and promote a platform of

their choice, present a talent, develop communication and interview skills,

and compete for scholarship money.

The Miss America Pageant is a national scholarship program for young women.

Miss America, according to its promoters, raises more money towards

scholarships for young women in the United States than any organization.

For the past six years, the Watertown Lions Club has sponsored the local Miss

America competition, called Miss Greater Watertown. Under this banner, young

women under the age of 24 living, working or attending school not only in

Watertown, but also Bethlehem, Lakeside, Litchfield, Newtown, Oakville,

Southbury, Thomaston, Torrington, Washington, and Woodbury are eligible to

compete.

While there is no longer a Miss Newtown title to be vied for, Connecticut

still supports as many as 14 titles each year. This year, six Newtown women

participated in the Miss Greater Watertown Pageant.

For the first time ever, a Newtown girl has been named Miss Greater Watertown

in the regional competition of the Miss America Pageant. In October at

Watertown High School, Sarah Hirou, a 1995 graduate of Newtown High, was

crowned Miss Greater Watertown. Avril Fraser, another Newtown resident, was

named first runner-up.

For winning the Miss Greater Watertown event, Sarah was presented with a

$3,000 scholarship; Avril won $1,000 in scholarship funds. Both girls are

currently attending Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. Sarah, a

sophomore, is majoring in education and physical education. A junior, Avril is

majoring in elementary education and psychology.

Sarah has also won membership for a health club for one year, skin care

treatment for one year, hair and nail care for an equal amount of time, dry

cleaning services, and other services from sponsoring merchants of the

pageant. She also has a business manager, Lorraine Bounocore, someone whose

job it is to help her prepare for the state pageant, to take place in a few

months.

This year's competition included 17 young women, six of which were from

Newtown. In addition to Sarah and Avril, four seniors from Newtown High School

were at the competition: Jessica Dale, Fiona Fraser, Allyson Hopkins, and

Kimberly Minnock.

The actual competition was October 25, at Watertown High School. The

interviews were conducted that afternoon, with the on-stage events beginning

at 7:30 that evening. There was an opening production number, followed by the

girls' individual introductions while they were dressed in their interview

suits.

The swimsuit and talent portions were next, followed by the evening wear

segment. During this final component, the girls were given a single onstage

question. The contest is scored like an Olympics competition: each segment is

scored from 1 to 10 points, with the highest and lowest single scores tossed

out.

"This is not a beauty contest," Mrs Buonocore stressed. Sarah Hirou's business

manager, Mrs Buonocore is also a co-executive director of the Miss Greater

Watertown pageant.

"It's a scholarship pageant ," she continued. "We're trying to get away from

that [other] stigma, because that is not what this contest is about. Miss

America gives out ... millions ... in scholarship money across the country.

It's a great opportunity for the girls."

In May, Sarah will compete for the Miss Connecticut title. The winner of the

state-wide competition in the spring will be the young woman who advances and

represents Connecticut at the 1998 Miss America contest. Should Sarah go on to

become Miss Connecticut, Avril will take over the title of Miss Greater

Watertown.

In upcoming months, Mrs Buonocore will help arrange mock interviews, shop with

Sarah, coordinate appearances by Miss Greater Watertown, "everything to help

get her ready for the Connecticut pageant," Mrs Buonocore said this week.

Judges of the contest, at all levels, according to Mrs Buonocore, are looking

for physical fitness and poise. They also look to see how the girls in the

contest handle themselves during the interview segment of the competition,

which includes how much a contestant knows about local and world events, as

well as their platform.

Choosing a platform to support is a large part of the competition. Each

contestant should have a strong conviction for hers, a personal connection

that helps her assure others of its importance. Sarah Hirou has selected

dyslexia, a disturbance in the ability to read, to promote. Dyslexic herself,

Miss Greater Watertown last weekend said she felt it is an important subject

for more people to understand. Miss Hirou is a student advocate at WestConn

for students who have learning and physical disabilities.

A color guard instructor at Newtown High School, Avril Fraser is hoping to

promote activities that build self-esteem in young women. When Jessica Dale

was younger she was involved in a drunk driving-related accident; she wants to

see drunk driving laws enforced more.

A member of the color guard squad, Fiona Fraser's platform is mentoring.

"I think it is important for children to know someone is always there for

them," she said.

Kimberly Minnock has taken a project she became involved with on an

extracurricular level at school and continues to promote it: the integration

and equality of education in all schools. "It will take a lot of effort and

money, but there needs to be equal opportunities in what students get to learn

and their resources," she said. Kimberly's plan calls for uniform schedules,

classes and requirements.

Between now and final weekend of May, when the state competition takes place

at Mohegan Sun Casino, Sarah plans on representing her title by appearing at a

number of events organized by her business manager. She is working on setting

up a program for students with learning disabilities at the state college she

is attending. Primarily, she plans to continue with her studies at WestConn.

"If you didn't have intelligence," said Avril Fraser, "if you weren't a

well-rounded person, you wouldn't win this."