Skepticism.

So the Pasadena Pageant, eh? I think it's a complete scam now. Or if it weren't, it just wouldn't be a good pageant, a proper pageant. I was researching on information about the company itself (Nationals, Incorporated) and this Anna Klejnowski. None of this seemed to make sense. I googled the address of the business, which is 1951 Shenango Valley Freeway, Suite 2 South. Hermitage, PA. It all seemed too fishy. No talent portion... no swimsuit portion... As I was google-ing all these things about the pageant, I read blogs saying stuff like it's a scam (from personal experience), this Anna Klejnowski person doesn't exist, it's all about money, etc etc. And it all started to make sense.

On Yahoo answers, I found, "our daughter entered and was thoroughly heart broken. She was promised cash, prizes, college scholarships and a wonderful trip to the finals if she won. The entire pageant was about MONEY. Who spent the most on their gown, who had the most sponsors, etc. The program didn't even have the list of sponsors next to her name like advertised. All she got for her efforts was a gift certificate for their particular modeling school. This was supposed to boost her self confidence and all it did was ruin it!"

And on some blog, I read, "Unfortunately, my niece entered the cleveland pageant and what a horrible experience. At 14, it was a real challenge coming up with the $495, then the dress, etc. She was so excited. The interview was suppose to be 5 minutes, she got less than 2. Some woman had a stop watch and messed up her time. We were told each contestant got some free tickets, but then were told we had to buy them for $20 each. She was there from 9:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

When the pageant started, we sat right behind the judges. ALL of whom had NO experience in pageant judging. The coordinator kept going around explaining to them how to judge the girls. During the pageant, at least 4 of them left the auditorium during the pageant for periods of 5 to 20 minutes at a time. How can they judge the girls who were performing or answering questions if they werent even there?

There were 4 girls left to go in the MISS Teen q&a session when the judges passed their score cards to the girl handling the computer. How could u rate the last 4?

They picked top 10 in each division. What a joke. All the girls were onstage for the walk and q&a. So they knew who did good and who didnt. In the Jr. Teen top 10, 3 girls advanced that were horrile in there walk and 2 barely answered their question. Miss Photogenic Miss Teen was a joke. This girl submitted a professional photo, one taken of her 4 months ago. The photo didnt even resemble the girl on stage at the pageant. Parents questioned it, but no answers.

Miss congeniality was a real joke.
The girls were asked to pick one person, they didnt know each other at all, none had numbers on to pick from. They asked a few people what their numbers were and everyone picked that number? What is that about?

If u look at the brochure for the pageant, the girls who had the large number of sponsors ended up in the top 10. 2 of the pageant contestants were sponsored by two of the judges businesses they own?

Where was Anna? She never showed up. Thank god my niece is old enough that she didnt take it very hard although she did realize this was a joke. But some poor girls were crying their eyes out when we left.

Anna, dont go around telling young ladies this isnt a J Renee Ramsey pageant, its all about self esteem, self confidence, etc. If you were there to see what this pageant did to some of these girls, u wouldnt have the nerve to keep preaching that stuff.

These girls deserve their money back. All they got was a cheap piece of paper for their weeks of effort. Shame on you."


Heck. No. I am notttt joining this. I refuse to stress over money and sponsorships for something that is only about the money. If I were to join a pageant, I want to have entered MYSELF in it, because I still don't know who "referred" me. What kind of pageants send out letters of "referral" for advertisement? Scamscamscam. I will not be a part of something so lame.