Who will be the next Miss Seal Beach? Who will be the members of her court?
Who will be the young women and girls who take up the tiara of responsibility that comes with the position?
Who will be the next Miss Seal Beach? Who will be the members of her court?
Who will be the young women and girls who take up the tiara of responsibility that comes with the position?
Applications to be a contestant in the 2014 Miss Seal Beach Pageant are now being accepted.
The Miss Seal Beach Pageant has a long history of honoring young women of the seaside town some call “Mayberry By The Sea.” One day, in the early 1900s, a few dozen women lined up for a photo in Seal Beach. It was near the burgeoning town’s Main Street and close to where the town would someday build a pier. The girls dressed in the swimming costumes of the day and had their photograph taken to help advertise the young city and celebrate its possibilities.
Times have changed, but the tradition of pageant has carried on nearly constantly for many years.
The role of being a member of the Miss Seal Beach Court has expanded from those days nearly 100 years ago. The young women and girls keep a busy schedule of not only public appearances, but also of community service that includes such activities as visiting children and other youth cancer patients through Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“This is a great opportunity to become a supporting role model of today while strengthening our communities tomorrow,” said Rosie Ritchie, director of the Miss Seal Beach Pageant, of the commitment that is required of the contestants if they are chosen for the court. “This is an organization that consistently brings amazing young women to the forefront and supports them as they work to achieve their academic and personal goals.”
Ritchie, a local Realtor, picked up the baton of a Miss Seal Beach Pageant after Barbie Meyer of Seal Beach retired after running the event for about two decades. Her pageant experience includes having worn the titles of Miss Long Beach, Miss Seal Beach, Miss Lakewood, Miss Palos Verdes and Miss L.A. County. She has been the driving force behind the program, overseeing the court members at a constant series of public appearances and service projects each year since 2011.
Ritchie’s 17-year-old daughter Riley, was crowned the Jr. Miss Seal Beach in the last pageant Meyer ran. It was Riley who first urged her mother to restart the program. However, with her mom being the pageant director, she does not currently enter the pageant.
The Miss Seal Beach Pageant includes the following categories:
Miss Seal Beach – Ages 17-23
Miss Teen Seal Beach – Ages 13-16
Junior Miss Seal Beach – must be in grades 4-6
Little Miss Seal Beach- must be in grade 1-3
The Junior Miss and Little Miss is a “natural pageant” prohibiting enhancements that include: lashes, hair extensions, spray tans or false teeth. Light makeup is allowed.
Contestants are judged on such categories as evening gown, swimsuit and closed interview where judges will focus on poise, ability to speak, and personality.
The commitment includes more than 200 community service hours, resume writing, public speaking, and one-on-one interview training. There is the opportunity to be the Seal Beach city manager for the day, ribbon cuttings, scholarships, Chamber mixers, volunteering at the St. Anne’s Thanksgiving, dinner, National Night Out, award ceremonies, to be in the Seal Beach Christmas Parade, appear at inaugurations, Ronald McDonald House, and Chief of Police for the Day.
For additional information on the Miss Seal Beach Pageant or to register as a contestant, call Rosie Ritchie at 562-810-0078.
