PALM SPRINGS BEAUTY MAKES GRAND PAGEANT ENTRANCE Palm Springs area pageant contestant, Dr. Vanessa Sheldon, 23 years old, has been crowned Miss Greater Palm Springs by the Miss America Organization. The brilliant harpist, who earned her doctorate in music at age 19, claimed her title through the Miss Riverside County pageant system, along with fellow contestant Lindsay Nault, also 23, who was named Miss Riverside County. Both contestants used their poise, intelligence, and exceptional talents to clinch the two titles from among a bevy of nine finalists. The lovely Dr. Sheldon is a resident of Rancho Mirage. Vanessa now moves on to the Miss California pageant in mid June of this year, where she will compete for the right to represent the state of California on the Miss America stage. The Miss America organization is the largest scholarship awards program for women in the world, having made available over $45 Million in scholarships last year alone. The local winner and runners up amassed thousands of dollars in scholarship prizes for various plateaus and skill levels within the pageant. Her platform is "Arts Education for America's Youth." A trio of Miss America judges and five community dignitaries comprised the panel of judges, who rated the contestants via a weighted ballot on their Interview Skills (25 %), Swimsuit (10%), Talent (35%), Evening Gown (20%), and On-Stage Questions (10%). Vanessa took top honors for Talent, and received high scores in all other categories. This year’s pageant was held on the Riverside Community College campus in the City of Riverside on Saturday, February 21, 2009. Guests enjoyed a well- attended event featuring a gala presentation of some of the best and brightest, most socially conscious and strikingly beautiful young ladies in the county. First Runner up is Christyn Blair Richardson, a pre-med student at UC Riverside. The Second Runner up, Ridhi Patel, is a pre-law student, also attending UC Riverside. Mrs. Keisha Escamilla (a former pageant queen) is Executive Director of the Riverside County, San Bernardino County and National Orange Show local pageant systems. |
| Pageant Results from Fresno Miss California 2009: Dr. Vanessa Sheldon wins 4 scholarships! Participation/Fundraising Scholarship Talent award from the Miss California Organization Leni Arnhym Classical Performer Award Miss America Academic Award Desert Sun July 2009 article Evening gown photo The Official Miss California Website |