PageantLIVE's Red Carpet Award of the Week goes to National American Miss Pre-Teen Shayla Montgomery

National American Miss Pre-Teen

by Shayla Montgomery

I am a fun, intelligent and super friendly 13 year old. I live in Portland, Oregon with my parents, Chris & Sheila and our two dogs. I love to go to church and play volleyball. My goal is to make a difference in our world by ending bullying and spreading my message to "Be Brave and Be Yourself"!

Around February of 2014, I received a postcard in the mail, it was an invitation to an open call for National American Miss. I remember my dad saying, "Shay, do you want to try pageants?" I wasn't interested. A few weeks later, my dad said "Shay they are having the open call this weekend for the pageant do you want to check it out?" I said sure. I remember my mom being totally against me getting involved, however, she went with me and my dad to the open call. I received a letter in the mail from my state director, Matt Leverton inviting me to the state competition. I didn't take it seriously and did not prepare for my very first pageant. I

had fun. I loved meeting girls and doing casual wear. I placed in photogenic and casual wear and was in the top 10. I was so upset that I didn't win. I know crazy for it being my first pageant and me not practicing. I said I would never do pageants again as we drove home. My parents told me that they were super proud of me and I remember my dad saying to me what do you expect you didn't take it seriously and you didn't practice. The next day I told my dad I am going to go back next year and win. I loved everything about NAM. I loved the staff and I loved the girls that I had build relationships with during the weekend. My dad went crazy and signed me up for several pageants to give me practice. All I could think about was getting back to National American Miss.

Over the next year, I practiced with my dad a lot. Some days I would get frustrated with him because I didn't want to practice. He would remind me of my goal and I would do what he was asking me to do. My dad found another person who could also coach me Netty McKenzie. I worked hard over the year. I won the High Point Queen at my very next pageant which was Regal Majesty. I then went on to another pageant system and not understanding how you compete at Nationals went up an age division to Jr Teen and won state! We thought if we won at state and I turned 13 that I would have to compete at Nationals as a junior teen so my dad wanted me to compete with girls in the next age division. We met Andrea Walters there and I had a few coaching sessions with her. I lived, ate and slept pageants the past year. I worked with all three coaches my dad, Chris Montgomery, Netty and Andrea. Right before state we purchased another dress and I love that the owner, Aaron of Simply Grand by Aaron Michaels says to me "you won state in a David's Bridal gown". Which is true. I laugh at that now. We didn't know anything about pageants let alone where to buy a dress.

My hard work paid off and I remember when I was on stage and they were calling the runner ups and it got down to who they were going to call to be the queen and seeing some amazing girls still standing out of the top 10 and thinking either I got the same place as I did last year which was top 10 or I am about to be queen. When they called my name as the Miss Oregon Pre-Teen tears filled my eyes. I was so excited to represent my state.

My mom obviously came to love NAM. She loved that they had an emphasis on volunteering, that there was not a swimsuit competition and that they believe girls need to dress age appropriately including no makeup in my division. She also loved that I was being able to express myself individually and developing my speaking. I went from being a shy girl last year into a girl who is confident and able to talk to anyone this year.

Winning state I knew I would be going to Nationals and my goal was to win nationals. NAM was all I talked about. I watched Bralyns video of being queen every night before I went to bed. I stopped playing volleyball so I could focus on NAM. Life revolved around volunteering and practicing for nationals. I spent countless hours practicing with my dad. In September, we found Greg Solomon and I began having interview coaching online every week. It was so tiring to be asked question after question after question for an hour straight. There were days I would say do I have to do interviewing today and would be reminded of my goal and gladly I would face-time my coach. Thankfully, I was able to work with Andrea the month before going to Nationals too as she helped me fine tune what I had wrote for my introduction and my spokes-model.

Arriving at Nationals I was excited. I did not feel anxious. I felt I was prepared. I just wanted to have fun and build life long friendships with girls from around the United States. I had a lot of fun touring Hollywood, going to Disneyland, spending Thanksgiving with my family and participating in casual wear and spokes-model as well.

I will never forget the moment I looked on the wall to see who made top 5 in optionals. When I saw my name listed for Spokes-model tears filled my eyes and I fell to the ground. My speech was a personal story in which I was very vulnerable. We were not sure if it was going to be age appropriate for NAM yet I made the decision that I wanted to share for nothing else than to possibly help another girl. We re-competed and then when they called out the runner ups and then said my name as the National Spokes-model I was elated.

The life long memory didn't end there. I continued bonding with some amazing girls and then it came to our finale. I was sad that the week was ending. I had a lot of fun doing our opening numbers. Top 10 was called and I was excited when they called my name. Next they called out the top 5. I began to cry. I was in shock and walking around crying with such joy. I was ecstatic that out of all the girls in our country I was in the top 5. I will never forget the next moments. It was down to Miss Nebraska and me. I reached to hug her and then we held hands. When they called first runner up Nebraska. All I could do was thank God. I held on tight to my crown (my crown fell at state and I didn't want it to happen again) as I walked around thanking the judges and looking out at all of my family who came to watch me from Oregon and all around California.

There have been many who have been against "pageants" and often times it is due to a lack of understanding and thinking it is like toddlers and tiaras. I love to get to explain to them what pageants are all about and that a part of my score comes from volunteer service and then the rest is from my interview score, formal wear and personal introduction. These are core skills that we all need to be successful in life whether it is public speaking or interviewing for a school or a job.

Being queen to me is more than just a crown and a sash to sit upon my shelf. Being queen means that I am a role model to other girls and I am a servant shed my light and love to my community. I strongly feel that if you bring a smile to others or help those in need that you are also bettering your own life. My favorite quote is kind words are short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless by Mother Theresa.

I plan to help spread the message of Continue to Find Kindness across the country to Stop the mean girl phenomenon and revolutionize kindness! Not only is this personally important to me as I was once a victim of bullying it also goes along with my career goal to become a psychologist for children!

You may contact Shayla for appearances at:

shaylamontgomery2015nampreteen@gmail.com

And follow her reign at :

https://m.facebook.com/pages/NAM-Oregon-Pre-Teen/1687451931484837

PageantLIVE's Note:

National American Miss is rated the #1 Pageant System in the United States.  Find out more information at:

http://www.namiss.com/
Unleash Your Potential

Tori Sizemore Miss SC Teen USA

Tori Sizemore
Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2013


Miss Teen USA

Tori was 1^st runner-up at the 2013 Miss Teen USA Pageant.  As they were calling off the names of the runner-ups, Tori had an odd sense of calmness. She kept thinking, “Please don't call my name!”  Tori was taking to Cassidy Wolf (now, Miss Teen USA) as they were the last two standing on stage.  Tori then she hears the emcee say, “South Carolina”.  For a split second, Tori thought she had just been called as Miss Teen USA…. She then heard “California” and realized that it was Cassidy who had won.  Tori thought, “oh my goodness, I need to get out of her way!” She felt she may had taken a moment of Cassidy’s spotlight away from her and she didn't want that.

Previous Pageants

Tori competed in the Miss South Carolina Outstanding Teen Pageant before she competed at Miss South Carolina Teen USA. She placed 2^nd runner-up to Rachel Wyatt, who later became Miss America's Outstanding Teen.  She challenged herself to compete in the Miss South Carolina's Outstanding Teen Pageant to overcome

her fear of singing.  She always said she wasn't going to compete in pageants, but learned so much that she wanted to keep competing. Competing gave her a new goal and something else to focus on besides academics.

Pageant Preparation

Tori went into the state competition as if she were competing for the national title. She had almost 10 months to prepare for Miss Teen USA after winning the Miss Teen South Carolina USA crown. Tori wanted to be completely prepared for the national pageant and not have to rush at the last moment. She took time off her regular fitness schedule during the holidays, but wanted to make sure she was staying true to herself. She did a lot of speaking engagements to prepare her for interview, took part in community service events and changed the way she ate. Tori wanted it to be a way of living and not just preparation for the pageant.

Memorable Moments

Tori's most memorable part of her year was her Princess for a Day event. A group of older foster care girls got their hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot and were given a day that was all about them. Many of the girls told her they never thought they could be so beautiful nor had they ever been given so much attention. It touched Tori because she worked very hard to put it together. Tori hopes to hold another Princess for a Day celebration soon in a different part of the state.

Tori’s platform is foster care and adoption awareness. She competed in a 5K and attended a conference in South Carolina where 81 families became foster parents. She has been bringing awareness to foster care and encouraging others to become involved.

Will Tori compete for the Miss South Carolina USA title?

Tori has been asked many times if she will go on to compete for Miss South Carolina USA or Miss South Carolina America. She is looking forward to taking a few years off to find out more about herself and to attend college. She is not going to make any decisions at this time on future pageant plans. She is definitely a girl we will be keeping an eye on in the future.

Tori's Advice to Pageant Girls

Tori's advice is to give it all you got! You are representing so many people and there are a lot of girls who would love to be in your shoes. Tori went off the mentality that there are probably a lot of other girls working harder.  This is a competition on who can present their best self. Think about what you can do can improve, but don’t lose who you are. Tori hated public speaking and working out but recommends finding areas to improve upon. Focus on the skills that will help you through life and not just as a competitor because you are only a titleholder for one year.  Work on improving your best true self. 

Austen Williams Mrs America 2013

Austen Williams - Mrs. America 2013

Austen started modeling and acting when she was 4. She booked her first national television commercial when she was 7. She has done work for Abercrombie & Fitch, Best Buy, Vibe Magazine, Prevention Magazine, as well as in Fitness videos, films, and television.

How did you capture the title of Mrs. America?

Austen was just herself ~ a real woman.  She wasn't trying to be someone she’s not!  She is a mom so she doesn’t have time to do some of the luxury things in life because she is so busy chasing around a 16 month old and a three year old.  She just wants to be who God made her to be.  

Highlights from the Pageant

Austen competed in the Miss USA and Miss America systems. This was her first Mrs. Pageant. Not all pageant girls are nice but she was surprised to learn just how sweet the Mrs. Pageant contestants at Mrs. America were. She loved her roommate! Her roommate was Mrs. Virginia, Erin Brown, who Austin thinks is a complete rock star! If you're friends with Austen on Facebook you can see the videos from Mrs. America. They had parties in their room where they were dancing on the bed while pretending to sing (to the readers; Girls Just Gotta Have Fun). Austen really enjoyed learning all about the ladies at Mrs. America. She felt so fortunate to have been able to compete with them because they were so supportive and kind.

The Mrs. America Interview

The interview was round-robin style. Austen really enjoyed the judges and had great conversations with them.  Austin feels sometimes ladies think the judges want to hear the "correct answer", when all they really want is to hear YOUR opinion. They want to see you and get to know the real you.

Preparing for the Pageant

Have conversations with people and take the time to get to know them. Try to really figure out who they are.  Austen stated it is better to be interested than interesting. Mrs. America is a pageant where you have to be able to interview well because 50% of your score comes from interview. You really need to know how to talk to people so they can get to know the real you. 

Austen’s Platform is Human Trafficking Awareness

Human Trafficking is happening here and now.  As a performer, Austen has been able to promote her platform through a film called, “8 Days”. She played a role in the film which wrapped up about two weeks before she left for Mrs. America. The film is a true story about a girl from Texas who was kidnapped and put into human trafficking and found 8 days later.  People have an assumption that human trafficking only happens to low-income, or uneducated people. The reality of it is that human trafficking is not just hitting one area or demographic, it is all across the board. You can be any race, most often, it is white and Asian women/girls who are being sold. As of now, human trafficking is the #2 grossing crime in the WORLD! Second only to drugs. It is projected to surpass drugs in the next five years!

The film 8 Days is due to be released in November. All proceeds from the film will go back into anti-trafficking organization to build safe houses. For more information about the film 8 Days, go to www.8daysfilm.org

Mrs. America Goals

Austen's number one goal as Mrs. America is to promote awareness for Human Trafficking.  Austen stated she is a simple girl and she wants simple things. Her heart breaks for the young girls who have been sold into trafficking. As a mother, it is heart wrenching for her to think about it.  Her goal is to serve her community, her family and her God.

In May, Austen will be travel to the Mrs. World Pageant. So, how does she get ready to compete at Mrs. World?

As a mom with small children, she doesn’t always have time to go to the gym.  She puts her baby in a baby backpack and does lunges. When she is doing the dishes, she does squats and lunges. Her workout routine has to do with entertaining her children and cleaning her house.  After she had her second baby she wanted something to do to get back into shape. She thought swimsuit competition would help her accomplish that. Her clothes fit but everything was mushy. So, she started to tone up at home and at the Mrs. Texas America Pageant she won the fitness award!

Did you know that Austen is a photographer?

She is the owner of Sugarbabe Photography and specializes in newborns, babies and children.  Her goal was to give beautiful pictures of children to families for a reasonable price. She can do all types of photography, but she really enjoys taking pictures of newborn babies. She took Mrs. Oklahoma America’s headshot and she won Mrs. Photogenic! To learn more about Sugarbabe Photography, you can visit www.SugarbabePhotography.com

Follow Austen on Twitter @Austenwill and on Facebook at Austen Williams.

Austen and her husband she still has a crush on as Mrs. Texas