Miss USA Fever Is On!

The 2013 Miss USA Pageant is only a month away and preparations are underway at Sin City.  Las Vegas will host the pageant for the 6th year in a row and tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster.  It’s one of the best group of contestants in years and many pageant experts think it’s going to be a stiff competition.  The current Miss USA is Nana Meriwether of Maryland.  She took over the crown from Rhode Island’s Olivia Culpo, who won the Miss Universe title last December.

Early frontrunners includes the representative from the host state of Nevada, Chelsea Caswell.  Chelsea moved to Nevada after receiving an offer to work at the Wynn Las Vegas, which proved the perfect opportunity as she was enthusiastically looking to further her career in the hospitality industry. Since her start last spring, Chelsea has been promoted to Restaurant Manager and looks forward to a continued career with the Wynn.

Another early favorite is Alabama’s 3M, Mary Margaret McCord.  Mary attended the University of Alabama where she majored in Public Relations with a double minor in Communication Studies and Entrepreneurship. She is currently in graduate school at the University of Alabama where she is pursuing a Master of Science in Marketing. She plans to take a semester off from her studies to focus on her short year as Miss Alabama USA.  By just looking at this beautiful young lady, you would never know that she literally has a hole in her heart.  She was born with this condition, which she carried on throughout her life.

Another one to watch out for is Connecticut’s Erin Brady.  This avid bowling fan is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a degree in Finance and a minor in Criminal Justice.  She is a Financial Accountant for Prudential Retirement in Hartford, where she works behind the scenes by running the controls that ensure every member of her team has performed their work correctly and efficiently.  Erin plans to pursue an MBA in the near future and hopes to get involved with Pension Risk Transfers.

Another one that’s expected to do well is South Carolina’s Megan Pinckney.  She’s a pageant veteran, having represented the Palmetto State at the Miss Teen USA Pageant in 2010.  Megan is currently a senior fashion-merchandising student at The University of South Carolina. She has served as an intern to the Sherri Hill team, accompanying them at markets and New York Fashion Week, as well as serving as a member of the National Retail Federation. She has had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy where she studied the food and fashion of the Italian culture. Megan is also a Legislative Aide for a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 2011, she was a recipient of the Presidential Service award.

This year, there are 10 previous Miss Teen USA state title holders competing which includes Miss Georgia, Brittany Sharp (Placed 4th runner up at Miss Teen USA 2006); Miss Idaho, Marissa Wickland; Miss Illinois, Stacie Juris; Miss Iowa, Richelle Orr; Miss Maryland, Kasey Staniszewski (Placed 3rd runner up at Miss Teen USA 2009); Miss Mississippi, Paromita Mitra; Miss New Hampshire, Amber Faucher; Miss South Carolina, Megan Pinckney; Miss Tennessee, Brenna Mader (She was Miss Wyoming Teen USA in 2005); and Miss West Virginia, Chelsea Welch (4th runner up at Miss Teen USA 2007).

The finals of Miss USA 2013 will air live from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on June 16, 2013 at 9pm EST on NBC.

For full coverage of the 2013 Miss USA Pageant, visit our sister site PAGEANTLOVERS.COM.

May 18, 2013 | Categories: MISS UNIVERSE, MISS USA | Tags: Amber Faucher, Brenna Mader, Brittany Sharp, Chelsea Caswell, Chelsea Welch, Erin Brady, Kasey Staniszewski, Marissa Wickland, Mary Margaret McCord, Megan Pinckney, Miss Alabama USA 2013, Miss Connecticut USA 2013, Miss Georgia, Miss Idaho, Miss Illinois, Miss Iowa, Miss Maryland, Miss Mississippi, Miss Nevada USA 2013, Miss New Hampshire, Miss South Carolina USA 2013, Miss Tennessee, Miss USA, Miss West Virginia, Paromita Mitra, Richelle Orr, Stacie Juris | Leave a comment