ABOUT US
The Miss Tysons, Miss Tysons’ Teen, Miss Northern Virginia, and the Miss Northern Virginia’s Teen Scholarship Pageant is powered and administered by Mrs. America Tourism Travel Foundation Incorporated, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit foundation established by Janet Cersley to provide the young women the opportunity to grow as well-rounded individuals. Through participation in this program, they experience important societal issues, develop professional and personal skills and showcase their talents. We serve as the official local preliminaries pageant for the Miss Virginia Opportunity Pageant and the Miss America Organization (MAO).
OUR FOREVER MISS VIRGINIAS (MISSION & HISTORY)
OUR MISSION
- To provide unique opportunities for young women to win financial assistance in the nature of scholarship awards as a means of achieving their education goals and to create and maintain a system of competition which will enhance opportunities and produce role models representing positive American values;
- To encourage a spirit of volunteerism throughout the Miss Virginia Opportunity’s network of local pageants, titleholders, and to promote good will and civic and economic benefits in the towns and cities which host the competitions leading to the Miss Virginia title;
- To use the Miss Virginia Opportunity as a vehicle for statewide awareness of the Miss America Program, fundraising opportunities for scholarships, and implementation of community service projects.
- To support statewide organization of volunteers that operate 12 months a year, who contribute time, resources and scholarship money to Miss Virginia programs in cities and towns throughout the state.
Our History
The first Miss Virginia pageant was held at the historic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach as a business outreach event. Although Leah Cohen earned the honor of being the first Miss Virginia in 1926, she decided not to compete at the Miss America Pageant. Miss Virginia was represented at Miss America in the late 1920’s and 1930’s, but it was not until 1953 when the program was officially established in Roanoke. That year, Elizabeth Bowles, a member of the Valley Junior Woman’s Club went to Atlantic City and requested a franchise for the Miss Virginia Pageant for her Club. She was successful and the competition was directed and produced by the Valley Junior Woman’s Club until 1963. In October of 1963, a non-profit organization, the Miss Virginia Competition, Inc., headed by Jack C. Smith, Executive Vice President of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, was formed, and the franchise was granted to that group by the Miss America Pageant.
The first Miss Virginia Pageant in Roanoke was held in the ballroom at The Hotel Roanoke. Later, the pageant was moved to The American Theatre and remained there until the opening of the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium, which is now the Berglund Center. The host hotel for the Miss Virginia Pageant has been the historic Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center and still remains to this day.
Miss Virginia and local titleholders volunteer approximately 2,000 hours per year in their local communities. Miss Virginia speaks to over 25,000 students in 75 Virginia schools each year.
Virginia has had four young women to hold the title of Miss America — Kylene Barker – Miss America 1979, Nicole Johnson – Miss America 1999, Caressa Cameron – Miss America 2010 and Camille Schrier – Miss America 2020. The Miss Virginia Organization is a scholarship organization and in 2023, awarded more than $75,000 in scholarships to Miss and Outstanding Teen candidates which ranked Virginia 13th out of 51 state organizations. Miss Virginia 2024 was awarded over $22,500.
In addition, the Miss Virginia scholarship program makes available more than $300,000 for in-kind scholarships to colleges and universities. During her year of service, Miss Virginia receives a monthly salary, a furnished apartment in Roanoke, cell phone and annual mobile plan, wardrobe, haircare and skincare, dry cleaning, dental and other professional, in-kind services.
The Miss America Pageant is the largest scholastic benefactor to women in the world making available more than $4 million in cash and in-kind scholarship annually nationwide.