Local Miss America Subsidiary to Award Thousands in Scholarships and Prizes to Nebraska Young Women

Contact Megan Heimes, Director of Marketing & Media MissOmahaMAO@gmail.com (308) 760-7179

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OMAHA, Nebr. June 20, 2023: Local Miss America Subsidiary to Award Thousands in Scholarships and Prizes to Nebraska Young Women

The Miss Omaha Scholarship Organization, a subsidiary of the Miss America Organization is celebrating its 35th Anniversary during its annual competition on Saturday, August 5th where four new titleholders will be crowned as the new Miss Omaha, Miss Douglas County, Miss Omaha’s Teen, and Miss Douglas County’s Teen. Each titleholder will be awarded thousands of dollars in cash scholarships and prizes and will move on to compete at the 2024 Miss Nebraska and Miss Nebraska’s Teen Scholarship competitions. The esteemed panel of judges in charge of selecting the winners are traveling from across the nation, representing the states of FL, IN, NC, NV, MD, and NE.

“The exceptional women who take part in our program are the epitome of 'well-rounded'; they are scholars, decorated performing artists, community servants, authors, mentors, and role models,” says Devin Larsen, Co-Executive Director of the Miss Omaha & Miss Douglas County Organization.

The August 5th competition at Marian High School is open to Nebraska women ages 13 - 28. Each of the two Miss division winners will be awarded $2,000 in cash scholarships, prize packages from Omaha area donors and businesses, and more than $84,000 in in-kind scholarships to Bellevue and other Nebraska institutions. They will also compete at the 2024 Miss Nebraska competition in North Platte, with the chance to represent Nebraska at the 103rd Miss America competition in 2025.

Two Teen division winners will also be chosen and awarded $1,000 in cash scholarships, prize packages from Omaha area donors and businesses, and more than $102,000 in in-kind scholarships to Midland University and Bellevue University. They will compete at the 2024 Miss Nebraska Teen competition in North Platte. If selected, they will represent Nebraska at the Miss America’s Teen competition in 2025.

Among the special guests at Saturday’s event are Miss Nebraska’s Teen 2023 Boston Pettera, Ava Bonifas from Hastings, NE, and our Miss Omaha Little Sisters. Emceeing the event will be Miss Nebraska 2023 Morgan Baird, and Jodi Holen, who served as both Miss Nebraska and our first Miss Omaha in 1988.

“We celebrate and highlight the accomplishments and traits we all hope to see in others; leadership, hard work, service, and passion,” Says Marianne Grubaugh, Co-Executive Director of the Miss Omaha & Miss Douglas County Organization.

All media members are welcome to join us for the 2023 Miss Omaha & Miss Douglas County Competition Saturday, August 5 at Marian High School.

The competition will begin at 6:30 pm; interviews and video opportunities will be available throughout the day. For more information please email Megan Heimes, Director of Marketing & Media at missomahamao@gmail.com, or visit the Miss Omaha & Miss Douglas County website at https://www.missomahamao.org/.

The deadline to register and complete the paperwork is July 24th, 2023. To compete in the next Miss Omaha & Douglas County competition for the chance to become Miss Nebraska and compete at Miss America, please visit our website at www.MissOmahaMAO.org to learn more.

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About the Miss Omaha Organization Founded in 1988, the Miss Omaha & Miss Douglas County Scholarship Program has been providing young women with the opportunity to pursue their educational goals through scholarships for over 35 years. The organization has helped prepare 61 local titleholders for the Miss Nebraska stage and is proud to have had 13 titleholders take home the title of Miss Nebraska and compete on the Miss America stage, more than any other local competition in the state. In 2018 the organization solidified a partnership with the Midlands Community Foundation and established the Miss Omaha Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity that allows tax-deductible donations and expansion of the scholarship award offerings. To read more about the Miss Omaha & Douglas County Organization please visit www.MissOmahaMAO.org

We are a subsidiary of the Miss America Organization and follow the rules, regulations, and guidelines set forth therein.