Miss America Announces the “Preliminary Competition Week” Judges for the Non-Broadcast Segment of the 97th Miss America Competition
Atlantic City, NJ (July 31, 2017) – The Miss America Organization and dick clark productions announced today the panel of judges for the non-broadcast preliminary rounds of “The 2018 Miss America Competition.” The diverse group of judges will select the top 15 finalists competing for the title of Miss America 2018 during the preliminary week of competition on September 6th – 8th in Atlantic City, NJ. Airing live on ABC from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 (9:00 – 11:00p.m. ET/PT), “The 2018 Miss America Competition” will showcase the intellect, grace and exceptional talent of 51 accomplished women representing their home states (and District of Columbia) to compete for the coveted title of Miss America.
The judges will use their expertise in their respective fields to evaluate the young women and their incredible blend of intelligence, leadership, talent, physical fitness and dedication to community service.
The panel of experts will evaluate the 51 contestants’ performances in the following categories: Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit, Evening Wear, Talent, Interview, and On-Stage Questions. The preliminary judges are listed below (in alphabetical order by first name):
Carolyn Conrad – Carolyn Conrad is an entertainment lawyer with over a decade of experience representing top talent in the television, motion picture, digital and music fields. Her clients have spanned all facets of the industry – from performers, writers, and producers to on-air personalities and influencers – and include Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy nominees and winners. Hailing from Texas, Conrad moved to Los Angeles for college, where she graduated from UCLA and was an All-American swimmer and three-time game show winner. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and New York, and is involved with Human Rights Watch in Los Angeles and The Bowery Mission and Opening Act in New York.
Karen Knutson – Karen is originally from Alaska but has called Washington, DC home for the last 25 years. Karen is the Global Government Affairs and Policy Leader for Baker Hughes, a GE Company and an attorney with over 30 years of experience in energy policy issues. Prior to working at GE, Karen served in several public policy roles, including Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and the Deputy Assistant to the Vice President of the United States for Domestic Policy. Karen attended law school in North Carolina at Wake Forest University. Her husband, Kent is an executive at Home Depot and she has two wonderful children, Matthew and Ingrid and a slightly bad Labrador named Gunnar.
Kate Bennett – Kate Bennett is a White House reporter for CNN, co-author of CNN Politics COVER/LINE, and co-host of the CNN Politics COVER/LINE podcast. Bennett’s beat includes the Trump family, the first lady, the East Wing of the White House, and the mashup of style, society, and buzz in the nation’s capital. A former magazine and fashion editor, prior to CNN Kate worked for Politico, Independent Journal Review, and Washingtonian, among other outlets. She’s been a lifestyle journalist for almost two decades, chronicling the intersection of people, pop culture, and politics.
Patrick Rush – Patrick Rush’s career started in the Universal Mailroom and from there he found his way into the world of Casting. His credits include: “Party of Five”, “Dawson’s Creek”, “Everwood”, “The OC, “Chuck”, “Dallas”, “The Astronaut’s Wives Club”, “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” and its sequel, “Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circles of Love”. Most recently, he cast Marvel’s “Runaways” for Hulu and “Gospel of Kevin” for ABC. Patrick has been nominated for 6 Casting Society of America Awards and was the winner for the television mini-series “In Cold Blood”. Patrick is more than honored to be included in the judging of this year’s Miss America Competition.
Rusty Joiner– With an impressive body of work over the past two years, including his critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning performance in the independent feature “Voiceless” – Rusty Joiner has definitely made his way to Hollywood’s “The Ones To Watch” list. Prior to making the successful transition from modeling to acting, Joiner first gained international recognition as the official Structure Men’s Underwear spokesperson. In addition to campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, Levi’s and Prada, Joiner graced the cover of Mens Fitness Magazine a record twelve times. His noted film and television roles include: Dodgeball, Amateur Night, Behaving Badly, Resident Evil: Extinction, CSI: Miami, The Closer, Bones, Melrose Place and Days of Our Lives.
Susan Perkins Botsford – Susan Perkins Botsford, representing Ohio, was crowned Miss America-1978. After her year of service as Miss America, Susan was a featured performer on several Miss America telecasts, emceed numerous state pageants, sang professionally and worked as a reporter for the ABC affiliate in San Francisco. Susan has participated in many volunteer activities supporting our veterans, and in 2009 she toured Iraq with two other former Miss Americas. In May of 1979, Susan married Alan Botsford. They have two married children, a son and daughter, and reside in Boston and Cape Cod.
Vivian Nixon – Vivian Nixon is an entrepreneurial artist, producer, director, choreographer, dancer and actress, whose many talents have fueled her versatile career that ranges from the stage and screen, to the studio and production table. She has appeared in shows ranging from television’s Grey’s Anatomy to Broadway’s Hot Feet. Nixon founded 42 Seven Productions with a handful of Broadway, film and television veterans to bring the best of live entertainment and education to cities across the globe (www.42Sevenproductions.com). She is also the Associate Artistic Director of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.
Celebrity judges for the live broadcast of “The 2018 Miss America Competition” will be announced in the coming weeks.
Chris Harrison (ABC’s “The Bachelor” and “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”) returns to host the legendary competition, with Sage Steele (ABC’s and ESPN’s “NBA Countdown”) joining as co-host.
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dick clark productions and the Miss America Organization will collaborate on all creative, marketing, sponsorship, licensing, ticketing and distribution elements of this year’s show. Anthony Eaton and Tall Pony Productions will produce “The 2018 Miss America Competition.”
To purchase tickets to “The 2018 Miss America Competition,” please visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/Miss-America-Competition-tickets/
For more information on the “2018 Miss America Competition,” please visit Miss America Organization’s website at www.missamerica.org.
About The Miss America Organization
The Miss America Organization, a 501(c) 4 non-profit corporation, awards millions of dollars in annual college scholarship assistance making it the largest scholarship program for women in the United States. MAO is comprised of 51 organizations, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia. MAO contestants contribute over 500,000 hours of community service annually and have raised over $16 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since 2007.
About dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Miss America,” “Hollywood Film Awards” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.
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Show Media Credentials
To apply for media credentials to cover “The 2018 Miss America Competition,” please click here and fill out the online form
PRESS CONTACTS:
Miss America Organization
Chelsea Mineur 609-344-1800 chelsea.mineur@missamerica.org
dick clark productions
Kelly Striewski 310-255-4602 kstriewski@dickclark.com
Gina Sorial 310-255-0308 gsorial@dickclark.com
Lydia Baskharoon 310-255-0319 lbaskharoon@dickclark.com
ABC Entertainment Group Communications
Bridgette Maney 212-456-1429 bridgette.maney@abc.com
Ashley Kline 818-460-6783 ashley.r.kline@disney.com
