All of the dates below are recommendations. Many of the dates you can adjust as needed for your pageant.

One year to six months before your local

• Set a date and secure a venue for your pageant
• Notify the Miss Indiana Field Directors so your local pageant can be added to the calendar
• Begin contestant recruitment
• Plan and execute any fundraisers
• Create/update website with new paperwork
• Set up a social media presence—Facebook, twitter, etc.

Six months before your pageant

• Begin to look for potential sponsors for the following items: scholarships, crown and/or sash, flowers for awards, food for judges and/or contestants on pageant day
• Intensify contestant recruitment: visit schools, post flyers, contact local media, etc.
• Begin Judge recruitment
• Download the most up-to-date Local Contestant Contracts to send to potential contestants

Three months before your local

• Order crowns and sashes
• Secure “day of” volunteers: hostesses, stage manager, backstage crew, emcee, auditors
• Follow up with potential contestants

Two months before your local

• Download judges ballots (MAO Resource Portal)
• Download the Single Night Show script to prepare for your emcee
• Promote your local on social media
• Make all of your paperwork and pageant day information available to potential contestants
• Set a deadline for paperwork to be turned in. Deadlines can always be extended but it is good to have one set as a guide for potential contestants

45 Days before your local

• Send your list of potential judges to Terry Iden. Terry will look over the list and determine if there are conflicts of interest in the judging panel

One month before your local

• Encourage CMNH donations be finalized
• Finalize pageant day schedule
• Secure Auditors
• Order trophies and awards
• Plan music for production
• Begin working on program book
• Send confirmations to contestants with any production information, wardrobe, etc.

Two weeks before your local

• Complete and send judges books to the judges (if possible)

One week before your local

• Confirm with your contestants that have directions to your facility with a set time for arrival or any last minute details
• Check CMNH qualifications
• Confirm with your judges that they know what time to arrive and they have directions
• Print judges and auditors materials (ballots, etc.)
• Send your program book to the printer
• Make sure local volunteers know what time you need them to arrive
• Provide the auditors with the appropriate scoring spreadsheet so they can become familiar with the process BEFORE pageant day.
• Make any necessary reservations for judges meals

24 hours before your local

• Check the CMNH qualifications of your contestants. If they are not qualified in the CMNH portal, they will need to have donations with them in check or cash before they can compete
• Make sure all of the ballots have been printed with the names of the contestants on them including the final ballots.
• Be available via phone and/or email as contestants and/or volunteers will be contacting you

Morning of Competition

• Set up Interview Room
• Hold contestant meeting / rehearsals
• Judges’ orientation
• Interviews begin

Afternoon of Competition

• Continue rehearsals
• Set up auditors’ station
• Auditors’ orientation

Pageant time—Good luck!

48 Hours after Competition

• Complete the 48-Hour form for State Organization

30 Days Following Competition

• Complete your Local Pageant Operating Report
• Prepare to mail your license fees to State Organization
• License fees are due the last day of the month in the month following your pageant. (ie If your pageant is in October, your fees are due on the last day of November)

Helpful notes:

1. Make 2 copies of everything. Always have an extra ballot, affidavit, etc.
2. Ask questions if you are unsure. Your Field Director is a great resource.
3. Respond to all contestant inquiries in a timely manner—recruitment is important!
4. Make sure all of your volunteers are to arrive well before their “need by” time incase someone is running late.
5. Make sure you have access to the MAO Resource Portal, the MAOTeen Resource Portal, and the Miss Indiana Director Resources Page.
6. Remember everyone is a volunteer, treat them with respect and kindness.
7. Ask for help if you need it and make sure you have a good support team to help you through the process.

The following is a list of potential costs that you will incur with a local pageant

• License Fees ($550 for a Miss Local, $300 for a Teen local, due after your pageant)
• Facility costs (vary by facility)
• Crowns: Miss crown, $130; Teen crown, $105 from K.A. Concepts (MAO Resource Portal)
• Sashes: $42.99 + shipping from The Sash Company (MAO Resource Portal)
• Flowers: Bouquets for outgoing titleholder, runners up, and new winners
• Food for contestants and judges on pageant day
• Princess tiaras (only for programs with Princess Camps)
• Program book printing
• Concessions at intermission
• Binders for judges paperwork
• Inviting Miss Indiana or Miss Indiana’s Outstanding Teen to perform/emcee: $50

Many of the items on this list can be sponsored by businesses in your community. You can provide advertising in your program book for potential sponsorships.

The Miss America Organization has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to raise funds and awareness for children’s hospitals throughout the United States. Contestants competing in Miss Indiana locals will raise a minimum of $100 in donations for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Miss America Scholarship Fund.

In order for you to access the Qualification Report for your local contestants, you need to email Sara Church and have her set up an account for you in the CMNH portal.

http://admin.missamerica4kids.org

When contestants enter your local, remind them about the funds that they need to raise and encourage them to get donations in at least a week before the pageant. The night before your local pageant, you need to log in and make sure that all of your contestants are qualified. If a contestant is not qualified, she needs to bring a check or cash for the donation the day of the pageant or she is not eligible to compete.

Following your pageant, you can “Assign a Winner.” By putting a checkmark next to your winner’s name, you will advance her to the State competition where she will raise a minimum of $250 to be qualified to compete.

The Miss contestant with the highest donations will win a “Miracle Maker Scholarship” at the state finals.

If your contestant becomes Miss Indiana, she will raise $500 to qualify for competition in the Miss America Pageant

Outstanding Teen Contestants

CMNH Fundraising is not required by teen contestants but once they win a local title, it is highly encouraged.

After your pageant is over, make sure your teen titleholder is registered on CMNH: http://www.maoteen4kids.org

She can then begin fundraising. The Outstanding Teen with the highest donations will win a “Miracle Maker Scholarship” at the state finals.

The following guidelines apply to choosing judges. Remember, your judging panel must be sent to Terry Iden for approval 45 days before your pageant and changes could be requested due to potential conflicts of interest based on your contestant list.

Panel Diversity

A judges’ panel is comprised of at least five (5) and no more than seven (7) judges and the diversity of your panel is very important. For example, selecting those mostly trained in dance, theater and the arts could produce a subjective outcome, but assembling a mixed group with varied backgrounds will enhance the selection process and ensure the judges’ assessment of a contestant’s qualifications are applicable to the job description for your state and local titleholders.

Consider the male to female ratio in addition to a panel diverse in industry experience/expertise, for example fields of: beauty, fitness, interview, arts, entertainment, education, fashion, business, state/local leadership, etc.

Conflicts of Interest

One of the cornerstones of our organization which must remain infallible is the integrity of our judging system.  Conflicts of interest cannot be tolerated which is why it is important that the judges are properly vetted.  In addition to being familiar with the “Judges Eligibility Rules”, be sure to also safeguard against anything that someone may “perceive” as a conflict of interest. It is paramount that everyone does their due diligence when selecting, vetting and approving judges at the local level.

JUDGES ELIGIBILITY RULES (Rules for Judges) 

1. The judge’s panel should consist of five (5) to seven (7) individuals. At least one of these individuals should be a “novice” judge. “Novice” is defined as anyone who has never judged a local or state pageant within the Miss America system.

2. Judges may judge up to 2 state pageants and 4 local pageants in any given “pageant year.” This is not “Calendar year.” Locals are defined by the number of local contestants sent to any state pageant. Therefore, if an individual judges a dual or double pageant in one state which crowns two (2) winners and a dual or double pageant in another state which crowns two (2) winners, that judge has judged the four (4) local pageants. It is defined as the number of contestants sent to a state pageant.

3. Individuals, their company/business, spouse, domestic partner or significant other, who in any way benefit, financially or otherwise, from working with contestants or the organization are barred from judging. This means that a pageant coach, pageant vocal coach, hairdresser, retailer, make-up artist, fitness trainer, wardrobe specialist, interview coach, choreographer, or any other profession which works directly with contestants, may not judge. This also means that a person who works with any contestants may not judge any other contestants, not just the ones with whom they work.

4. Individuals who are related to contestants through blood relation, by marriage, through business contacts (including with contestants’ families), or social contacts (including with contestants’ families) may not judge that/those contestant(s).

5. State Board Members may not judge locals within the state they serve. We do recognize that some states have rules in place that require the state organization to place judges on first year local pageants. In those cases, the judges placed on those local judge’s panels may not have direct contact with contestants during the state competition.

6. Relatives of state/local board members may not judge the state/local pageant for which the relative serves as a board member. One should also use discretion in using any person, which could compromise or appear to compromise the integrity of the judging process. This would include such relations as business associates, social relationships, etc.

7. Parents and other relatives of a contestant may not judge any pageants. Parents/relatives of a contestant at the local level may not judge local pageants in the state in which the contestant is competing. Parents/relatives of a contestant competing in a state pageant may not judge local or state pageants in any state, regardless of the state in which the contestant is competing.

8. Former contestants and their family members, whether from a local, state, or national Miss America Pageant or a pageant similar in nature to the Miss America Pageant, and regardless if they won one of said pageants, cannot judge until a minimum of three (3) years after they have stopped competing and may never judge any contestant with whom they have competed. “Stopped Competing” is defined as either “ages out”, gets married, won a state title, or otherwise can no longer compete in the Miss America Program. Additionally, using a woman of competition age, even though she may have never competed in the Miss America system, may prove to be a problem if she elects to compete in the program once she has judged.   Judges who may be potential contestants, including MAOT titleholders, MAOT contestants and their family members, are not allowed to judge in any level of the Miss America program until the criteria set forth above is met.

9. A judge may not judge any contestant at the State Pageant, whom they judged in any other pageant, including but not limited to the MAOTeen Program.  Only at the Local Pageant Level may a judge be able to judge a contestant whom they previously judged, however, they must do so with absolute objectivity and without bias.  It is important that the Local Organization’s leadership, to the best of their ability, limit the number of judges who have previously judged the contestants competing in their local competitions.
10. Judges who are related by blood or marriage, romantically involved, business associates, or roommates may not serve on the same judging panel. The reason is that we cannot give the impression that two judges may collude on the panel because of their close relationship.

11. While it is not a violation of the rules to use a person from another pageant system, except in the event the person serves, has served, or plans to serve as an official, key position, partner, sponsor, employee, spokesperson or titleholder, we request that discretion be used and our judging process is not used in any way, to promote another pageant system.

12. Judges may not judge the same pageant two consecutive years. This applies to both local and state pageants.

13. State organizations may not use two individuals from the same state organization in the same year. In addition, state organizations may not use two individuals from the same state organization two consecutive years. At the local level, two individuals from the same local organization may judge another local in the same year, but no members of a local board may judge the same local two consecutive years.

14. Sponsors, partners and contributors (financial or in-kind), as well as their employees and family members are barred from judging.

15. State organizations may have rules regarding local judging which are more restrictive than the rules mentioned above. In addition to the MAO Judges Eligibility Rules, please be aware that the state organization makes final determination on additional rules regarding judging for its locals. If you have questions regarding the interpretation of these rules as they apply to local pageants, please contact your state pageant office for clarification.