Alabama | Illinois | Indiana  Louisiana | Mississippi

UPDATE: August 12, 2020

 

Over the past year, we have been excitedly planning for the state pageant and for those special moments throughout the weekend when we can celebrate each of you. 
 
NAM has been evaluating the COVID-19 situation very closely in Indianapolis, IN. The COVID-19 cases and positivity rate have sharply increased in Indiana (and Illinois). After our latest call with the health department, we will not be able to safely hold our live event Labor Day weekend because of this dramatic increase in cases. It simply isn’t safe and the health of the State Finalists, all of the families, judges and NAM staff comes first. This has been the case for several other state pageants: California, Washington, Oregon, New York, Missouri, Kansas, North Texas.
 
Fortunately, we do have our COVID-19 Action Plan in place so that our fully paid Illinois/Indiana State Finalists can choose one of the following options (including options that add an additional $350 credit to your account!)

You can go directly to the National Pageant in Orlando, FL over Thanksgiving in one of two ways!  

(Option 1) BECOME A STATE QUEEN! You can still compete for the title of Miss Indiana 2020 or Miss Illinois 2020 for your age group because the state titles will still be awarded! It just won’t be able to be in person at a live event. In order to do this, your state sponsor fee must be paid in full by 11:59pm EST on August 12th (tonight) to be eligible to compete for your State Title through our “Appointed State Queen” program. If you are selected as the new State Queen, all your fees paid to state will transfer to Nationals PLUS you will receive an additional $350 credit towards your national account. To apply for the Appointed State Title, visit namiss.com/appointed. If you still owe any of your state sponsor fee, just let us know if you want to pay it before midnight so you can be eligible for this option and we  will send you an online payment link for that amount.
 
OR
 
(Option 2) BECOME A CITY QUEEN! To become a city queen and compete for a separate National title called “All-American Miss” all that you need to do is have your sponsor fee paid in full by 11:59pm EST on August 12 (tonight) in order to be eligible. All your state fees transfer to Nationals, you would compete at the 2020 All-American Miss National Pageant in Orlando, FL over Thanksgiving, PLUS you will receive a free credit of $350 for your 2020 national account. While you do not need to compete for a city title, you do need to apply to attend Nationals and can do so by visiting namnationals.com. If you still owe any of your state sponsor fee, just let us know if you want to pay it before midnight so you can be eligible for this option and we will send you an online payment link for that amount.

(Option 3) Or your state funds will remain on your account for the 2021 State Pageant.  

If you want to take advantage of Option 1 or Option 2, please send us an email and then go the link provided above for that option. If we do not hear from you, we will assume you have selected Option 3 and your state payments will continue to remain on your account for the 2021 state pageant. We are negotiating with hotels now for 2021 and will release that date as soon as possible (we are trying to schedule it for late July).
 
We hope you will consider Options 1 and 2 because these are exceptional opportunities – especially with the added value of the $350 credit that will be added to your account for Nationals! We work hard all year and look forward to spending this special weekend with our NAMILY.  This has been an unprecedented year and we are determined to grow stronger as a result of it – and will be focusing our efforts now on planning and producing a spectacular state pageant for 2021!

UPDATE: July 8, 2020

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We are working around the clock - talking to officials, juggling schedules and plans, researching health and government guidelines and regulations, asking for clarification on every detail, developing and exploring options, consulting with our fellow state directors and the national office and doing everything possible to ensure we can provide a wonderful (and safe!) pageant experience for our State Finalists and their families - and to that end, we have an update and a very important request for information.

 

First an update on new government restrictions. Our host hotel is located in Marion County in Indiana and a public health order has now been issued that:

 

• Limits the total number of convention attendees to 250 people TOTAL on the premises (that would include all contestants, parents, family members, and our staff)

• And requires masks in public indoor spaces (even when social distancing is maintained, masks are still required indoors).

 

Over the past several days, we have been on the phone with government officials and the hotel to ask many questions and have been told the following:

 

Contestants, parents, family members, and staff will all be required to wear masks at all times indoors, except

• You will not have to wear a mask while eating.

• You will not have to wear a mask while you are in your hotel room.

• You will not have to wear a mask if you are outside, as long as you maintain 6-feet of social distance.

• Contestants will have to wear masks during competitions indoors, including while on stage.

• If you have a health condition that prevents you from wearing a mask, you will have to provide a physician’s note.

 

Between now and pageant weekend, these orders may be revised or lifted, but we have to proceed as if they will be in place. After much thought and consultation with the national office, we have made the following adjustments in order to be able to hold our event with those current restrictions:

 

1. Everyone who attends, including contestants, must wear a mask at all times indoors, unless in their room or when eating.

2. Because we can’t have more than 250 people at the venue at any one time throughout pageant weekend, we will have to adjust the schedule because we can’t have ALL age groups present at one time, therefore:

   • Princess and Jr Pre-Teen will begin Friday at 9 a.m. and will end Saturday by 10 p.m.

   • Pre-Teen, Jr Teen, Teen, and Miss will begin Sunday at 9 a.m. and will end Monday by 10 p.m.

3. Each State Finalist will be allowed to have up to three people accompany her to the event, (this may be increased later to 4, but at this time, we can only guarantee 3 per girl). Your three guests will receive wrist bands which they must wear at all times while at the hotel. Your guests will also need to purchase a ticket if they want to attend the finale and those tickets will be limited to 3 per girl (we will try to increase that number if possible, but it is set at 3 right now).

 

A word about masks. We understand that all of us wish the contestants did not have to wear masks during pageant weekend. But we also realize that masks may be part of life for a little while in many parts of the country. Each week, more and more states and municipalities are enacting mandates or public health orders that define requirements for social distancing, crowd sizes, capacity limits, and masks. Our new Miss Indiana and Miss Illinois queens may be wearing masks as they make appearances during part of their reign too. We’ve seen some very pretty masks (some girls even match them to their outfits) and we’ve recently seen photos at events and appearances where the queens have on masks and look lovely. And there are even masks available that have clear panels over the mouth area that you may want to check out online (we have seen several different versions just by doing a Google search.)

 

We all look forward to brighter days ahead when hugs are okay and smiling faces are visible again….but until then, we are adapting with some new procedures.

 

REQUIRED COMPETITIONS

 

• Personal Introduction

You will present your personal introduction on stage wearing a mask. The microphone will be adjusted to each contestant’s height and sanitized between each contestant by NAM.

 

• Formal Wear with Escort

Both you and your escort must wear a mask. All contestants will be required to bring their own escort. We will not allow or provide volunteer escorts.

 

• Interview

You and the judge will be wearing a mask during interview. If the weather cooperates, we may have the option of holding the interviews outside in the courtyard and then masks would not be required. But if it’s raining, we will have to conduct them inside with masks.

 

• Community Service

You will not bring your donation to the pageant. You will donate your school supplies or children’s book to a local charity of your choice. We will operate on the honor system and assume that you have fulfilled this requirement. Please do not bring your donations to the pageant.

 

OPTIONALS

 

• Top Model

Top Model will be held outside and you will NOT have to wear a mask during your photo shoot. The photographer and judges will maintain social distancing. The hotel has a beautiful courtyard that is well suited for photographs. If it is raining, we have an alternate location at the hotel with an overhead covering that is still outdoors.

 

• Casual Wear

This will be on stage and you will be required to wear a mask while competing.

 

• Runway

This will be on stage and you will be required to wear a mask while competing.

 

• Spokesmodel

You will submit your spokesmodel speech on video by August 7.

 

• Actress

You will submit your actress performance (two takes) on video by Aug 7.

 

• Talent

You will submit your talent performance on video by Aug. 7.

 

• Red Carpet Correspondent

You will submit your Red Carpet Correspondent presentation (two takes) on video by Aug. 7.

 

• Photogenic, Art Contest, Recommendations, Academic Achievement, Heart of Service

You will still turn these items in at Pageant Check-In.

 

We understand if you are disappointed not to be able to perform some of these optional competitions on stage – but on a bright note, you will have the opportunity to record yourself a few times and then submit your best performance – so that could be a plus!

 

We will be sharing other notes soon about how pageant check-in will work, rehearsals, awards, additional sanitizing measures, lineups, etc. But for now, we wanted to be sure to let you know how the competitions will work.