Miss Nevada and Miss Nevada Teen USA: ‘It’s going to be a great competition’

Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez hosts Sunday, with Miss Nevada USA 2012 Jade Kelsall and Lauren Cahlan, Mrs. Nevada America 2016, as two of the judges alongside Michael Boychuck of Color Salon at Caesars Palace, pageant coach Ross Walters and plastic surgeon Dr. Ben Tali.

Emelina Adams, Miss Nevada USA 2016, and Carissa Morrow, Miss Nevada Teen USA 2016, will be there to crown their successors. They also will host the preliminaries at 2 p.m. Sunday. Nia, Nevada’s first Miss USA and first runner-up at Miss Universe, hosts the Miss Nevada USA finals with Las Vegas musician Josh Keating at 7 p.m. Singer-guitarist Brett Young will entertain throughout the competition.

‘WITH A VENGEANCE’

Miss USA 1995 Shanna Moakler is our Miss Nevada USA state director: “I know that I say it every year, but our girls this year look really good. Nevada always brings its A-game. I’m super excited; we’re going to Miss USA with a vengeance this time. We have about 25 Miss Nevada contestants and 15 girls in the teen pageant. Our first runner-up and second runner-up last year are back, and we have beautiful new faces. It’s going to be a great competition.”

Amanda Jackson, who was a Miss Nevada Teen, will compete for a second year in Miss Nevada USA, where she was first runner-up last year. Kimberly Andres, who was second runner-up last year, also is returning. Shanna continued:

“The competition’s tough this year, and now that IMG are the second-year owners of Miss Universe, it’s helped me get a perspective of what they’re looking for. It’s definitely different than the days when Donald Trump was the owner. I think Donald was always looking for that super-sexy, super-glamorous, iconic beauty, while I feel that IMG is going a little bit more all-American, natural, still stunning and beautiful, but a little bit more relatable.

“The teens this year will wear athletic wear instead of swimsuits. The Miss USA contenders still have their Sunkissed tops and bottoms, but the teens will be wearing active-wear by Fiber Las Vegas. IMG and Miss Universe have made it so by next year, all the state pageants, all the teen competitions, will be in active wear.

“That’s pretty good because it makes a lot of parents feel more comfortable. The teens aren’t happy with it, but I think the parents and the spectators are happy with it. I think Donald would be upset with that decision.”

Where does Shanna find her Miss Nevada USA hopefuls? “We go all over Nevada all year long to schools and colleges and nightclubs, everywhere and open calls,” she said. “Any girl who wants to participate is more than welcome. It’s a matter of what age they are and if they want to do it.

“Everybody thinks you have to be a blonde to win. But I’ve only had one blonde title-holder, Chelsea Caswell in 2013. They’ve all been brunettes. I’ll welcome a blonde if one is declared the winner. We have a lot of blondes among the teen contestants. It’s going to be interesting to see who takes the crown this year.”

‘AMBITIOUS, DRIVEN AND CONFIDENT’

Is it the sparkle in the eyes, smile on the face or the way they stand while posing that catches Shanna’s attention? She explained: “That first moment when I meet with young girls, we’re always looking for a young girl who is confident, and the confidence really radiates and shows their beauty.

“When they are more conversational, they have a sparkle in their eye. They’re excited to be there, and they want to better themselves and more opportunities than what they have. They want to go out there and change their lives. That’s someone I want. I’m looking for the young girl who is ambitious and driven and confident and believes in herself.

“I know they always say Nevada girls look more showgirl nightclub rather than Middle America, but that’s Las Vegas. I love making our girls glamorous and gorgeous, but I just try to bring out the best in each girl and to really make their attributes shine. … They’re beautiful and they’re stunning. On the Strip and in Las Vegas and in Nevada, we have beautiful, stunning girls who don’t mind being sexy. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with being sexy and beautiful.”

“I’m very proud of my work in Nevada because it’s completely changed the state since I took over running it here in 2011,” said Shanna. “We’ve had a Miss USA, we’ve had three Top Five, one Top 15, and in Teen USA this year with Carissa Morrow, she was our first teen to make the Top Five and get third runner-up, so that was really exciting.”

“It speaks highly of our Nevada contestants particularly when you realize Nevada has never had a Miss USA in the 60 years of Miss Universe. Nia was the first Miss USA for Nevada in the history of Miss Universe.

“It’s really about working with the girls. When you take the time to get to know who the queens are and work with them and find out what it is that they want to do with their year as a titleholder — working with charities or getting into the community or working on bettering themselves. The key is making sure that they’re prepared for nationals. I work with them really hard all year long to make sure that when they go to nationals, they have everything they need.

‘BEING CONFIDENTLY BEAUTIFUL’

“It was a really special, special moment when Nia won Miss USA and almost won Miss Universe. She’s sexy, and she knows how to turn it on when she’s onstage. She’s also very girl next door and very relatable to women and men. She loves being a Miss USA, she loves meeting new people, going to events and being a volunteer for charities. Nia is a girl’s best friend and can be very sexy and beautiful at the same time. Not very many women have that whole package.

“I was Miss USA in 1995 when I was 19 years old, and Donald Trump bought the pageant in 1996. In my day, it was much more structured, the way you posed and things you wore, and it was much more conservative. With Donald, the stages got bigger, the lighting, everything, the music acts. Everything became bigger and grander, and the girls got to have more fun onstage and show their personalities more. It definitely changed, and I loved what he did to it.

“That’s just over 20 years now for me. I think it went from being controlled and conservative to being confidently beautiful. I’m so proud of it. Donald is and was the best. He made great strides with the pageant, and he gave a lot of respect to all of the women.

“Tara Conner, who was well-known here in Las Vegas, got to keep her 2006 crown after reports surfaced about her underage drinking and drug problems. Donald gave her a huge second chance. He changed her life, and she’s doing amazing things today traveling the country and speaking all over the nation on sobriety.

“It’s all about being confidently beautiful and having your life changed.”