Miss Utah Scholarship Organization Announces 2017 Judges Panel
The organization will crown Miss Utah 2017 on Saturday, June 17, 2017, at Capitol Theatre
SALT LAKE CITY (May 31, 2017) — Today The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization announced the panel of judges who will select Miss Utah 2017. The new Miss Utah will receive over $10,000 in scholarships to college and sponsorships from local businesses. She will also represent Utah at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. on Sunday, September 10th, 2017. It will be broadcast live from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on ABC (9:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET).
Each judge comes with a specific background that will help them select the woman who will best represent the Miss Utah Organization. Below is more information about what each judge brings to the 2017 Miss Utah pageant.
Brooke Anderson Maxwell
This year’s head judge is Miss Utah 1994, Brooke Anderson Maxwell. During her year of service, she promoted her platform, “Youth Against Violence” to over 200 Utah schools and traveled to Japan twice as a goodwill ambassador for the State of Utah. Since her year of service, she has served as the producer and choreographer of the Miss Utah Scholarship Pageant, and as a judge for the Miss New York and Miss Maryland pageants. Brooke has had extensive dance training in ballet, jazz, and tap and has taught dance for 26 years throughout Utah and as a former faculty member of Ballet West Conservatory and Ballet West’s Summer Intensive. Seventeen years ago Brooke opened Utah Dance Artists, a small, one studio dance school in her basement. Today it has grown to be the largest dance studio in Utah, with locations in South Jordan and Draper.
Jessie Funk
Jessie Funk is a certified life-coach and holds a B.S. in Psychology. She’s been a professional youth speaker for fourteen years, speaking at high schools and leadership conferences all over the country. She is a six-time published author and her passion to help teens led her to start an international non-profit organization called “Ivy Girl Academy.” As a professional vocalist, she has released five solo albums, toured 36 states with the Broadway musical “Footloose,” won 11 FCMA awards, and Utah’s “Best of State” for Female vocalist. She has also been hired for hundreds of recording sessions as a studio vocalist including songs heard on TV’s “America’s Got Talent,” ESPN and “The Biggest Loser.” Jessie also directed the Miss Kaysville pageant for two years, served as a field director for Miss Utah, and has cheered for dozens of girls as they have competed in the Miss America Organization.
Nikki Bohne Lloyd
Nikki Bohne Lloyd is a Utah native who has performed throughout the world and on Broadway as a singer, dancer and actor. Most notably, she starred in the Original Broadway Cast of Bring it On: The Musical as “Eva.” She also starred as “Elle Woods” in the Broadway National tour of Legally Blonde and covered the role of “Glinda” in Wicked. Nikki most recently starred in the World Premier of the new musical “I Only Have Eyes For You” in downtown Hollywood. A graduate of Brigham Young University’s Musical Theater program, Nikki also traveled the world with the BYU Young Ambassadors and was seen in numerous productions around Utah.
Dr. Jim Klump
Dr. Jim Klump is a lifelong resident of New Mexico, and has served as the Co-Executive Director for the Miss New Mexico Scholarship Program. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Chemistry from New Mexico State University, and is a graduate from Creighton University School of Dentistry. To date, he has enjoyed a 37-year dental practice. He is a 45-year member and past president of the Alamogordo Noon Lions Club, a past president of the Alamogordo Sports Booster Club as well as a member of the White Sands Film Festival. He currently serves as one of the New Mexico Amigos – the official Goodwill Ambassadors for the state of New Mexico, having just returned from their latest trip to Cuba.
Nancy Marston
Nancy Marston was involved with the Miss Texas Organization for 27 years. She was inducted into the Miss Texas Hall of Honor, and served in almost every capacity, including Business Manager and Traveling Companion to Miss America; travelling across the state with 22 Miss Texas titleholders. Nancy has attended 23 Miss America Pageants and has judged numerous state pageants, including the Miss Hawaii Pageant, which was won by Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio. A graduate of Baylor University, and a former educator, Nancy works in special events, advising college prospects seeking degrees in acting and musical theatre on how to navigate the rigorous process. Nancy is a long-time volunteer in the Dallas area with Junior League and Dallas Junior Forum, and currently serves as a C.A.S.A. (court-appointed special advocate) for abused and neglected children.
Keith Bradshaw
Keith Bradshaw is finishing his 11th and final year as chair of the music department at Southern Utah University (SUU). He holds a doctorate in composition from the University of Minnesota, and masters’ and bachelors’ degrees from Brigham Young University. He teaches courses in music theory, aural skills, orchestration, arranging, and composition. An active composer, his compositions and arrangements have won national awards and received performances nationally and internationally. He was selected to participate in the Minnesota Orchestra and the Plymouth Music Series Reading Sessions, and has received a McKnight Fellowship and a composer residency with the American Composer’s Forum. He currently serves as the Composer-in-Residence with the Orchestra of SUU, and will begin his first year as the associate dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at SUU.
Kelly McKown
Kelly McKown lives in Parker, Colorado where she is the President of Corp1, Inc., a service company forming corporations for attorneys and entrepreneurs, specializing in Delaware corporations. She graduated from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Paralegal Studies. She put herself through school by competing in the Miss America Organization, as well as serving in the US Air Force Reserves as an Aeromedical Evacuation Medic on a C-130. Kelly was activated for Operation Desert Storm during her reign as Miss Center City (KS) and was one of a few reigning titleholders simultaneously on active duty who were featured in the Miss America program book. After competing, she gave back by serving as Chairman of the Miss Colorado Scholarship Organization and then on the Board of Directors of the Miss Delaware Scholarship Organization.
The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization (MUO)
The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an affiliate of the Miss America Scholarship Organization (MAO). The MAO is the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation’s leading achievement programs. For more information about the Miss Utah pageant, visit www.missutahpageant.com.
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PRESS CONTACT
Whitney Thomas, [email protected].