MISS RHODE ISLAND WINS 2007 MISS AMERICA “QUALITY OF LIFE” AWARD

PRESS CONTACT:
Sharon Pearce
Miss America Organization
609-345-7571 x33
sharon@missamerica.org

MISS RHODE ISLAND WINS 2007 MISS AMERICA “QUALITY OF LIFE” AWARD

Miss Arizona and Miss Alabama earn runner-up honors

Las Vegas, NV – January 27, 2007 – Allison Rogers, Miss Rhode Island; Hilary Griffith, Miss Arizona; and Melinda Toole, Miss Alabama were recognized today for their community service as recipients of the 2007 Quality of Life Award from the Miss America Organization. The honors were announced today at a press conference held at the Aladdin, soon to be Planet Hollywood, Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in conjunction with the 2007 Miss America Pageant which will be broadcast live on CMT on Monday, January 29 at 8:00p.m. EST.

Rogers received top honors and a $3,000 scholarship for her work on her platform, Go Green! Global Warming Awareness. Griffith, the first runner-up, earned a $2,000 scholarship for work on her platform, Strength Over Silence: Rape Awareness and Recovery. Toole won second runner-up honors and a $1,000 scholarship for her platform, Character Education.

Miss Rhode Island Allison Rogers, has her M.Ed. degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Special Focus on Environmental Education, and graduated Harvard University with an undergrad degree in Comparative Study of Religion. Her scholastic honors include being a Cum Laude Graduate, a John Harvard Scholar, and an AP Scholar with Distinction. Rogers’ scholastic ambition is to obtain a Mater’s Degree in Business Administration.

Miss Arizona Hilary Griffith, is attending Arizona State University and pursuing a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Her scholastic honors include receiving the ASU President’s Scholarship and the KNXV-TV Scripps-Howard Scholarship, and making the ASU Dean’s Honor List. Griffith’s scholastic ambition is to obtain a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Miss Alabama Melinda Toole, has a degree from Samford University in Early Childhood/ Special Education/Elementary Education & Collaborative. Her scholastic honors include being a Cum Laude Graduate, and on the National Dean’s List, and a member of the Kappa Delta Pi International Educational Honor Society. Toole’s scholastic ambition is to obtain a Masters of Arts Degree in Elementary Education.

The Quality of Life Awards program was introduced in 1988 as the first community service-related scholarships presented to Miss America contestants. They have since been amended with numerous other community service awards sponsored by the Miss America Organization, to contestants at all levels of competition and to high school students.

As the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation's leading achievement programs, The Miss America Organization last year made available more than $45 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance.

The Miss America Organization provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of unique nationwide community-based programs.

Additional information about the Miss America Organization can be found at http://www.MissAmerica.org.

For up-to-the-minute competition news and information as well as downloadable high-resolution images of Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry and the 2007 Contestants visit the 24-hour access online pressroom at http://www.MissAmericaPressRoom.com.

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