Fil-Dutch beauty queen to carry Empire State banner to Miss USA

By ELTON LUGAY

It would be nice to win Miss USA 2014, but one of Filipino-Dutch model Candace Kendall’s biggest dreams is to one day work for Donald Trump. The reigning Miss New York USA said that with her degree in accounting and finance and her passion for beauty pageants, she would love to run the Trump-owned Miss Universe Organization, manage its operations, and make sure it stays in the black. Candace, 25, will be representing New York State in the Miss USA contest on June 8 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Winning Miss USA will usher her into the largest pageant in the world, the Miss Universe. In 2006, she won Miss New York Teen USA, so she knew the ropes and how a crown felt on her head. “When I won Miss New York Teen, I was very surprised,” she recalled. “I didn’t really know what to expect once. It made me a little nervous but of course I was excited and thankful for the opportunity.”


“Now that I’ve had years to think about Miss New York, I knew what to expect and I worked very hard for the pageant. So when I won, of course it’s still a surprise, it’s a great honor but I knew that I worked very hard,” Candace continued. It’s not easy to mistake Candace for Asian, but there is Filipino blood in that radiant look she possesses. Her father Marcus Kuykendall, a document specialist, is of Filipino-Dutch ethnicity. He was born in Queens. Her mother Valerie is Dutch. She is a scientist and creates a variety of inks for inkjet printers. The family surname was shortened to the more Anglo-sounding ‘Kendall.’ Her paternal grandfather, George Kuykendall, was born and raised in Baguio. “My grandfather came to America towards the end of World War II. I’ve been fortunate to receive some gifts from him from the Philippines. I have a shirt, a belt and a sword. It’s actually passed down from my great grandfather,” she said. Her ‘lolo’ is long gone, but her family believes she got her almond-shaped eyes from him. “I have great memories with him but I didn’t know too many stories as I was very young when he left us,” she said. She does not speak the Filipino language, but can count numbers in Tagalog. “Filipinos are such genuinely nice people,” she asserted.

Kendall doesn’t have any siblings but she grew up in Rochester with a best friend by her side all the time. “I have this girlfriend since 3 years old, and we declare ourselves cousins,” she said. “We had our parents signed a piece of paper saying that we’re cousins.” Although she has an accounting and finance degree from St. John Fisher College outside of Rochester, Candace pursued modeling at Ford Models after college. The idea of being able to travel boosted her decision. She has been to Singapore and stayed there for three months. “My experience there was so nice,” she said. “Their culture was very interesting and they’re actually pretty Americanized.” While in Singapore, she was tempted to stop by Manila, but her contract did not allow any side trips. “I would love to go to the Philippines.” Candace is also looking to start her own model placement company, inspired by her own favorable experience. She said, “I have a manager who helps me get signed to these agencies all over the world. Now, I want to do that for other women. I want to help them pursue their dream and make their dreams come true in the modeling industry.” The essential Candace loves meeting people from all walks of life. “I love learning about people and communicating. I’ve been going around and speaking to students and schools about different topics that are happening right now. I try to tell them to be the best person they can be and I think that’s really important.”

The ideal beauty queen is one who exudes confidence. “She is someone who is confident in herself but at the same time she is also able to make other people feel confident.” The Miss USA slogan, “Confidently Beautiful,” speaks to her, she said. “Just being confident and happy about yourself on the inside and out I think is so important. I want people to know that they might be happy to meet me, but I’m also happy to meet them.” “I hope to become the next CFO of the Miss Universe Organization,” she told The FilAm in an interview in Chelsea. “He is great at playing the guitar and loves being outdoors,” Candace described her father. “We go hiking and kayaking together.”

Miss Virginia USA prepares for Miss USA Pageant

Miss Nebraska USA preparing for national pageant

Posted By: Camila Orti

Miss Nebraska USA, 22-year-old Amanda Soltero, is packing up her gowns and heading to Baton Rouge."This is it, this is the real deal," Soltero said. She's chasing her childhood dreams and competing in the 2014 Miss USA pageant in June, an event she would always watch with her mom growing up. "I've been watching it for so long and this year I'm not going to be watching it because I'm going to be in it, I really can't believe it," Soltero said. The Columbus native (and former Channel 8 intern) was crowned Miss Nebraska USA on January 5th. She says it was a moment she'll never forget.

"When I heard my name my mouth just dropped open, I just remember crying and I just couldn't believe it," Soltero said. Now, it's all about the national title. Soltero and 50 other women will compete for the Miss USA crown on June 8th. Her goal is to put Nebraska on the map; there has never been a Miss USA winner from the Cornhusker State since the pageant began in 1952. "I would love to be that exception and just really show people what Nebraska is made of," Soltero said. Soltero has been using her title to raise awareness for childhood cancer. She's been involved with a nonprofit called Sammy's Superheroes, an organization started by a 6-year-old boy and his family from her hometown. Sammy is fighting neuroblastoma. 

Miss Florida USA 2015 Returns to Original Home

by Grant Gravitt, Jr / Direcor, Miss FL USA

It is with much pleasure that we announce that Miss Florida USA 2015 will return to the historic Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale. The classic theater will host the seventy-plus delegates for two evenings of pageant competition leading to the announcement of our state champion and representative at Miss USA. The state wide and international broadcast will highlight the final evening of Saturday July 12th while Friday evening July 11th will see all of the delegates in the preliminary competitions of swimsuit and evening gowns. Parker Playhouse hosted the early broadcast years of Miss Florida USA as the competitions between 1983 and 1988 were held in this historic theater that his seen the likes of Carol Channing, Ann Miler and other classic greats of the stage. 

The Parker Playhouse curtain rose for the first time on February 6, 1967. One of Fort Lauderdale’s first venues, the neo-classical Playhouse, was built by Dr. Louis Parker and is managed now by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. This 1,167-seat fully equipped theater plays an important role in the community by serving as a vibrant part of the area. Look for ticket information in Miss FL USA's next Ezine, only at http://www.missfloridausa.com/.

Newly-crowned Miss Universe Thailand in hot water over 'red shirts' remarks

(CNN) -- She was only crowned Miss Universe Thailand on Saturday but Weluree "Fai" Ditsayabut has already become caught up in the political crisis engulfing her country, after comments were found on her Facebook page referring to pro-government demonstrators as "dirty," "evil activists" that should "all be executed." According to news site Khaosod English, the 22-year-old has often published scathing comments about the "red shirt" movement on her Facebook page, which now appears to have been deleted.
"I am not neutral. I am on the side of His Majesty the King," Weluree said in a comment from November, Khaosod English reported. "I'm so angry at these evil activists. They should all be executed." Weluree reportedly said Thailand would be cleaner if the "dirty" red shirts left the country.

Pro-government supporters have questioned Weluree's pageant victory on popular online forums and social media sites. A Facebook page in protest of her winning the competition had over 10,000 "likes" on Monday -- although some users criticized her appearance and claimed she won because of her connections, rather than raising concerns about her anti-red shirt comments. The deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, Phil Robertson, condemned Weluree's remarks on Twitter. "Perhaps (a) better title is Miss Politically Divided #Thailand? Shameful when beauty queens are calling for executions," he wrote.
Weluree -- an actress, talk show host, and English student -- apologized Monday for the remarks in an interview on Thailand's Channel 3. "I was careless. I was young. I did it recklessly," she said. "It won't happen again." Weluree beat the pageant favorite Pimbongkod "Ellie" Chankaew who placed second in Saturday's competition. The pageant organizers have not responded to the controversy, nor have the leaders of the pro-government movement.

Thailand's political turmoil began in November when the government attempted to pass a controversial amnesty bill that would have cleared the way for the return of then-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's brother, Thaksin, to politics. The former prime minister and tycoon has been living in self-imposed exile to avoid a corruption conviction after being overthrown in a military coup in 2006. Since November, the People's Democratic Reform Committee has led anti-government protesters, who are mostly middle-class royalists, in calling for Yingluck's government to be replaced with an unelected "people's council."
Competing rallies have been held by pro-government supporters, many of whom come from the country's rural north and northeast and view Shinawatra's ouster as a "judicial coup." 

Yingluck was found guilty of abuse of power and removed from office along with several cabinet ministers on May 7, and indicted by Thailand's anti-graft body. If the Senate votes to impeach her, she could be banned from politics for five years. Monday marks a particularly sensitive day for the red shirt movement as the anniversary of a military crackdown that left more than 90 people dead and thousands injured in 2010.