The return of Miss Greater Akron

MANSFIELD, May 17, 2004 � There will be no Miss Greater Akron competing for the title of Miss Ohio next month, but the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program Board of Directors is announcing the return of the Miss Greater Akron program for 2005. The current Miss Ohio, Janelle Couts, hails from Akron but represented Medina County in the 2003 program.

�My co-director Zaina Agbo and I are thrilled to bring this program back to Akron. It provides a great opportunity for young women to earn scholarship dollars while pursuing their dreams of becoming Miss America. Miss Greater Akron is only the first step,� said Meghan Markovich, Miss Greater Akron executive director and Miss Greater Akron 2001. �Miss Greater Akron celebrates the best and brightest young women in our area and we are proud to make this program happen again,� Markovich added.

Miss Greater Akron 2005 will receive a minimum $1,000 scholarship and will go on to compete in the Miss Ohio. Contestants compete in personal interview, onstage interview and talent and model casual wear, evening wear and swim wear. Each young woman chooses a community service platform that she deems important and that she will be an advocate for throughout her year of service.

�We�ve already experienced an outpouring of support from the local community to bring this program back to Akron, and we�re hopeful this means we will achieve our goals for the year. We want to recruit new contestants to the Miss America program and find sponsors in the Akron area that are willing to give Akron women the opportunity to further their educations,� Agbo said.

The show will be held January 30, 2005. Former Miss Greater Akron and Miss Stark County 2004, Marlia Fontaine, will return to crown the winner. Miss Greater Akron will receive a minimum $1,000 scholarship and the ability to compete for the title of Miss Ohio in June 2005. The winner of the Miss Ohio will go on to Miss America.

Eligible contestants must be between the ages of 17-24 and live, work, or attend school in Summit, Medina, Portage, Trumbull or Mahoning counties. Applications will be accepted October 1 through December 31, but information about the program is available at [email protected].

The Miss Greater Akron Scholarship Program is an official preliminary to Miss Ohio and Miss America and is committed to the advancement of Ohio�s young women. Zaina Agbo and Meghan Markovich are the Executive Directors. The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. For more information, go to www.missohio.org or www.missamerica.org.