A few weeks ago I was asked by Steve Mayes to judge the National American Miss pageant in New York. Now up until this event I have not yet experienced NAM (National American Miss) but following the week spent at the National American Miss New York pageant I was hooked.
National American Miss System
Logo for NAM
The reason McDonald’s is the most successful franchise in history is not because they have the best burger…it’s because they have the best system. People find comfort in the familiar. By having a systematic way of running your pageant people know what to expect as far as production, when they are going to get paid (should they win), and how their girls are going to be treated.
By creating a system like NAM has done you will launch your pageant forward in more ways than you could possibly imagine.
National American Miss Director Steve Mayes
The world of pageantry and entertainment is a world of egos. Frequently, when I sit down with pageant coaches, directors and girls I get the opportunity to listen to the person who is sitting on the other side of the table talk about how GREAT they and their organization are.
I have gotten to the point where it no longer bothers me to listen to people whom speak about themselves for hours on end because I learn so much. But, when I met Steve Mayes, who runs the largest directs the pageant in the world, he was down to earth and was just as interested in my business as I was his.
I cannot tell you how rare this is or how much this attitude of servanthood will aid you in constructing a successful pageant organization. People will be interested in you if you are interested in them. Steve Mayes didn’t ask me to write this article, nor did he pay me, nor did he even suggest it though we spoke for several hours.
The reason why I wanted to write this article is because after seeing National American Miss from behind the scenes I thought WOW pageant directors could learn so much from them. So the second key to running the largest most successful pageant in the world is to serve others before serving self.
National American Miss Reviews
No onto the National American Miss pageant. Though I have already touched on how systematic the organization is I have not mentioned anything about the pageant itself. First, nothing is more time consuming than writing a script for a pageant. In NAM their script is pretty much the same from one pageant to the next which I think is brilliant. With all of that time saved you can now focus on getting more girls to come to your pageant, and serving them better. Which will translate to more numbers and a better experience for the girls competing.
Second, EVERY girl gets a flower and a trophy. Since this is a pageantry for beginners they want to instill confidence in the girls whom are competing. NAM encourages their judges to smile throughout the entire competition and to be warm and welcoming to the girls. Everything that I have seen them do was positive and uplifting for the girls.
Which for those of you who know me know that we love all of our Pageant Planet family so this was a HUGE plus for me.
Third, before the last girl was called in their top 20 list they told all of the girls on stage (and the parents in the audience) that they had so much to be proud of and it’s not whether or not you get into the top 20 it’s about the experience and the growth.
National American Miss Tips
Though no pageant is perfect, National American Miss is one of the top 3 pageants that I would recommend to girls just starting to compete. They just do so many things right and I feel that they really do set the standard for how a pageant should be ran.
What has been your experience with National American Miss? I would love to read your NAM reviews below.
