LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Welcome to the Miss Utah 2023 Scholarship Competition! The past year has brought a whirlwind of change to the program: Both the state and national organizations experienced change in executive leadership, the contestant age eligibility increased to include up to 28-year-olds, and the scoring criteria has changed to include a Health and Fitness competition in partnership with the American Heart Association. One of my favorite changes is the return of the “Four Points of the Crown,” or the values of Style, Scholarship, Success, and Service. These four principles - with the important addition of Sisterhood - are back as the Miss America Organization’s brand pillars and are guiding decisions to move the program forward into this new era. We appreciate you being part of our program’s new chapter and look forward to what the future holds for the Miss Utah Scholarship Organization.

Though the path to becoming Miss Utah has looked different over the years, Miss Utah has remained a representative of our state’s unique values and defining attributes. For example, Miss Utah has been, and continues to be, talented. Since the talent portion of the competition was added in 1935, Miss Utah representatives have won 32 talent awards at the Miss America Competition - more than any other state organization. People often joke that there must be something in the water here, especially as these talent accolades coincide with a statewide emphasis of developing talents and the long list of Utahns who have pursued successful careers in the performing arts.

Miss Utah also continues to be service-minded. The community service initiative (formerly called the “platform” or “social impact initiative”) aspect of the Miss America program actually originated in Utah. Miss America’s national officials were so impressed by Miss Utah contestants’ impact on our statewide community, that they adopted that concept for all titleholders nationwide in 1989. Our local titleholders’ impact on their communities remains strong and is reflective of a statewide value of serving others. In fact, Utah is continually ranked as the most charitable state in the nation, where on average, Utahns log more annual service hours than our peers in other states.

As our organization continues to move into the future, let’s remember our past. The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization has a rich, 97-year legacy involving hundreds of volunteers and thousands of contestants. We have so much to honor, and Miss Utah Week should be a time to celebrate.

We celebrate all who have been part of this program. We celebrate our 47 contestants and their hard work to compete on the Capitol Theatre stage. We celebrate our statewide network of local volunteers who continue to give so much to this organization. We celebrate our state volunteers’ efforts to make this competition possible. We celebrate Lindsey Larsen, Miss Utah 2022, and her legacy of movement. We celebrate womanhood and the opportunities to empower Utah’s women through style, scholarship, success, service, and sisterhood.

To all who love, support, and believe in this program, We celebrate you. Thank you for being part of our program’s past, present, and future.

Sincerely,

Madison Wilson Executive Director Miss Utah Scholarship Organization, Inc.