After her third and final try, Brittany Shepherd, 23-year-old daughter of Joey and Karrah Shepherd of Ashe County, finally captured the title of America’s Perfect Miss on Aug. 12 in Orlando, Fla.
Brittany competed against 39 other girls who represented various parts of the United States, Canada and Europe. Since Europe was invited to compete this year, the pageant will officially be called World’s Perfect Miss Pageant next year.
It all started when Brittany’s mother entered her photo in an online modeling contest. The winner won her fees paid to N.C.’s Perfect Pageant which was held in Greenville, S.C. On Christmas Day 2009, Brittany received a call that would lead her to this eventful time in her life. She had won the modeling contest and was instructed to get prepared for the upcoming state pageant.
She had no clue what the “Perfect” system was like, but decided to give it a shot. The director had North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia so all three states gathered in Greenville to go head to head to win the state title to give them the right to represent their state at nationals.
Brittany walked away winning North Carolina. She then prepared to head to Orlando in August 2010 to compete for America’s Perfect Miss. She competed against girls across the U.S. and ended up getting in the Top 5 and placed fourth out of 64 girls. It was quite an experience because it was like no other pageant that she had competed in before.
She loved it so much, she said wanted to go back the next year and try to bump up her chances of winning. So in 2011, she went back to Orlando, this time representing South Carolina (you can state hop in this pageant system, when competing on the state level). Competition was fierce (55 young women), but she landed in the Top 15 in the preliminary round and then for the final round, she ended up finishing eighth overall, taking the Best Physique (Swimsuit) award and was awarded the Overall Most Beautiful Perfect Miss, which is the highest score given to the girl who had the most natural beauty. Even though she did not make it back to the Top 5, the two titles she had received were very rewarding to her.
As time drew near for the 2012 Perfect Pageant, Brittany decided to go back to Orlando for her third and final try at the prestigious title of America’s Perfect Miss. This would be the last time she graced the long runway and went in with a mindset that it was do or die and that if she was to win, she had to out shine all the others in every competition.
This year she was up against young women from all over. It just wasn’t “America”, it was international! She competed in three separate phases. One was interview, which is more like a press conference interview. You go on stage before a panel of five judges, as well as the audience. You speak on a topic and the judges and the audience can ask you questions. It is like a red carpet affair with celebrities.
Next, you have swimsuit and evening gown. There are no limitations on what you wear. In fact, one girl from Florida wore tight sequined pants and a top for her evening gown wear.
Not only did Brittany take the title, but she also was awarded the Best Interview, Best Physique (Swimsuit) and the Best Fashionsita (Evening gown) award, meaning she took top honors in every category during the preliminary round.
Brittany’s prize package consists of a scholarship to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting; a scholarship for floral design with the New York School of Flower Design; a scholarship to Premiere Modeling School in Minneapolis, Minn.; $2,000 cash; she will appear on digital billboards throughout the state of Florida; she will appear in the nationally televised Citrus Bowl Parade; wardrobe supplied by various companies; one year’s supply of Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products; numerous photo shoots and modeling/pageant consultations and the list goes on, totaling approximately close to $20,000 worth of prizes.
Throughout the year, she will be working closely with SantaCroce Model Group, based out of Florida, giving her all the opportunities to open up a lot of doors throughout the year. They are currently lining her up for a modeling contest that will begin in October in Cancun, Mexico for Planet Beach (World’s # 1 Spa Franchise). They are looking for a girl who exhibits entrepreneurial spirit, passion for personal self-improvement and an interest in the beauty and wellness industry and is the “IT” girl!
SantaCroce Model Group thinks Brittany is their “IT” girl, plus being a licensed Massage Therapist for the last three years, within a spa environment, doesn’t hurt!
If selected as a finalist in Cancun, Brittany will travel to Las Vegas in January for the final showdown. Should she win, she will be given over $10,000 in cash prizes and she will also receive a Planet Beach Franchise License, valued at $39,950, to aid in the opening up of a Beauty, Spa and Fitness Center, which has always been a dream of Brittany’s. She hopes to find time after her reign to further her education in aesthetics and become certified as a personal trainer.
Brittany will have an exciting year ahead of her and we are very proud of all that she has accomplished. One of her topics for interview was about growing up in a small town and she is very proud to be a part of Ashe County!
Brittany currently resides in Winston Salem and works at Intuitive Touch Massage.
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