The library is open, darlings, and today we’re going to focus on the main way that National American Miss communicates what you need to know about everything: the magazines!
Much like the “everything I need to know I learned in…” posters from back in the day, the NAM magazines literally contain every single thing you need to know, learn and do to be successful. One of the reasons why National American Miss is SO successful as a pageant program is that they give you everything you need to succeed, but in easily understandable amounts. They don’t overwhelm you with a 35 page book at your open call, nor are they uncommunicative.
Their materials are slick, glossy, and well designed. I wish I had examples from earlier years to share, because as the times have changed, they have changed their printed materials as well. Most notably, when we began with NAM in 2012, there was a lot of red, white and blue to drive home the “Americana” image. However around 2016, they shifted to a more feminine rose gold color story in response to changing design trends. The content and delivery method has stayed pretty much the same since we started which is a testament to their commitment to the program’s ideals. Just the look has changed.
Magazine #1 is your overview to NAM. It will outline the required and optional competitions, costs, wardrobe and more. Including sponsor fees. Where most pageant systems fail miserably is in disclosing exactly what things will cost you and what things you are responsible for. NAM explicitly states what things are included with the sponsor fee and what isn’t. The current sponsor fee is $550. Compared to similar systems, this is not overly expensive when you consider how professionally run the program is and what they put into the shows. I have been to other pageants at the national level (with fees that ranged from similar to much more) and walked away feeling like I was cheated because the production value and professionalism came nowhere close to that National American Miss. There’s a reason we refer to it as the “Gold Standard” of pageantry.
Magazine #2 offers more in depth information into required and optional competitions. While thinner than Magazine #1, it has separate pages for each required competition and optional that give explicit details on what is required of each competitor in each segment of competition. If there is a question about any aspect of competition, I generally refer people to Magazine #2. Fun fact: everything you get in the magazines is what is given to the judges! There will be no surprises because they see what you see and are instructed to judge according to what’s in the magazines.
Magazine #3 is all about paperwork. All the forms you will need to complete are contained inside in the respective color and weight for each age division. National American Miss has their program down to a science and the paperwork is crucial! These materials are generally sent out about 3 weeks before your state pageant. For me, three weeks is cutting it too close for comfort because I like to have everything prepared at least 30 days prior for my own piece of mind. Because of my personality quirk, I created a service for other NAM moms to be able to fill out their forms, print and send them via Priority Mail so they have them well in advance. This service is completely optional and doesn’t affect your chances of winning the state queen’s title. I’m not affiliated with or employed by National American Miss, either.
If you ever have any questions about any segment of competition, go back to the magazines.
If you can’t find them, you can head over to the Breanne & Ryan Ewing’s info page to snag PDFs of Magazines #1 and #2. The Ewings are state directors for Arizona/Nevada, Kansas/Missouri, Nebraska/Iowa, Minnesota/Wisconsin and Arkansas/Oklahoma. Bear in mind that the Ewing states have two additional optional events that may not be available in your state: Runway Modeling and Screentest. Because those optionals are not available nationwide, the forms are not available through my service mentioned above.