THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 30, 1994 TAG: 9412290155
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
IT TAKES A PRETTY SMILE, elegant dresses, good manners and more to make the final cut in the Miss Philippines of Virginia Pageant.
A lot more.
You also need an abundance of talent, the ability to raise money for charity and a willingness to work hard.
Oh, and one more thing: a supportive family helps a lot.
Susan ``Susie'' Alfonso will tell you that.
She's the Salem High School junior who won the crown in the 1995 pageant sponsored by the Filipino Women's Club of Tidewater.
``My mom was the biggest help,'' Alfonso said with a shy smile.
It was Linda Alfonso who coordinated the traditional Filipino dresses, leant a hand with selling tickets and ads and who supported her daughter every step of the way.
The most tangible result of all the hard work was a table full of trophies, a glittery crown and the opportunity to represent the Filipino community at such events as the Azalea and Neptune festivals.
A less tangible but visible result was the pride of the whole family, including her dad, Feliz, and big brothers Feliz Jr., Manny and Bob.
On her way to winning the crown, Susie Alfonso took first place in the talent, hospitality, congeniality and interview divisions of the contest as well as being named Miss Sampaguita.
All of that happened on a Saturday night in mid-December when the annual pageant was held at the Pavilion.
On the following Monday, Alfonso was back at Salem where she's an honor student who enjoys music (rhythm and blues and the group Boyz 2 Men are favorites), talking on the phone and shopping.
Although she's an accomplished violinist who plays in the school orchestra, she chose to sing in the pageant's talent contest. Vanessa Williams' ``Save the Best for Last'' was the song that won her the talent award.
Susie Alfonso, like most of the pageant contestants, appears to have one tiny foot planted firmly in each of the worlds that have reared her.
Born at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Alfonso has spent most of her life in the Hampton Roads area. She's made only one trip to the Philippines. She was 10.
``I learned a lot, though, about my grandmothers and my aunties and my cousins and the way they live,'' she said. ``They're out in the country. It's very different from here.
``I want to go back again as soon as I can, to learn more about the Philippines,'' she added.
Learning more about the Philippines is what the pageant is all about.
``The pageant focuses on the preservation of a tradition inherent among Filipinos,'' said Venus Tomaneng, president of the Filipino Women's Club of Tidewater. ``Among other things it brings out hidden talents and cultivates the personalities of our young adults. (It's a) benevolent tradition handed down through generations.''
Alfonso is looking forward to the coming year, which should offer plenty of opportunities to don the crown and one of the traditional dresses sent to her by her aunts in the Philippines.
The one in which she was crowned at the pageant is a billowy, sequin-trimmed white confection, the perfect foil for her creamy complexion and jet black hair.
She hopes, however, to be wearing a more utilitarian form of white clothes one of these days.
``I want to go into medicine,'' she said. ``I plan to be a doctor.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JO-ANN CLEGG
Susie Alfonso was crowned Miss Philippines of Virginia in a billowy,
sequin-trimmed white confection gown, the perfect foil for her
creamy complexion and jet black hair.
by CNB