Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507240059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER NOTE: Above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Miss Virginia pageant has lost credibility among some recent and past participants, who say that organizers should have seized the 1995 crown from Andrea Ballengee two weeks ago when three inaccurate statements were detected on her application form.
But others involved in the pageant say its governing board should have stuck by Ballengee, and that any damage to the pageant's reputation is the result of the board's flip-flop in first backing but later dumping her.
Phone lines have been buzzing across the state's sizable pageant community ever since July 6, when The Roanoke Times questioned athletic and academic honors that Ballengee claimed on her application form.
She said she was a Phi Beta Kappa member, but later admitted she was not. She claimed to have graduated magna cum laude, but later conceded that was also a mistake. Ballengee also admitted that the "most outstanding female athlete" honor she said she won in high school actually went to another student.
Through all that, the pageant board said she had its "full support." It was only Thursday, after uncovering new information that called into question her honesty, that the board voted to dethrone Ballengee.
It was a decision that has confounded many pageant participants. Some fear bad publicity over the whole affair will affect future participation in local pageants across the state.
"I think with the initial finding that some of these things on her fact sheet were untrue, that her crown should have been taken [two weeks ago,]" said Kinyatta Brown, Miss Williamsburg 1995.
"There are a lot of children who look up to the status or the symbol or the person who Miss Virginia represents. By allowing her to keep the crown under the pretense that she was 'confused,' I think that ultimately left a confusing image of the pageant," Brown said.
"Girls younger than me, they're questioning what it is they're getting involved in and whether they want to do that," Brown added. "If somebody can hold the title and be dishonest, well, what does that say about the title?"
Miss Roanoke 1985, Lisa Strong-Chase, said she and another Miss Virginia contestant from 10 years ago were about to launch a "dump Ballengee" letter-writing campaign.
"It seems to me that the [the pageant board] went out of their way to cover up everything and make [the inaccuracies] a non-issue," said Strong-Chase, who now lives in Raleigh, N.C.
In a letter to pageant Executive Director Margaret Baker this week, Strong-Chase wrote:
"The [pageant] governing board's initial decision sent a disturbing message to the public, especially today's youth: Go ahead and lie, you don't have to pay the consequences."
Karen McNew, Miss New River Valley 1995, said the board's delay in yanking the crown "shows some indecision on their part."
What she can't fathom is why Ballengee gets to keep a $7,500 scholarship, which pageant officials have termed "nonforfeitable."
"It questions, a little bit, the credibility of the whole pageant," McNew said. "Either take everything away from her or nothing."
Stacey Bellamy, Miss Chesterfield 1995, said the whole affair has reinforced an opinion widely held by the public that pageants "are frivolous."
"They don't know about the long hours of community service we put in, about all the hard work," Bellamy said.
M.C. Gravely, director of the Miss Central Shenandoah Valley pageant - which Ballengee won two years ago - said he still supports her. Instead, he questioned the pageant board's actions.
"It bothers me that Andrea received a vote of confidence on July 11, then on the 19th or 20th they vote to oust her," Gravely said. "It's disturbing to me. I don't know how much it's damaged the program, but yes, I think it has damaged it."
Jane Benton, Miss Hampton-Newport News 1985, said the mishandling of the affair and resulting bad publicity may come back to haunt the pageant when it goes seeking financial support in the future.
"Unfortunately, because of incidents like this, I think it's hard for them to find sponsors to give money," Benton said.
Dawn Lynn Tuttle, Miss Lynchburg 1995, said she has prayed for Ballengee in the past two weeks.
Asked if she thought organizers handled the matter correctly, she said:
"I can't answer that question. It's something like the O.J. Simpson trial. We'll never really know."
by CNB