Santa Clara, Calif. – November 3, 2005 – The Miss Santa Clara Competition, an official preliminary of the Miss California and Miss America Programs, will showcase the talents and accomplishments of local college, high school and middle school students in the community. Two competitions will be held on January 7th – the Miss Santa Clara Competition (for women ages 17-24) and the Santa Clara's Outstanding Teen Competition (for girls ages 13-16). In the “Miss” competition, contestants will compete in Interview, Talent, Casual Wear, On-Stage Question, Swimwear/Fitness and Evening Wear categories. In the “Teen” competition, contestants will compete in Interview, Talent, Casual Wear, On-Stage Question, Physical Fitness and Evening Wear.

This year, the Miss Santa Clara Auxiliary will award over $15,000 in educational scholarships. The funds will be distributed to the winners, runners-up, and other contestants who win special awards, including Top Interview and Miss Congeniality. Contestants are guaranteed a minimum scholarship regardless of their standing at the end of the competition. There is no fee to enter the competition.

The two competitions will feature Laura Johnston, Miss Santa Clara 2005; Kaila Sergent, Santa Clara's Outstanding Teen 2005; Greta McAnany, Mission City's Outstanding Teen 2004; Megan Smith Brownell, Miss Santa Clara 1995 and Danielle Coney, Miss California 1998.

The competition will be held Saturday, January 7th, at the Mission City Center for the Performing Arts, located at 3250 Monroe Street Santa Clara, CA 95051. The Teen Competition begins at 2:00p.m. (doors open at 1:30pm) and the Miss Competition begins at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30). Tickets are $10 for the afternoon competition and $15 for the evening competition. If available, tickets will also be sold at the door. To purchase tickets in advance or for more information, contact Mary McCaman, executive director at 244-6840 or by email at dmccama@pacbell.net.