Has any one heard of this National American Miss pagent. Is it legit or is it a scam.I got ecepted to be one of the state finalists to compete but i am not sure if its a scam or not. PLease help me out and let me know.

congrats! I would research the cost of that pageant compared to ohter known to be legit ones. I looked into it for my dd, it was a mail solicitation, and I called to find out the info before entering her. It was way too much money for us and it didn't seem right to me. It may be a reasonable amount of money, but maybe you could find that out. Try doing a search on this message board? Good luck.

Nam is one of the most legit and largest pageant systems in this country. They do a terrific job in building self-confidence, public speaking and the girls have a ton of fun. It is expensive, but most pageants of this caliber are in a similar price range.

If you are interested in pageants then you should look into it. It will not help you with your acting or print career, so if that is what they are telling you, then you should skip it.

At the risk of insulting surfingmo8, please take a one-post newbie's comments on a money-making venture with a grain of salt. He or she could be right on, or someone associated with this organization and there really is no way for us to tell with the anonymous nature of the web, no matter what he or she says in later posts.

I think there is a forum for pageant people--try a google search and post there as well.

And please be careful, there seem to be a huge number of scams going on right now.

hi, I'm not insulted. I am only associated with this pageant because my daughter has been in it and has had a great growth of personal self confidence through it. At age 10 she is able to get up in front of a large audience and give a speech on a platform that is of great importance to her. But you are right - this is not a venue to further an acting career, and this topic probably isn't for this forum.

Thank You guys all so very much! This is really going to help me make my decsion.

Advice from Bonnie Gillespie, author of "Self Management for Actors"

quote:

Should pageants even be mentioned in a kid's acting resumé? After we got our daughters an acting coach and they had to unlearn some of the mannerisms, I'm having my doubts about including it at all, even though they won several times.

If you are truly pursuing acting, pull the pageants off the acting resumé altogether. As you've learned from the experience your daughters had with the acting coach, there are mannerisms associated with pageants that don't help a young actor in the pursuit of acting. There's a stigma attached and that could hurt your young actor more than help her. Consider including the "wins" in the Special Skills section of the resumé if you're really attached to them, but honestly, I'd recommend pulling off pageant-related activity altogether from an acting resumé, as the two worlds aren't really connected.

NA Miss is the most legitimate systems out there. I competed in pageants for years as well as judged and I can tell you, after a great deal of research for a pageant for my daughter, that this is the best system there is! $450 for a State pageant is extremely reasonable, especially for this caliber of this pageant. Every girl is treated equal. At no time is a girl judged on her facial beauty. Her size has nothing to do with it. In fact, one girl in the teen division in our state a few years ago was about a 170 pounds but was 1st runner-up and went on to be 3rd runner-up at nationals. This system teaches our girls that it's what they have inside - their hearts, their communications skills, their "overall" appearance, their confidence. This is a system that my daughter and I will stay with for years to come. The $450 is a small investment into what I consider one of the best confidence boosters there are out there.

We had a running joke about the pageants a few months ago because a bunch of us all recieved the entry solicitaion stuff. Now I have no doubt that they can be confidence boosters etc. but as far as being connected to acting in any way, they just arent and like Bonnie G says, if anything, they can be a stigma.
Anyway, the joke was that with so many pageant offers, we werent sure if it was "The National Miss America", "The Miss National America", The American National Miss. "The American Miss Natinional" etc etc etc. There seems to be tons of these pageants, all named similarly, and if you ask me, it's a money making venture for the owners of them....like an IPOP or IMTA and little more.
I dont blame parents who want their kids to have an experience or get a little confidence boosting etc. but after one, I cant imagine doing another or being on that Pageant "Circuit". Have you ever heard one of those kids give a speech? It's ridiculously sugery and borders on ludicrous acting. It's the type of training that would get your kid laughed right out of a casting office and that is what Bonnie G is talking about when she mentions the mannerisms of a pageant kid. Unless you have an extra 450 dollars lying around and are looking to have a little fun and nothing else, I'd pass. You'd probably also need additional costs like clothes, hotel etc.

I used to compete in the National American Miss Pageants and have to say that they are AMAZING! The whole program is put together so well and the staff is so helpful. I competed at the state and national levels and would recommend NAM to anyone seeking an experience in pageantry.

I dont know if they are legit or not... never bothered with them.. but my girls are competetive cheerleaders and perform in front of thousands in a stadium and i would say that builds confidence.. playing soccer, reading in front of a class, or any sport/ team activity will promote confidence, ect ect... Good Luck with your decision...!!

I don't disagree with you Jerzeymom. Anything that gives you public speaking skills, etiquette etc. is a plus and a great experience for anyone to have. As long as you recognize why you are doing it and if it is fun and that is what a child likes and wants to do, then by all means they should have at it.

If you are going to pay $450 for entry (plus, I assume, an expensive dress, hotel, etc.) there are plenty of acting classes and workshops that would help develop that same confidence.

I've never understood the point to pageants. They really don't do anything for a child that a local camp can do. I mean, they have "national competitions". Why? So you can win a tiera? I mean, when your child is in their 20's, do you really think they're going to care about it? It seems like a huge waste of time. And for every kid that gets a confidence "boost" out of it, there are 10 times as many kids that feel rejected and and let down afterwards. Don't get me wrong, its the nature of the game, same as acting, but this whole idea is pointless. With acting, sure, you get rejected, but you move on and go to the next audition, because you're fighting for a role in something. But with pageants, the only end result is a plastic hairband and a sash. It doesn't further you in life. I would say choose a sport, do karate, go to summer camp. Get something out of whatever you get involved with.