Three Miss New York contestants have been crowned Miss America, and in the process, two of them made history.
The 1945 Miss America was Bess Myerson, the first Jewish winner, and Vanessa Williams became the first black winner in 1984. They, and Miss New York Tawny Godin, who became Miss America 1976, worked professionally in entertainment and the media.
This week, Elisabeth Baldanza, 24, of East Meredith, competes as Miss New York in the national pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Preliminary contests are during the week, and the finale will be telecast at 8 p.m. Saturday on The Learning Channel _ channel 58 in the Oneonta area.
Baldanza was crowned Miss New York in July. She competed in the state competition after winning the Miss Empire Rose title in Albany County. The issue she has chosen for her competition platform is ``service training empowerment.'' Her talent is contemporary ballet.
Since July, Baldanza has appeared as Miss New York at schools, community functions and in parades.
Three times, Miss New York has competed to win the Miss America title.
ä Williams, of Millwood, won the swimsuit and talent competitions in the 1984 Miss America pageant, then took the title to become the first black Miss America.
Despite her resignation over questionable photographs, she performed her duties as Miss America in an exemplary fashion, the Miss America Organization website said.
According to a Public Broadcasting System website for an American Experience documentary titled ``Miss America,'' some compared Williams' achievement to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball.
"A black Miss America meant so much in 1984 because over the decades of its existence, the Miss America Pageant had come to mean so much,'' it said.
Williams has four children, according to the Miss America website. She has recorded hits such as "Save the Best for Last" and "Running Back to You." Her career as an actress has included roles on Broadway stages and the silver screen, and more recently, she has appeared in a leading role on the ABC sitcom ``Ugly Betty.''
ä Godin, of Saratoga Springs, was Miss America in 1976. She attended Skidmore College and the University of Southern California, where she studied linguistics and journalism. She has worked as a news reporter and anchor for television in Los Angeles and as an actress; her viewing audiences know her as Tawny Little. According to the Miss America website, she enjoys spending time with her three sons, reading, cooking and playing the piano.
ä In 1945, New York City's Myerson became the first Miss America to receive the pageant's $5,000 college scholarship. She was the first post-war Miss America, the first college graduate to win and the first Jewish-American winner, according to the organization's website. While on a Victory Bond tour, she was the target of anti-semitism and embarked on a school tour with the motto, "You Can't Be Beautiful And Hate."
Myerson was instrumental in the enactment of open-dating and unit pricing in supermarkets, was national commissioner to the Anti-Defamation League and has endowed an award for campus journalists whose coverage addresses racial and religious tensions.
The Miss New York Scholarship Organization is a franchise of the Miss America Organization, a not-for-profit organization aimed at empowering young women to achieve personal and professional goals.
Scholarships have been the cornerstone of both organizations, officials said.
The scholarship awards in the 2007 Miss New York competition included $6,500 for the winner; $3,500 for the first runner-up; and $2,000 for the second runner-up, according to the Miss New York website.
