| Miss Florida | |
| Formation: | 1922 |
| Type: | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters: | Lakeland |
| Location: | Florida |
| Membership: | Miss America |
| Language: | English |
| Key People: | Keith Williams (Executive Director) |
| Website: | Official website |
The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.
In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated Miss Florida organization's license as well as licenses from Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia.[1] [2] In December 2018, the Miss America Organization reinstated licensing for the Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant Inc., along with the organizations in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia.[3]
Casana Fink of Ocala was crowned Miss Florida 2024 on June 29, 2024, at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Florida titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local Title | Miss America Talent | Placement at Miss America | Special scholarships at Miss America | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Casana Fink | Ocala | 25 | Miss Tampa | Lyrical Dance | TBA | TBA | |
| 2023 | Juliette Valle | Plantation | 22 | Miss Orlando | Operatic Vocal, "Sempre Libera" from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi | Top 10 | The second Hispanic Miss Florida to be crowned in 87 years The first Miss America contestant to deliver a bilingual onstage question response onstage | |
| 2022 | Lindsay Bettis | Ponte Vedra Beach | 26 | Miss Seminole County | Jazz Dance | Women in Business FinalistEquity & Justice FinalistNon-finalist Social Impact Pitch Award | ||
| 2021 | Leah Roddenberry[4] | Bradenton | 22 | Miss Tampa | Dance | Top 10 | Equity and Justice Finalist Jean Bartel Social Impact Initiative Finalist | Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2013[5] and 2015[6] First teen titleholder to hold the state title twice |
| 2019–20 | Michaela McLean[7] [8] | Clermont | 21 | Miss Florida Citrus | Lyrical Dance, “You Say" | Top 15[9] | Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2014[10] Top 12 at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2015 pageant[11] | |
| 2018 | Taylor Tyson[12] | Jupiter | 23 | Miss South Florida Fair | Classical Piano, "Mephisto's Waltz" by Franz Liszt | 3rd runner-up[13] | Preliminary Talent Award[14] | Accepted to Stetson University College of Law[15] |
| 2017 | Sara Zeng[16] | Palm Coast | 22 | Miss Heart of Florida | Classical Piano, "Fantaisie-Impromptu" in C Sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award[17] | ||
| 2016 | Courtney Sexton[18] | Starke | 23 | Miss Orlando | Jazz Dance, "I Got Love" | Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2008[19] Top 10 at National Sweetheart 2015 pageant | ||
| 2015 | Mary Katherine Fechtel[20] | Leesburg | 19 | Miss University of Florida | Lyrical Dance, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Tessanne Chin | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Sister of Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2012, Elizabeth Fechtel Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2010[21] |
| 2014 | Victoria Cowen[22] | Panama City | 21 | Miss North Florida | Lyrical Dance, "Note to God" | 3rd runner-up[23] | Charles & Theresa Brown Scholarship[24] Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award[25] | Originally first runner-up, assumed title after tabulation error resulted in Fechtel incorrectly being named the winner |
| Elizabeth Fechtel[26] | Leesburg | 20 | Miss University of Florida | Dance, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams | colspan=3 | |||
| Sister of Miss Florida 2015, Mary Katherine Fechtel Previously Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2012[27] | ||||||||
| 2013 | Myrrhanda Jones[28] | Gainesville | 19 | Miss Palm Coast | Baton, "Big Noise from Winnetka" | 3rd runner-up[29] | Preliminary Talent Award | Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2009[30] 2nd runner-up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2009 pageant[31] |
| 2012 | Laura McKeeman[32] | St. Petersburg | 23 | Miss Pinellas County | Ballet, La Esmeralda | Top 16 | Former reporter on and current host of SEC Nation on ESPN[33] | |
| 2011 | Kristina Janolo[34] | Kissimmee | 24 | Miss Winter Park | Vocal, "Gold" | Top 13 | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2009 pageant | |
| 2010 | Jaclyn Raulerson[35] | Plant City | 19 | Miss Largo | Vocal, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Quality of Life Award Finalist | ||
| 2009 | Rachael Todd[36] | Oviedo | 22 | Miss Suncoast | Irish Step Dance, "Riverdance" | |||
| 2008 | Sierra Minott[37] | Fort Myers | 20 | Miss Palm Beach County | Theater Style Dance, "I Can Cook Too" from On the Town | 4th runner-up | Previously Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2005[38] 3rd runner-up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2005[39] | |
| 2007 | Kylie Williams[40] | Tallahassee | 24 | Miss Tallahassee | Country Vocal, "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" | Top 16 | Quality of Life Award 1st runner-up[41] | |
| 2006 | Allison Kreiger[42] | Miami | 23 | Miss Miami | Dance / Twirl, "I Will Live For Love" | |||
| 2005 | Mari Wilensky | Jacksonville | 21 | Miss University of Florida | Vocal, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" | Top 10 | Top 10 at National Sweetheart 2005 pageant Assumed the crown when Cragg relinquished title | |
| Candace Cragg | Jacksonville | Miss Jacksonville | colspan = 3 | |||||
| 2004 | Jenna Edwards[43] | Miami | 23 | Miss Winter Park | Popular Vocal, "Solitaire" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award[44] Quality of Life Award Finalist | Later Miss Florida USA 2007 | |
| 2003 | Shauna Pender | Miss St. Petersburg | colspan=3 | |||||
| Top 10 at National Sweetheart 2001 pageant | ||||||||
| Ericka Dunlap | Orlando | 21 | Miss City Beautiful | Vocal, "If I Could" | Winner[45] [46] | Finals Evening Gown Award Finals Talent Award | First African American to win the title of Miss Florida[47] | |
| 2002 | Katherine Carson | Sarasota | 20 | Miss Largo | Vocal, "Gimme, Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie | |||
| 2001 | Kelly Gaudet | Miami | 22 | Miss Largo | Lyrical Dance, "It's Time" | Top 10 | Preliminary Evening Gown Award | Previously Miss Florida Teen USA 1996 4th runner-up at National Sweetheart 1999 pageant |
| 2000 | Candace Rodatz | Orange Park | 24 | Miss First Coast | Baton, "Sing, Sing, Sing" | |||
| 1999 | Kelli Meierhenry | Orlando, Florida | 24 | Miss University of Central Florida | Vocal, "What Will I Tell My Heart?" | |||
| 1998 | Lissette Gonzalez | Miami | 22 | Miss Miami | Vocal, "All That Jazz" | 2nd runner-up | Bernie Wayne Talent Award Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
| 1997 | Christy Neuman | Jacksonville | 20 | Miss University of North Florida | Rhythmic Gymnastics Dance, Theme from | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| 1996 | Jamie Bolding | Lakeland | 22 | Miss Mount Dora | Lyrical Ballet, "Can You Read My Mind" | Non-finalist Interview Award Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1995 | Kristin Ludecke | Eustis | 19 | Miss Central Florida | Classical Vocal, "O Luce di Quest'anima" from Linda di Chamounix | Later Miss Florida USA 2000 | ||
| 1994 | Megan Welch | DeLand | 20 | Miss Mount Dora | Classical Vocal | Non-finalist Interview Award | Previously National Sweetheart 1993 | |
| 1993 | Nicole Padgett | Fort Myers | 21 | Miss Tampa | Vocal, "You're Gonna Hear From Me" from Inside Daisy Clover | |||
| 1992 | Melinda Miller | Miss Altamonte Springs | colspan=3 | |||||
| Leanza Cornett | Jacksonville | 21 | Miss Winter Park | Vocal, "A New Life" from Jekyll & Hyde | Winner | Previously National Sweetheart 1991 | ||
| 1991 | Mary Ann Olson | Sarasota | 24 | Miss Manatee County | Vocal, "Where the Boys Are" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1990 | Dana Rinehart Dalton | Orlando | 23 | Miss Orlando | Dramatic Vocal, "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
| 1989 | Sandra Joanne Frick | Hialeah | 23 | Miss Coral Springs | Character Ballet en Pointe, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" | Top 10 | ||
| 1988 | Melissa Aggeles | St. Petersburg | 24 | Miss Manatee County | Vocal / Dance, "Show Stopper" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Previously National Sweetheart 1987 |
| 1987 | Jennifer Anne Sauder | Homestead | 22 | Miss Homestead | Semi-classical Vocal, "If We Were In Love" from Yes, Giorgio | Top 10 | ||
| 1986 | Molly Pesce | Longwood | 23 | Miss Seminole County | Vocal medley from Cabaret | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1985 | Monica Farrell | Jacksonville | 21 | Miss Jacksonville University | Classical Piano, "Prelude No. 5 in G Minor" by Sergei Rachmaninoff | Non-finalist Talent Award | Sister of Miss New York 1984, Mary-Ann Farrell, and Miss Illinois 1992, Kathleen Farrell Later Miss Florida USA 1988 3rd runner-up at Miss USA 1988 pageantAunt of Miss Ohio 2022, Elizabetta Nies | |
| 1984 | Lisa Valdez | Bradenton | 21 | Miss Manatee County | Vocal, "Through the Eyes of Love" | |||
| 1983 | Kim Boyce | Bradenton | 22 | Miss Manatee County | Popular Vocal, "Rainbow Connection" & "Over the Rainbow" | Top 10 | ||
| 1982 | Deanna Pitman | Apopka | 22 | Miss Sanford | Lyrical Dance, "I Hope I Get It" from A Chorus Line | |||
| 1981 | Dean Herman | Jacksonville | 23 | Miss Jacksonville | Gymnastics Dance, "They're Playing Our Song" | |||
| 1980 | Caroline Dungan | Bradenton | 21 | Miss Manatee County | Piano, "Deep Purple" | |||
| 1979 | Marti Sue Phillips | Tampa | 22 | Miss Manatee County | Jazz Clarinet Medley, Rhapsody In Blue & "Begin the Beguine" | 4th runner-up | ||
| 1978 | Wendy Sue Cheatham | Bonita Springs | Miss Lee County | N/A | Initially was 2nd runner-up at Miss Florida 1978 pageant Assumed the crown after Cline relinquished the title to continue to pursue her career as a singer and musician in November 1978. | |||
| Carolyn Cline | Brandon | 25 | Miss Tampa | Piano / Vocal, "Love Story" | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Previously Miss New Mexico USA 1973 | |
| 1977 | Cathy La Belle | Tampa | 20 | Popular Vocal, "He Touched Me" from Drat! The Cat! | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1976 | Nancy Stafford | Ft. Lauderdale | 22 | Miss Ft. Lauderdale | Piano, "Send In the Clowns" | |||
| 1975 | Ann K. Schmalzried | Ft. Lauderdale | 19 | Miss University of Florida | Classical Piano, "Gardens In the Rain" | Top 10 | Dr. David B Allman Medical Scholarship | |
| 1974 | Delta Burke | Orlando | 18 | Miss Orlando | Dramatic monologue, "Anne Boleyn" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Later gained fame as an actress, most notably on Designing Women | |
| 1973 | Ellen Meade | Bradenton | 20 | Miss Manatee County | Ballet Roller Skating, "The Black Swan" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Ellen Rowena Meade Thomas passed away in Bradenton, Florida at age 70 on August 27, 2023. | |
| 1972 | Suzanne Charles | Fort Lauderdale | 20 | Miss Miami | Ballet, "Dance of the Painted Doll" | |||
| 1971 | Barbara Jo Ivey | Winter Park | 19 | Miss Winter Park | Piano, "Toccata" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1970 | Lisa Donovan | Sarasota | 21 | Miss Sarasota | Vocal, "Feeling Good" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| 1969 | Lynne Edea Topping | Marco Island | 20 | Miss Dade County | Ballet, "Kismet" | |||
| 1968 | Linda Fitts | Panama City | 20 | Miss Panama City | Charleston Dance, "Twelfth Street Rag" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| 1967 | Dawn Cashwell | Pensacola | 22 | Miss Pensacola | Baton Twirling, "Blue Tango" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Contestant at National Sweetheart 1963 pageant, representing Georgia |
| 1966 | Christine Torgeson | Miss Manatee County | N/A | Assumed the crown after Colston relinquished the title[48] | ||||
| Diane Colston | Sarasota | 19 | Miss Sarasota | Vocal, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" | Top 10 | Relinquished the title after competing at Miss America 1967 pageant | ||
| 1965 | Carol Lynn Blum | Miami Beach | 21 | Miss Fort Lauderdale | Classical Vocal, "Il Bacio" by Luigi Arditi | 3rd runner-up | ||
| 1964 | Priscilla Schnarr | Hollywood | 18 | Miss Hollywood | Vocal / Dance, "Whatever Lola Wants" | |||
| 1963 | Flora Jo Chandonnet | North Miami | Miss Miami | Semi-classical Vocal, "One Kiss" from The New Moon | ||||
| 1962 | Gloria Brody | Jacksonville | 19 | Miss Duval County | Interpretive Ballet, Theme from "Exodus" | |||
| 1961 | Sherry Grimes | Sarasota | 18 | Miss Sarasota | Vocal, "My Man's Gone Now" | |||
| 1960 | Kathy Magda | Fort Lauderdale | 19 | Miss Fort Lauderdale | Dramatic monologue from Our Town | |||
| 1959 | Nancy Rae Purvis | Bradenton | 18 | Miss Bradenton | Dramatic monologue | |||
| 1958 | Dianne Tauscher | Orlando | Miss Orlando | Ballet, "Canadian Sunset" | ||||
| 1957 | Dorothy Maria Steiner | Boca Raton | Miss Boca Raton | Dramatic reading, "Such Is Your Heritage" | 4th runner-up | |||
| 1956 | Sally Fisher | Miami | Miss Coral Gables | Vocal / Dance, "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" from Show Boat | ||||
| 1955 | Sandra Wirth | Miami | Miss Miami | Fire Baton, "Jazz Medley" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1954 | Ann Gloria Daniel | Dade City | Miss Dade City | Accordion, "Lady of Spain" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
| 1953 | Marjorie Simmons | Tampa | Miss Tampa | Dance, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" | ||||
| 1952 | Marcia Crane | Orlando | Miss Gainesville | Piano, "Gershwin Prelude" | ||||
| 1951 | Mary Elizabeth Godwin | Gainesville | Miss University of Florida | Pantomime, "Betty Boop" | 4th runner-up | |||
| 1950 | Janet Ruth Crockett | St. Petersburg | Miss St. Petersburg | Vocal & Pantomime from The Perils of Pauline | 2nd runner-up | Assumed title when Corine Gustafson was disqualified for being underage | ||
| 1949 | Shirley Ann Rhodes | Tampa | Miss Tampa | Vocal, "Put Your Shoes On, Lacy" | ||||
| 1948 | Rosemary Carpenter | Miami Beach | Miss Miami | Classical piano & accordion, "Fantasie Impromptu" & "Two Guitars" | Top 15 | |||
| 1947 | Eula Ann McGehee | St. Petersburg | Miss Florida | Magic act | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Pepper Shore | Miami | Miss Miami Beach | Interpretive dance of the South Seas | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| 1946 | Jacquelyn Jennings | Miss Florida | Pantomime, "Just a Square In a Social Circle" | Top 16 | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Jini Boyd | Miami | Miss Miami Beach | ||||||
| 1945 | Virginia Freeland | Miss Florida | Fashion Show & Vocal, "Rum and Coca-Cola" | 3rd runner-up | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Ray Evelyn Crist | Miami | Miss Miami Beach | ||||||
| 1944 | Virginia Warlen | Miss Florida | Violin, "Intermezzo" | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | ||
| Vernell Bush | Miami | Miss Miami | Vocal, "It Had to Be You" | Top 12 | ||||
| 1943 | Muriel Elizabeth Smith | Miss Florida | Acrobatic Baton | 1st runner-up | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Dolly Bowles | Miss Miami | |||||||
| 1942 | Eileen Knapp | Miss Florida | Tap Dance, "Bye Bye Blues" | Top 10 | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Leona Fredericks | Miami | Miss Miami | Vocal, "Nobody's Baby" | Top 10 | ||||
| 1941 | Mitzi Strother[49] | Miss Florida | Top 15 | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | ||||
| Anna Louise Baker | Miami | Miss Miami | ||||||
| 1940 | Mitzi Strother | Miami | Miss Miami | Top 15 | Competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| 1939 | Rose Marie Magrill | Miss Florida[50] | Tap Dance | Top 15 | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Irmigard Dietel | Miss Miami | Vocal Medley, "See You Again," "Blue Evening," & "Solitude" | Top 15 | |||||
| 1938 | Mary Joyce Walsh | Miami | Miss Florida | Vocal / Ballet | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Patricia Hollran | Miss Delray Beach | Vocal, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" | ||||||
| Mary Jane Thomas | Fort Lauderdale | Miss Fort Lauderdale | Top 15 | |||||
| Gloria Smyley | Jacksonville | Miss Jacksonville | Acrobatic dance | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| 1937 | Mary P. Hollran | Delray Beach | Miss Delray Beach | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | ||||
| Frances Powell | Miss Jacksonville | |||||||
| Irmigard Dietel | Miss Miami | Vocal | 4th runner-up | |||||
| 1936 | No Florida representative at Miss America pageant[51] | |||||||
| 1935 | Elizabeth Hull | Plant City | Miss Plant City | Vocal medley, "East of the Sun" & "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" | Top 12 | |||
| 1934 | No national pageant was held[52] | |||||||
| 1933 | No Florida representative at Miss America pageant[53] | |||||||
| 1932 | No national pageants were held | |||||||
| 1931 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1929 | ||||||||
| 1928 | ||||||||
| 1927 | Marcia Hands | Miss Miami | [54] | Competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
| 1926 | Margaret Jennell Tate | |||||||
| 1925 | Ruth Wooddall | Miss Miami | Top 15 | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
| Lucy Davis Yonge | Miss Pensacola | |||||||
| 1924 | Roberta Russell | Miss Jacksonville | Multiple Florida representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | |||||
| Margaret Swindell | Miss Lakeland | |||||||
| Lottie Eitzen | Miss Pensacola | |||||||
| Virginia McRae | Miss Tampa | |||||||
| Frances Payne | Miss West Palm Beach | |||||||
| 1923 | Alyce Phillips[55] | Jacksonville | Miss Jacksonville | |||||
| Mary Weaver[56] | Lakeland | Miss Lakeland | ||||||
| Katherine Kyle[57] | Miami | Miss Miami | ||||||
| Katherine Floyd[58] [59] | Pensacola | Miss Pensacola | ||||||
| 1922 | Eleanor Logan[60] | 19 | ||||||
| 1921 | No Florida representative at Miss America pageant[61] |
Mary Sullivan, the longtime executive director of Miss Florida until her resignation in 2018, was arrested in 2022 and accused of stealing around $100,000 from the program from 2011 - 2018. The arrest came after an investigation into past financial irregularities by the Board of Directors after her retirement. She was accused of redirecting non-profit donations intended for use on scholarships to her own account, which she spent on personal matters such as maid service and dating sites.[62] [63]