Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507260062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But, nonetheless, Amber Medlin was crowned Miss Virginia 1995 Tuesday evening in front of the Hotel Roanoke.
And even without the element of surprise and the 30 other contestants surrounding her to hug and congratulate her, Medlin said the moment was still as memorable.
"It's just as exciting and quite an interesting way to receive the Miss Virginia title," the 23-year-old Medlin said. "And I'm just as honored to receive it this evening in this way as I would have been on July 1."
With TV cameras from stations around the state broadcasting the event live on the 6 p.m. news, and a majority of the pageant's board of directors to her side, the five-foot, eight-inch Medlin stooped as executive director Margaret Baker fastened the crown with bobby pins.
She was presented with the same 1995 Chevrolet Camaro and cellular phone that former Miss Virginia Andrea Ballengee had used. And she was given the keys to the Southwest Roanoke County apartment where Ballengee stayed.
But Medlin said she does not want to dwell on the past.
Although she did not mention it specifically, it was clear she was referring to the events of the past three weeks that led to the dethroning of Ballengee.
"I believe now, most importantly, we should look into the future and not live in the past," Medlin said during her acceptance speech.
Medlin said the crown has not been tarnished and predicted that the controversy won't affect her chances in the Miss America Pageant on Sept. 16 in Atlantic City, N.J.
I believe I competed with myself," said Medlin, who represented Virginia Beach in this year's pageant. "I believed I was a winner when I won the swimsuit preliminary and when I became the first runner-up.
"I'm very positive I will be able to carry this crown with the respect and make all Virginians proud throughout our state," she said.
This was Medlin's third year as a contestant in the Miss Virginia Pageant. She was fourth runner-up last year and a top-ten finalist the year before.
Before the pageant board could crown Medlin, however, they had to make sure her fact sheet lived up to its claims.
"In a little bit of a sense I felt like a criminal," Medlin said about the four-day "investigation" of her resume.
After discovering a minor discrepancy over her stated grade point average, the board requested opinions from two colleges in the state.
Medlin wrote that she had a 3.0. It was actually a 2.9577, she said.
"I simply rounded it out and got proof from two universities in Virginia that this is the correct procedure," she said.
After the investigation, Medlin says "there's no way possible" anything on her fact sheet could be wrong.
Medlin said she knows the procedure was necessary and feels it was the best thing for the pageant.
"Now I'm sure that everything on those contestants' resumes will be checked out before they receive any honor," Medlin said.
With that behind her, she will look ahead to the Miss America Pageant and work to implement her platform - part of which is working with disabled children in the Special Olympics.
Medlin also has begun a program called "Be a Buddy" in which she teaches healthy elementary children about children with disabilities.
"A lot of times that's where the fear stems from," she said.
Medlin also plans to pursue a degree in the medical field in addition to the communications degree she earned from Radford in 1994.
She will add to the $2600 scholarship she received as first runner-up.
Baker, the pageant's executive director, said Medlin will receive the full $7500 scholarship she is entitled to as Miss Virginia - even though Ballengee also will keep the same scholarship awarded to her.
Baker said that all scholarships are "nonforfeitable" because of a guideline they have to follow from the Miss America Pageant.
"The rationale is that we are a scholarship pageant," Baker said.
Looking back at Tuesday's ceremony, Medlin admits she missed the glory of being named Miss Virginia on July 1.
"Who wouldn't want that opportunity," she said.
"I'm wondering today where 's the man who sings `Miss Virginia...," Medlin said, doing her best impression of the song.
by CNB