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Miss Texas pageant moves from Fort Worth to UTA campus PDF Print E-mail
Written by Elizabeth Flores, Contributor to The Shorthorn   
Wednesday, 03 June 2009 04:18 PM
The city of Arlington has a new major attraction to mark on its calendar — the Miss Texas pageant — to be held at UTA.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and Joe Bledsoe, director of state and local accounts with Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, approached pageant officials about having it in Arlington. After being hosted in Fort Worth for more than 46 years, the pageant board had a unanimous vote in favor of the idea.

The choice of university was clear, said Ron Wright, Barton’s chief of staff.

“Exciting things are going on at UTA,” Wright said. “UTA is growing quickly. I’m confident it’d be a new Tier One school in the state. It’s the perfect state-wide partner.”

Finals, where a winner will be crowned, are at 7 p.m. July 3 in Texas Hall. Preliminaries will be held in Texas Hall from July 26 to July 29. The venue can hold 2,709 occupants.

The university will receive $1 for every ticket sold. Tickets are sold through the pageant Web site at misstexas.org/tickets.

“Everyone wanted UTA,” Wright said. “It’s the center of [Arlington’s] universe and a perfect venue.”

The Miss Texas program was founded in 1936 by civic-minded citizens concerned about higher education. Wright said the move to the university isn’t just business, it’s also “neutrally complimentary because it highlights both the university and the scholarship program.”

The decision to relocate Miss Texas will be a positive economic impact, Wright said. The event is expected to bring people from all over the state.

“We expect $2.3 million to be spent in the Arlington area,” Wright said.

Pageant officials expect the event to run smoothly at the new venue and are very excited about the relocation to Arlington, said Jean Magness, Miss Texas pageant executive director.

“It was a perfect mix to move the event to an educational facility,” Magness said. “I hope there’s an assistance to both parties [the pageant and the university.]”

The Miss Texas and Miss Teen Texas programs will stay in Arlington after signing a five-year letter of intent.

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 1 homegrown contestants
Written by Bess Alvarez, on 06-08-2009 12:31
Preliminaries will be held June 29-July 1 (not the dates listed in the article above).  
 
Furthermore, UT Arlington Alumna (Class of 2009) Cristie Kibler, Miss Highland Park, is a contestant. 
 
Cassidy Arend, Miss Metrocrest, is also listed as representing UT Arlington. 
 
Miss Texas Contestants

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