Titleholders selected to represent Nation’s Capitol at 2011 International Pageant

March 22, 2011 - PRLog -- LAUREL, MD – Saturday, March 19, at THE ARC in Southeast Washington, the new Miss and Teen District of Columbia International 2011 were crowned.  The new queens competed in four categories including: Personal Interview, Fitness, Evening Gown and On Stage Question to win their respective titles.  They will go on to compete in the Miss and Teen International pageant this July in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Allison Hill, Miss District of Columbia International 2011 & Photogenic Winner – Platform: Epidemic Rx: Vaccinate Yourself against Prescription Drug Abuse.  Dr. Hill, who currently works at a community pharmacy in the city, received her Doctorate in Pharmacy from Howard University, where she won the 2009 Patient Counseling Competition. She also obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.  A member of the Junior League of Washington and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, she believes prescription drug abuse is a pressing issue that does receive the same attention as other abused substances.   Throughout her reign, Allison will be advocating for parents to talk with their children about prescription drug abuse just like the conversations about alcohol and tobacco use and educating the public on ways to prevent prescription misuse.

Lystra Edwards, Miss Teen District of Columbia International 2011 & Teen Congeniality Winner – Platform: Challenges and Triumph:  Overcoming Abuse.  Miss Edwards is currently a sophomore at Bladensburg High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland where she participates in Track, Swimming & Cheerleading.   An honor roll student, she has also received the “Most Improved” and “Good Citizen” awards.  As Miss Teen DC, Lystra hopes to work with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) , Women Against Verbal Violence (WAVV), and the Healing Wounds Organizations to highlight the sever problems in the city surrounding mental and verbal abuse.  She also hopes to advocate and educate teenagers on how to take life’s negatives and turn them into positives.

During the pageant, awards were also presented for Miss Teen Photogenic - DeSha Bennett; Excellence in Education - Brianna Ursery (Miss) & Silver Briscoe (Teen); People’s Choice – Candace Johnson (Miss) and Taylar Barnes (Teen); Miss Congeniality - Katori Brown.  Katori Brown and Chance Jackson rounded out the Miss division as 1st and 2nd runner up respective.  DeSha Bennett finished as 1st runner-up and Silver Briscoe, 2nd runner-up in the Teen division.

To schedule Miss of Miss Teen District of Columbia International for an appearance, contact Rita Sinha at director@missdcinternational.com. The District of Columbia International Pageants are the official preliminaries to the Teen and Miss    International pageants.  The International Pageant system is the only system to require each competitor to have a community service platform.  Eligible ladies must live, work, or attend school in the state and be between the ages of 19 – 29 for the Miss category and 13-19 for the Teen category.  Visit the website, http://www.missdcinternational.com for additional information.

# # #

The Madison Donovan Group is a boutique firm that specializes in lifestyle management, marketing, public relations and event planning for pageant systems, executives, non-profits, small businesses.