Turn For The Judges... You're Pageant News Source

Pageant Info

News

Photo Gallery

Coverage

Miss 2004

Michigan 2004

Kelli Talicska
Miss Michigan 2004
Photo by Miss Michigan Org.

Jun. 19, 2004

Story by: Kim Schwannecke and Sheila Sigro

Brains and Beauty describe the new Miss Michigan, Kelli Talicska, 24. Kelli also was awarded the State Academic Scholarship along with the title of Miss Michigan 2004. Kelli, a native of Auburn who competed as Miss Kalamazoo County, performed a vocal selection of "Over The Rainbow". Her platform is "Speech, Language, and Hearing: Foundations for Life". This was Kelli's third and final attempt to get to the Miss America stage. She first competed in 2001 and was 3rd runner up 2003.

The first runner up is Angela Corsi, 22, Miss Great Lakes. Angela performed an upbeat Dance en Pointe to Natalie Cole's "This Will Be". Her platform is "The Make-A-Wish Foundation" Angela was 3rd runner up in the 2002 pageant.

The second runner up is Gina Valo, 20, Miss Washtenaw County. Gina's talent was Contemporary Fiddle. Her platform is "Community Revitalization". The third runner up is Michelle Kimball, 21, Miss Greater Grand Rapids. Michelle's talent was Piccolo. Her platform is "Crohn's Disease Education". The fourth runner up is Kristen Balfour, 22, Miss Greater Central Michigan. Kristen's talent was Clog/Tap Dance. Her platform is "Crohn's, Colitis, And Colon Cancer Awareness".

Rounding out the Top Ten are: Angela Rouech, 20, Miss Bay Arenac, Amy Cole, 21, Miss Bay County, Stephanie Ruhl, 21, Miss Jackson County, Brooke Brennan, 23, Miss Redford/Wayne County, and Austyn Mayfield, 21, Miss Southwest Michigan.

Kelli Talicska's earnings included the Miss Michigan Scholarship Pageant crown and $13,000 in scholarship money. The crown comes with a $12,000 prize; Talicska also won a State Academic Scholarship award of $1,000.

"I'm so excited -- this is such a blessing from God," Talicska, of Auburn, said after the competition. Competing as Miss Kalamazoo County, the 24-year-old beat out 29 other competitors to become Miss Michigan 2004.

An audience of 1,540 watched 10 Miss Michigan Scholarship Pageant finalists, chosen during two nights of preliminary competition, perform talents from violin playing to ballet dancing to flute playing.

Kelli will share her platform, "Speech, Language, and Hearing: Foundations for Life" throughout the year. Her major goals include pushing to "put $20 million back in the fiscal budget for early hearing detection" and "advocating for licensure for speech language pathologists and audiologists."

The 2004 Miss Michigan Pageant was held June 17-19, 2004 at the Frauenthal Center, Muskegon, MI.

Special Awards:

Thursday Night Preliminary Talent: Carrie Decker, 21, Miss Danish Festival, Classical Piano. (tie) Kristen Balfour, 22, Miss Greater Central Michigan, Clogging/Tap Dance.
Thursday Night Preliminary Swimsuit: Angela Corsi, 22, Miss Great Lakes.
Friday Night Preliminary Talent: Brooke Brennan, 23, Miss Redford/Wayne County. Classical Piano.
Friday Night Preliminary Swimsuit: Natalie Griffith, 19, Miss St. Clair Shores.
Non-Finalist Interview Awards: Rebecca Mains, 21, Miss Saginaw County, Meredith Hopkins, 22, Miss Battle Creek.
Community Service Award: Jill McCormick, 21, Miss Monroe County. Platform: "KIDS Read (Keeping Interest/Developing Skills)"
MAO Community Service Award: Brittany Fox, 20, Miss Coast Guard City. Platform: " Mentoring Begins With Me".
Academic Award: Kelli Taliscka, 24, Miss Kalamazoo
Non-Finalist Talent: Carrie Decker, 21, Miss Danish Festival
Miss America 1988, Kaye Lani Rae Rafko- Wilson was named the "Arvon Woman of Achievement".

Michigan Trivia:

Patricia Donnelly Detroit 1939	Nancy Fleming Montague 1961	Pam Eldred West Bloomfield 1970	Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Monroe 1988	Kirsten Haglund Farmington Hills 2008
Courtesy of Miss America Org.

Michigan has had five Miss Americas. Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, Miss America 1988, used her year to promote hospice care. Her stand was so popular that the pageant developed an official Miss America "platform" to allow titleholders to promote worthy causes. Stacy Essebaggers, '01, was a top ten semifinalist. It took 20 years for the next Miss America from Michigan, Kirstin Haglund won in 2008 and was also a preliminary swimsuit winner.

Nicole Blaszczyk won a prelim talent award in 2010.

TO ADD OR UPDATE CONTENT TO TFTJ, use the Submission Forms.

Miss Michigan 2004 Delegates
Allegan County HALEY KEYER Sep. 6, 2003 Tap Dance Improving Your Self-Esteem New	Auburn/Midland Area ASHLEY PURDO Delta College Tap Dance G.R.A.N.T.- The Make-A-Wish Foundation Ret '02	Barry County MIRANDA COVEY Jazz Dance Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America New	Battle Creek/Cereal City MEREDITH HOPKINS Flag Routine Diabetes Education New Non-Finalist Interview
Bay Arenac ANGLEA ROUECH Nov. 1, 2003 American Musical and Dramatic Academy Vocal Teen Angels - Youth Involvement with the Red Cross Ret '02 SF	Bay County AMY COLE Vocal The American Heart Association New SF	Cass/St. Joseph JESSICA LEE CUTHBERT Jazz Dance Mental Health Matters - Removing the Stigma New	Coast Guard City BRITTANY THERESE FOX Opera Mentoring Begins with Me New Non-Finalist Community Service
Danish Festival CARRIE DECKER Piano Advocating for Adoption New Prelim Talent (Tie), Non-Finalist Talent	Dearborn-Dearborn Heights NINA POBLETE Classical Piano Youth Volunteerism as a Key to Success	Great Lakes ANGELA CORSI Michigan State University Lyrical Dance Make-A-Wish foundation 3rd RU '02 1st RU Prelim Swimsuit	Greater Central Michigan KRISTEN HOPE BALFOUR Central Michigan University - Grad. Student, Physical Therapy Program Clog/Tap Dance Volunteerism Ret '02 4th RU Talent Prelim (Tie)
Greater Grand Rapids MICHELLE KIMBALL Flute/Piccolo Crohn's Disease Education New 3rd RU	Heart of Michigan BETHANY BIERLEIN Lyrical Dance The Devastation of Parkinson's Disease	Iosco County ERICKA JANE OLGAARD Jazz Dance ABC- Arts Building Character New	Jackson County STEPHANIE RUHL Vocal Blood Donation New SF
Kalamazoo County KELLI J. TALICSKA Western Michigan University Vocal Speech, Language, and Hearing Services- Helping People Reach Their Full Potential 24, 3rd RU '03, Ret '01 Winner Academic Award	Lake Huron Shores MAUREEN KELLEY Dance Arts in Education New	Lily Festival CRYSTAL TEETERS Baton Self-Acceptance for Young Women New	Monroe County JILL McCORMICK Siena Heights University Ballet en Pointe Ready to Read - Conquering Literacy 21, New Non-Finalist Community Service RU
Northern Lake Michigan COURTNEY CASE Jazz Dance Youth Mentoring- Put the U in Yo_th Ret '03	Oakland County SAMANTHA STECKLOFF Vocal Getting Youth Involved in Their Community New	Redford Township/Wayne County BROOKE BRENNAN Lawrence Tech University - Graduate, Classical Piano Child and Adult Literacy New SF Prelim Talent	River Raisin Festival JOSLYN STACY Adrian College - Junior, Interior Design Vocal Eat Right, Feel Fabulous! (even with I.B.S.) 21, New
Saginaw County REBECCA MAINS Western Michigan State University Lyrical Dance Recruiting MENtors Ret '03 Non-Finalist Interview	Southwest Michigan AUSTYN ELIESE MAYFIELD Vocal Literacy E.M.P.O.W.E.R.S. New SF	Spirit of the State CARA LEANNE JASIOLEK Eastern Michigan University - Elementary Education Baton Character Education in the Classroom 23, T 10 '02 & '03	St. Clair Shores NATALIE ANN GRIFFITH Jazz Dance Promoting Arts Education in Schools New Prelim Swimsuit
Sunrise Side KATIE OLSEN Vocal Leadership Development New	Washtenaw County GINA VALO Fiddle Strengthening Communities Through Grassroots Development New 2nd RU

TFTJ Cafe

Making History & Building a Legacy in Louisiana

Find Your Perfect Pageant System and Start Winning

Pageantry... A Great Place to Blossom!

Latest Crownings

US Sophisticate Pageant

Miss America 2012 Crowned

First International Queen Crowned for 2012

Miss Belgium 2012 Crowned

Markus Crowned Miss Universe Rio Grande do Sul 2011

Announcements