New Miss Huntington Beach is crowned

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Surf City has a new queen.

Aimee Thiessen, 18, won the Miss Huntington Beach Scholarship Pageant

on Saturday and walked off with a tiara, sash and a bouquet of roses.

“I’m really excited about this, especially since I’m new to the city,”

Thiessen said, adding that she and her family moved into their Huntington

Beach home from Fountain Valley about six months ago. “[The pageant]

sounded like a lot of fun, and it’s a great opportunity to learn more

about the area and get involved.”

Thiessen, who is in her second semester at Golden West College, was

one of eight contestants vying for the pageant’s crown and scholarship

awards. She is studying dance and music, with an emphasis on voice. She

is also very active in her church, Living Waters Christian Fellowship in

Fountain Valley.

Huntington Beach High School senior Andrea Lowman, 17, won first

runner-up, with 19-year-old Golden West College student Kristina Johnston

named second runner-up. The two young women comprise Thiessen’s royal

court, and all will receive educational scholarships.

Karinne Phillipsen, 19, who also attends Golden West College, was

named Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic.

Sponsored by Women in Action, a women’s division of the city’s Chamber

of Commerce aimed at promoting business in the community, the Miss

Huntington Beach Scholarship Pageant is in its 32nd year, with the

current theme set at “2001: A Pageant Odyssey.”

“This whole competition is about the scholarship,” said June Dugmore,

executive director of the pageant, adding that competition is open to

young women between the ages of 17 and 24 who live, work or go to school

in Huntington Beach. “What’s important is that the contestants have goals

that they will pursue through further education.”

Scholarship money is generated through the pageant’s ticket sales, as

well as the $275 sponsorship gathered by each contestant. The Miss

Huntington Beach Scholarship Pageant Committee is set to review the

revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships next month to draw up the

prizes.

Women in Action officials said there are other benefits, besides

scholarship money, for those who participate in the pageant. In the year

following the competition, Thiessen and her royal court will represent

the city in fund-raisers, grand openings of businesses and other chamber

activities.

“Not only does it give the winning girls scholarships, but those that

enter grow from the experience and mature into full womanhood,” said

Carole Ann Wall, president of Women in Action. “You can see them

blossoming and developing their personalities throughout the entire

program.”

Thiessen added that the months she put into the competition also gave

her some new and dear friendships with her fellow contestants.