World Class Beauty Queens Magazine would like to welcome amazing Queen Crystal Nicole Annis Ms. Maine American Women of Service 2020.
Full name: Crystal Nicole Annis
Title/Year: Ms. Maine American Women of Service 2020
Pageant System: American Women of Service (AWOS)
Age: 26
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Hobbies: Volunteering, coaching pageant girls, cooking, hot yoga
Platform: The Crown CARES (Creating a Respectful Environment in Society)
Years competed: 20
Countries visited: Canada, London, Ecuador, Peru
Likes: ocean, shoes, coffee
Dislikes: disorganization, avocados
World Class Beauty Queens: Please tell us about yourself.
I am a cum laude graduate of the University of New England (go Noreasters!) where I studied Medical Biology and I hope to become a Physician Assistant. I learned at a young age my love for the medical field because I grew up with a brother who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Nathaniel (my brother) has always inspired me to be my best self, to live life to the fullest, and to always be grateful for all that I have been blessed with in this life. I currently work at an ophthalmology practice in Portland, Maine as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant and Surgical Scrub. When I’m not busy working I enjoy working with PIA (Professional Image Associates) as a coach for pageant girls and helping them become their best selves.
World Class Beauty Queens: What does women Empowerment means to you? Empowerment is allowing yourself to genuinely show the world who you are. I’ve always used my role in pageantry to inspire and empower Maine’s youth to pursue their dreams, pageantry related or not. When you accept who you are, and are comfortable showing that to the world, that is when you are truly empowered.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your pageant history. I started competing in pageants when I was 6 years old. My dance teacher had recommended to my mom that pageantry could be a fun hobby for me. My mom entered me in a hometown pageant and I happened to win the title on the first try. I remember having fun meeting the girls and getting to walk on stage feeling like a princess. I also remembered feeling so happy that it was something that my mom and I got to do together. My mom was Nathaniel’s primary caretaker, so it was seldom that her an I got to do anything alone, just the two of us. Pageantry was what gave us that opportunity. Side note: my father has even held his own pageant title, so I guess you could say royalty runs in the family!
World Class Beauty Queens: What inspired you to do your first pageant? At 6 years old you tend to do what your mom tells you to do (haha!). But I am forever thankful that she made the decision to let me, because it has changed my life.
World Class Beauty Queens: Why did you choose to compete for your current title? I’ve made it a point to compete in pageant systems that I wholeheartedly believe in their mission. American Women of Service’s mission is to motivate women to get involved in their community. To donate their time to organizations that align with their passions. Having met many of the past state and national AWOS titleholders, I knew that these were the type of women that I wanted to compete with. These women are driven, so passionate, and beyond ambitious to make a difference in the world.
World Class Beauty Queens: To those unfamiliar with your pageant system please tell us what is it about? American Women of Service says it all in the title- Service! This system encourages women to get involved in their community, and that is a system I can get behind!
World Class Beauty Queens: What are you being judged on during the competition? The pageant includes three areas of competition: interview, runway, and evening gown.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your experience during the competition. When women support women amazing things can happen and that is how I felt competing in this pageant. I had a wonderful experience competing with the Maine AWOS contestants and I look forward to supporting all of them in their future pageants, and hopefully, see them back at the state pageant next year! It was a very positive competition.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your platform or what cause do you volunteer for. My platform is the Crown CARES which has allowed me the opportunity to go into classrooms in Maine and talk to students about bullying and character education. This is a cause that I have been championing for the past six years. I’m also involved with several other organizations, one of my favorites being the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Maine in honor of my brother.
World Class Beauty Queens: What appearances have you done with your title? Since I was just crowned in August I am currently planning out all of the appearances that I’m hoping to make for the year. For the past five years I have been the assistant director for the Miss St. Croix Valley Pageant, a local pageant to the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant, which is held in September. I was able to continue my work planning and executing the pageant, except this year I was able to do it as a titleholder. This month I also had the opportunity to participate in the annual Maine One Walk which supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, and once a week I go to Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital as a Child Life Center Volunteer.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are some of your achievements? I am by definition a first generation college student, so one of my greatest accomplishments was graduating from college with my Bachelors Degree. I am also a five-time Presidential Volunteer Service Award Recipient for completing thousands of hours of community service, a George J. Mitchell Scholar, and have been invited twice to speak at WE Believe, an international event designed to inspire North American youth to make a positive impact on the world. And if all that wasn’t exciting enough, I also completed two medical mission trips to South America when I was in college.
World Class Beauty Queens: What makes you stand out from all those other beautiful girls? I like to believe that every contestant brings something different to the table when vying for a title. Pageants have grown far beyond just being physically beautiful, it takes a captivating personality and a heart for serving others. It also requires having a plan of action for your year of service. I feel that I was able to illustrate for the judges my plan of action as a state titleholder and how I would work to positively promote the AWOS system.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about the moment your name was called out as the winner. As cliché as it sounds, it was totally surreal. I have been competing in this pageant system for 6 years and have never been able to capture the Maine state title (although, I had come close!). This year was my first year in the Ms. Division, so I honestly didn’t have any expectations. When you compete with women everyone is so accomplished and well rounded that I can’t imagine how the judges were even able to choose!
World Class Beauty Queens: What does it mean to you to be a Beauty Queen? I honestly really dislike the word beauty queen. As I’ve said before, pageants have grown into so much more than just being “beautiful” physically, and that’s what people think of when you hear “beauty queen”. It’s about having a beautiful heart and soul.
World Class Beauty Queens: How did competing in pageants helped your life? A better question is how have they not?! Pageantry has helped me develop the skills that I need to be a success young professional in my current, and future endeavors. Through these skills I have the confidence and ability to interview for jobs/opportunities, to speak in front of thousands of people, and feel comfortable in my skin daily. It’s because of pageants that I have learned how to be authentically, and unapologetically myself.
World Class Beauty Queens: How did pageants helped your selfesteem and body image? I am not a size two, by any means. So many people feel that if they aren’t tiny that they can’t compete in pageants, but they are so wrong. It took me a while to get there but I have never felt more confident in my own skin than I do now.
World Class Beauty Queens: You are an inspiration to all the girls out there. How does it feel? Somedays it feels intense. I always strive to do my best and make good choices because I know that someone is always watching me since I’m a state titleholder. One of my biggest fears is disappointing the people that I care about so, naturally, I don’t’ want to let the people who are inspired by me down.
World Class Beauty Queens: What is your on stage strategy to win the judges over? Honestly, my strategy is to look like I’m enjoying myself! Of course, I practice my walk in advanced so I know exactly how I want to model my wardrobe and show off my personality, but the best feature you can have on stage is a natural smile.
World Class Beauty Queens: How did you prepare for your competition? I feel that preparation has to come in many forms. I train myself physically by being healthy so I can complete the tasks set in the job title (because a pageant title is, in fact, a job!). I train myself mentally, because pageants are just as much a mental game as they can be physical.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for learning better pageant walk? Practice, practice, and more practice! I have been competing in pageants for 20 years and I am still working on perfecting my walk. Everyone has their own signature when walking, and you just have to practice and find your own.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for choosing right pageant dress? Whatever makes you feel like a million bucks, wear that. Too many times girls wear what they “think” the judges want to see and look very uncomfortable in the process.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for winning interview? Interview has been my favorite phase of competition for a while, but not always. When I was younger I was terrified of interviewing because I was afraid of telling the judges something that they didn’t want to hear. The older I got, the more secure I became as a person. When I walked into my interviews I was 100% more comfortable answering the judges questions because I was figuring out who I was and what I truly stood for. That’s when I started to understand what everyone was saying (my directors, previous titleholders, coaches, etc), that the interview is all about having a conversation. Now when I walk into the interview I look forward to having a conversation with a panel of people who are selected to choose the best person for the job that I am interviewing for. I am mentally prepared for the fact that sometimes I am the person for the job, and sometimes I’m not.
World Class Beauty Queens: What is one mistake that you've done during competing you wish you could redo and fix it? Like I’ve said before, I am not a size two, I have curves, and I’m short. When I used to compete against other girls I would feel insecure because I didn’t have the “perfect pageant body”, and almost instantly counted myself out. I wish my older, wiser self could have told my younger self that I shouldn’t sweat that kind of thing, but I truly believe that it was a lesson that I needed to learn in my journey.
World Class Beauty Queens: What other mistakes are made by girls during the contest? One thing that my mom taught me when I started competing in pageants is: Different day, different judges, different girl. Each judge has a different idea of what they are looking for in a titleholder, and each contestant can have good days and bad days. When a judge tells a girl no, girls are so quick to change who they are just so they can win a crown and sash, and I believe that is a huge mistake.
World Class Beauty Queens: Any modeling or acting experience?
Not yet, but you never know what the future holds!
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your plans for 2019 as a Queen?
I’ve made a goal for myself this year to make at least 100 appearances, so my plan for the rest of 2019 is to continue to work towards that goal.
World Class Beauty Queens: What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? My goal is to always leave a legacy of service. Pageants are a wonderful outlet for getting involved with organizations that you are passionate about, and that is exactly what I have done with my pageant career. I hope that I can inspire someone to follow on a similar path because it is definitely a rewarding one.
National Director: Jasmine DeRier
State director: Deb Landry
Your Local Director: Michele Libby
Pageant website: www.missmainepageant.com World Class Beauty Queens Magazine would like to say thank you for this amazing interview.
Crystal Nicole Annis Ms. Maine American Women of Service 2020, World Class Beauty Queens Magazine, Mandy McQueen Photography. Makeup Flawless Pros, Stephanie Lyman and gowns by Blush Bridal and Formal. Maine State Director and Executive Director of Crossroads
Deb Landry is the president, founder and executive director of Bryson Taylor Inc., Crossroads Youth Center and is a bestselling, award winning children's author. With over 40 years of experience in business administration, management, coaching, consulting and publishing, Deb specialized in operational and organization management and holds certifications in life and parent coaching, wedding and event planning, professional image and etiquette consultant.
As a coach, she specializes in social awareness behaviors, personal growth, professional development and character education with a focus on developmental education to raise resilient and respectful youth. Over the past 17 years, she has added extensive pageant coaching experience specializing in interview and resume skills.
A humanitarian, Deb is the co-founder, President-Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Crossroads, a 501-c3 nonprofit scholarship community art based organization, and has been recognized with several awards for her work including A Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Honorary, Rotary's Paul Harris Award, National Collegiate Director of the Year, National Director of the Year UNM, Best in Pageantry Awards for 3 years and the STAR Community Service Award, Deb has been interviewed and featured on NBC, CBS, national radio, and several publications including The Phoenix, USA Weekend Magazine, Raising Maine Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Women's Day Magazine, and Child Magazine. She is the host of the new podcast Raising Cain, named for her blog of many years.
www.deblandry.com About our platform and our organization.
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 not-for-profit youth program that is organized and operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Their largest program, the Maine Academic Scholarship program, developed a scholarship pageant system 11 years ago as their major fundraiser and it has taken on a world of its own.
Crossroads also host many programs focusing on character education and bullying prevention. They produce the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant , USA National Miss Maine, American Women of Service, American Women of Service ME, Young Maine Women of Service, Miss Maine Elementary, Primary and Preschool, Miss Sensational, and is has recently added Canada in 2019 with the North American Women of Service.
The state pageant, largest in the state of Maine with over 100 contestants annually, is proudly affiliated with USA National Miss Scholarship Pageant and the American Women of Service National Pageants to provide pageantry opportunities of the highest quality to females of all ages beyond the state level. It is their goal to provide girls and young women with the tools to enhance and develop communication, self-presentation and interview skills, allowing them to become resilient, community minded adults. Crossroads is proud to offer opportunities to earn college scholarships at the national level to assist them in their academic journey, striving to provide an opportunity that guides their participants to be community minded, resilient, strong and respectful citizens while learning to give back to the community where they live.
The pageant itself and the executive director have been awarded top 5 honors with the Pageant Planet three years in a row for best pageant , best prize package and best state director. “Our first pageant had only four contestants,” states Executive Director, Deb Landry, “and now 11 years later we are servicing over 100 women and young girls across the state with 13 local pageants. We have grown into a movement to serving over 16000 hours of community service annually.”
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 charitable organization whose mission is to raise resilient children, youth, and teens by providing innovative programs that serve Maine youth to envision and navigate a course for a rewarding future that is characterized by achievement, independent thought, and social responsibility through education, mentoring and volunteering. For more information visit www.missmainepageant.com.
Our National Partnership:
The USA National Miss Scholarship Organization is our national pageant program for ages 4-25. UNM combines all the excitement of pageantry with the high fashion and energy of a runway fashion show – while recognizing the personal achievement, community involvement and academic excellence of young women all across the USA. Their unique program is designed to award young women for their accomplishments, and to mentor them to reach their goals and unleash their true potential. USA National Miss awards six prestigious national titles and thousands in cash scholarships each summer at the national pageant. USA National Miss has been featured in the national media: Pageantry Magazine, MTV Made, Tiara Magazine, American Model & Pageant Magazine, The Pageant Planet, and Pageant Talk Radio just to name a few. With our unique approach, USA National Miss is changing the face of pageantry with the national director named the number 1 national director in 2015. For more information visit our national website at www.USANationalMiss.com.
The American Women of Service, is the child of national director Jasmine DeRier. Jasmine’s dream was to develop a national pageant for women who serve their community, representing the national platform and their own personal platform. Now in its fourth year AWOS has grown include Canadian citizens, Young American Women of Service and a noncompetitive program for young girls.
We Customize Your Pageant Experience
Crossroads Productions is following the trend and joined USA National Miss, a fashion-forward system that allows our delegates the opportunity to combine their love of pageantry with other optional elements to custom design their pageant experience- whether your focus is on fashion and modeling, or talent, education, community service, and mentorship we have a division for you. We celebrate individuality! At our state pageant, each delegate will compete in evening gown, interview and the signature red carpet runway fashion show- a fun, exciting and upbeat runway fashion event where each delegate can showcase their unique sense of style and personality on a real runway. We will also be awarding distinguished optional titles: State Role Model, Supermodel, Hospitality Queen, Spokes Model, and Talented Miss, Miss Maine Preschool, Primary and Elementary to the first runners up in the jr. divisions, as well as additional optional divisions and state titles where delegates can earn crowns, awards and prizes.
We skillfully mix social events within the competition so that delegates can have fun, meet new friends from across the state, and take home memories they will cherish for the rest of their lives. We also encourage community involvement and charity work through our platform, The Crown CARES, (creating a respectful environment in schools). And in keeping with the tradition of pageantry, our system encourages young women to be graceful, articulate, accomplished females with strong values and self worth.
CP represents a positive approach to pageantry – no swimsuit competition, no experience necessary, no mandatory talent and no make-up in our younger divisions, all females are invited, age 1 week to 99!. We strive to develop leadership, public speaking and communication skills while building self-confidence among the state and nation’s young women.
Custom Design Your Reign
Knowing that each young woman who participates in our program has unique talents, gifts, goals and interests, we fashioned our program so that our state royalty can custom design their reign to align it with their own personal goals in order to achieve their dreams. Whether their interests are geared toward a career in modeling, talent development, or want to further your charity work, make friends or find mentorship opportunities, we will provides a platform to fulfill dreams. Having a unique focus and custom designed plan for each queen allows for personal growth, success and fulfillment during their reign and beyond. In addition, their royalty participate in a variety of activities together, forming a bond of sisterhood that is sure to last a lifetime.
Crossroads offer many different ways young ladies and women can compete, and have secured many local titles to promote our great state of Maine: Crossroads’ Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant owns and has trademarked the follow titles as of August 2011:
Miss Maine Pre-School TM
Miss Maine Primary TM
Miss Maine Elementary TM
Miss MS Mrs. Maine, American Women of Service TM
Young American Women of Service TM
Royal Prince and Princess Academy TM
Miss Sensational Pageant TM (A pageant for young girls with disabilities)
Miss Pine Tree TM
Miss Dirigo TM
The Crown CARES
State and National Platform:
The Crown CARES (Creating A Respectful Environment in Schools/Society) is specifically designed for volunteers, pageant systems and peer ambassadors who wish to promote awareness as a platform on the epidemic of bullying in schools, to cultivate a safe environment and most importantly teach skills to develop social responsibility and character education in school-age children, youth and teens and is modeled after the Unite Against Bullying Project.
Designed to raise awareness of positive social behaviors, bullying and harassment prevention, and to give practical solutions, the easy how to manual is available and provided to the participants, provides the general knowledge, research, resources and practical advice necessary to incorporate steps and measures for your program to effectively promote awareness of bullying prevention, harassment and creating a safe school environment.
The Crown CARES program outlines the definition and simple solutions of the age-old problem of bullying. While there are no grandiose or magical explanations, intellectually understanding the importance of good character, and bullying prevention as well as developing and maintaining a program in or out of school is what Crown CARES has put at the forefront is placing the representatives in a reputable place in their community. The author, Deb Landry, stated that “it is our responsibility as adults, community leaders, caretakers and human beings to nurture the delicacy of our youth. We can only accomplish this by ongoing improvements and continuing education with the youth’s safety as the principal purpose.”
Excerpts from this program were taken from the workbook, The Comfort Zone and by Meline Kevorkian, ED., Robin D’Antona, ED. and Deb Landry, Maines Best Practice Manual, and Sticks Stones and Stumped children’s book and workbook by Deb Landry, and the Unite Against Bullying Program by Deb Landry, published by Bryson Taylor Publishing. The Crown CARES program is also available as Unite Against Bullying ME for non-pageant people who wish to be advocates for the mission. More information is available at www.crowncares.org. The program and logo is researched based and is copyrighted.
Interview by Derek Tokarzewski Owner/Editor in Chief Mr United Nations 2018 Platform: Women Empowerment Ambassador to International Foundation for Orphans iffocares.org
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