Miss America panelists for prelims announced

With the 100th Anniversary Miss America competition beginning this weekend, the Miss America Organization announced the panelists for the two-night competition preliminaries scheduled to take place on Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

Miss America 2020
Camille Schrier

The preliminaries will be live streamed at watchmissamerica.com, with the final night of the Miss America competition being broadcast from the award-winning 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m.

This year’s competition will return with a new and enhanced format allowing audiences to stream the event live across all time zones for the first time ever.

This year’s Miss America competition preliminary panelists  include: Danielle Canty, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and the co-founder and president of the educational media company, BossBabe; Kevin Davis, a dancer, musician, actor and content creator who has traveled the world dancing, teaching and judging in Japan, Moscow, Korea, France, Samoa, India and China; Jessica Rae, a Filipino business owner, dancer and educator around movement and entrepreneurship, and is the founder and CEO of Rae Model & Talent Agency, LLC and Rae Studios; Paige Mycoskie, an artist, fashion designer, and businesswoman, and the founder of the lifestyle and fashion brand, Aviator Nation; and John Gurney, a country artist and singer-songwriter whose 2020 independent debut EP has reached more than 40 million streams and landed him a spot as the face of Spotify’s coveted Hot Country playlist.

The Miss America competition had a profound impact on Mycoskie from an early age and she is relishing the opportunity to serve as a panelist in the preliminary competition this year.

“I am so excited to be a part of the panelists for the Miss America 100th celebration,” said Mycoskie in a press release from the Miss America Organization. “As a young girl I watched Miss America on TV and I remember being inspired by so many women as they competed. The talent, both creative and intellectual that this contest brings to the masses is so powerful and inspiring for young girls to witness.  One of the things I love most about this competition is the diversity in talent.  It is really awesome for a young girl to see that you don’t just have to be beautiful to be recognized but you can be an awesome dancer, thought leader or visionary. I know that whoever we choose to be crowned Miss America in the end will go on to do powerful things in the world and I am excited to play a part in choosing who that woman will be.”