There she is, Miss Montana

and the new Miss America is….. Miss New York. I was worried the winner wouldn’t look like Barbie or be able to tap dance to a James Brown song. Well, that was wasted energy. You can sleep easy my friends knowing Mallory Hagan got the crown. Now, she is going to use her title to help stop child sexual abuse. Would you expect anything less from a gal who plans to get a degree in cosmetics and fragrance marketing?

I am sure Mallory rocked the swimsuit competition. However, I think the contestant we should be talking about was one of the losers. Miss Montana, Alexis Wineman, was the first contestant ever with Autism. Wineman, 18, was diagnosed when she was 11-years-old. She is considered to be high functioning, but getting to the Miss America stage wasn’t easy. Wineman struggled as a child. She was ridiculed for her speech impediment and anti-social behavior. Wineman hoped to win and help people better understand Autism. She wants to work as an art therapist upon graduating college. Can you think of a more inspiring person to represent this country? Me neither. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have gigantic breasts and bleach blonde hair. Our Miss America must have a life goal to sell eye shadow.

Miss Montana was the People’s Choice to advance to the semi-finals, but she didn’t get much further. The judges included Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America’s weatherman Sam Champion. Let us not forget Shark Tank star Daymond John: the true authority on beauty. Miss Montana may not have won the sash, but she is the clear winner in my book. Congratulations.