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Published on 07/24/1995 All articles from this issue

Los Altos resident a judge at 1995 Junior Miss pageant

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By Jennifer Bixler / Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altos resident Chris Tompane and vice president at University Bank & Trust Company, was a judge in America's Junior Miss 1995 in Mobile, Alabama, in late June.

The Junior Miss program is the oldest scholastic program in the United States. In 1958, the Junior Miss began to award outstanding senior high school girls with phenomenal grades, community involvement and talent.

"Rewarding all the strength in education a girl has followed through her school years," Tompane said.

"They don't want to call it a pageant - it is a scholastically based program," Tompane said. There is not a bathing suit or evening gown portion of the competition, but are evaluated by scholastics achievement, creative and performing arts, presence and composure, physical fitness and a personal interview."

She said more than $34 million in scholarships are given to America's Junior Miss participants at the local, state and national level each year.

"The purpose of the Junior Miss is to help them go and pursue education, that they might have not been able to attended without financial help," Tompane said.

Past winners of the Junior Miss that have gained national recognition include Diane Sawyer, Mary Frann of TV's Bob Newhart Show, and Kathie Lee Gifford.

Tompane herself was a past Virginia Junior Miss in 1974. The scholarship money she was awarded helped her put herself through Stanford University. "It gave me both the financial wherewithal and a tremendous amount of confidence," Tompane said. "The Junior Miss puts you in settings that as a high school senior might never have been."