Pageants
Her first major title was Miss Virginia Teen USA 1999, and she won the Miss Virginia USA crown in 2004. Not long after giving up her Miss USA state title she won Miss Apple Blossom Festival 2005, going on to win Miss Virginia 2005.
Glakas won the Miss Virginia Teen USA 1999 title in late 1998 and competed in the Miss Teen USA 1999 pageant held in Shreveport, Louisiana in August 1999. She placed in the top ten in the nationally televised pageant, which was won by Ashley Coleman of Delaware. Glakas won the only scholarship given by Miss Universe for writing an essay, $5,000.
Glakas competed in the Miss Virginia USA pageant, placing twice as first runner-up. She won the 2004 title. She represented Virginia in the Miss USA 2004 pageant broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California in April 2004.
Less than a year after giving up her title Glakas competed for and won the Miss Apple Blossom Festival and Miss Virginia titles. In the Miss America 2006 pageant she made it to the top five finalists, ultimately placing third runner-up. She also was one of the three preliminary swimsuit winners along with Shannon Schambeau, Miss District of Columbia and Miss Utah, Julia Marie Bachison. Glakas' platform as Miss Virginia in the Miss America pageant was "Life Skills: Enabling America's Youth to Achieve Excellence." During her involvement with the Miss America Organization, she won over $35,000 in academic scholarship. She won the Community Service Award at Miss Virginia (a $1,000 scholarship), and won the swimsuit competition at the local, state, and national level.
She is a "Triple Crown" pageantry winner, one of only seven contestants to hold state titles for Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss America.
Glakas has been involved in numerous organizations that advocate for disadvantaged children. As a spokesperson for Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces for sick kids with hair loss, she cut off 18 inches of her hair and donated to Richard Simmons' TV show DreamMaker. She has said that the Miss America 2006 pageant was her last, and is the competition of which she is the most proud.
Read more about this topic: Kristi Lauren Glakas