Miss Sacramento County Scholarship Program
An official Preliminary to Miss California and Miss America
An official Preliminary to Miss California and Miss America
Past and Present Miss Sacramento and Miss Sacramento County Title Holders
Patricia Lehman - Miss Sacramento 1951, Miss California 1951,
National Finalist at Miss America 1951
You may remember Patricia Lehman (known today as Pat Blucher), as the school teacher who became Miss Sacramento, Miss California and a National Finalist in the Miss America Pageant in 1951-52. A lifelong musician, Pat attributes much of her success in the Miss America Program to the pageant's talent component. To this day, Pat still performs her Miss America piano medley of classical, swing and jazz music. Pat taught for 40 years in the Sacramento Unified School District where she often lead the student's choir and organized talent shows. After retiring with Sacramento Unified, Pat joined the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society which provided her with the opportunity to play with other musicians for the first time. Over the years, Pat has played with Sacramento's No Name Jazz and Dance Band, the Absolute Jazz Band, the Black Tuesday Jazz Band, the Musicats Jazz Band, the Dixon Firehouse Philharmonic Jazz Band and has performed regularly as part of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Today, Pat performs with her own Jazz Band, Pat Blucher and the Jazzin' Gents, which performs regularly at the Straw Hat Pizza in Rancho Cordova. In the summer of 2009, Pat was inspired to continue the legacy of a close friend's Trio, Nostalgia. Nostalgia Returns! performs locally in the surrounding Sacramento areas. Married for 51 years to Lester Blucher, Pat has two sons, enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren, and is expecting her first great-grandchild in May 2010.
National Finalist at Miss America 1951
You may remember Patricia Lehman (known today as Pat Blucher), as the school teacher who became Miss Sacramento, Miss California and a National Finalist in the Miss America Pageant in 1951-52. A lifelong musician, Pat attributes much of her success in the Miss America Program to the pageant's talent component. To this day, Pat still performs her Miss America piano medley of classical, swing and jazz music. Pat taught for 40 years in the Sacramento Unified School District where she often lead the student's choir and organized talent shows. After retiring with Sacramento Unified, Pat joined the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society which provided her with the opportunity to play with other musicians for the first time. Over the years, Pat has played with Sacramento's No Name Jazz and Dance Band, the Absolute Jazz Band, the Black Tuesday Jazz Band, the Musicats Jazz Band, the Dixon Firehouse Philharmonic Jazz Band and has performed regularly as part of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Today, Pat performs with her own Jazz Band, Pat Blucher and the Jazzin' Gents, which performs regularly at the Straw Hat Pizza in Rancho Cordova. In the summer of 2009, Pat was inspired to continue the legacy of a close friend's Trio, Nostalgia. Nostalgia Returns! performs locally in the surrounding Sacramento areas. Married for 51 years to Lester Blucher, Pat has two sons, enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren, and is expecting her first great-grandchild in May 2010.
Angela LaBrasca - Miss Sacramento 1952
If you have any information on Ms. LaBrasca, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Joyce Burger - Miss Sacramento 1953
If you have any information on Ms. Burger, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Delsa Keaton - Miss Sacramento 1954
If you have any information on Ms. Keaton, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Judy Niederloh - Miss Sacramento 1955
Judy Niederloh graduated from El Camino High School in 1955.
If you have any additional information on Ms. Niederloh, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Joan Beckett - Miss Sacramento 1956, Miss California 1956,
Top 10 at Miss America 1956
Preliminary Swimsuit Award at Miss America
If you have any information on Ms. Beckett, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Lorna Anderson - Miss Sacramento 1957, Miss California 1957,
3rd Runner-Up at Miss America 1957
Lorna Anderson (known today as Lorna Brown) has played the accordion since the age of nine. The daughter of Swedish immigrants, her talent at the Miss America Pageant was "Dark Eyes" on the accordion. Always performing as a soloist, Lorna is now refreshed to be playing with a live professional band, The Polka Dots, enjoying the authentic polkas and waltzes of the early to mid-1900's. Lorna has appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and was selected in 1957 as the "Fighting Lady" for the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown- where she played the accordion for 3,000 men. Lorna is a retired educator with 18 years in the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento, and 4 years with the Leonia and Saddle River School Districts in New Jersey. She also retired from real estate after 10 years as a real estate broker, specializing in exclusive golf resort properties in Pinehurst, North Carolina. She now resides in Salisbury, N.C. View Lorna's website at www.polkadotsband.com
Credits: salisburyartists.org, polkadotsband.com, csus.edu
Sandra Soliday - Miss Sacramento 1958
(An excerpt from The Sacramento Bee, 1982)
Sandy Soliday, 41, has been running her own diamond brokerage the past three years. It's a profession she prefers to the acting career she once pursued. "It didn't take too long to find out acting wasn't what I wanted to do," she says. "I wasn't cut out for it. It takes a certain kind of personality that I just didn't have." Now Sandy Staines, she went to Sacramento State College, where she majored in drama and art. She graduated in 1964, modeled for a couple of years and then simply grew bored with it. "Modeling was a good experience, though," Staines said, "and so was being Miss Sacramento. It is something that would give any girl a great deal of confidence. it puts you in a position where you have to exude confidence even if you're not. Eventually you become confident." After teaching art for a few years, Staines began buying and selling diamonds. Then she started her business, Diamond Finders, in Carmichael. She is married to building designer Bill Staines and has two children.
If you have any more recent inforamtion on Ms. Soliday, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Patricia Ann Williams - Miss Sacramento 1959
If you have any information on Ms. Williams, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Linda Hines - Miss Sacramento 1960
If you have any information on Ms. Hines, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Julie Van de Vort - Miss Sacramento 1961
(An excerpt from The Sacramento Bee, 1982)
The day Julie Van De Vort (now Julie Curry) was crowned, she said her goal was to sing in Broadway musicals. She gave it a shot, but found out it wasn't what she wanted. "I went to L.A. for a while," she says, "but it was just really hard to break into that business and live that kind of life. I met my husband there - he was a dancer - and we decided that we wanted other things." She moved back to the Sacramento area with her husband, Jere, and both became dance instructors. Today, the 40-year-old Curry tutors young dancers at the Davis Art Center. Curry, who at the time attended San Juan High school in Citrus Heights, said she entered the Miss Sacramento contest mainly for the opportunity of singing - just once - on the Memorial Auditorium stage. "My father was a singer," she says, "and I wanted to do that. The contest was a vehicle to realize that dream." She lives in Davis with her husband and two sons.
If you have any more recent information on Ms. Van de Vort, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Micheyl Broaddus - Miss Sacramento 1962
Micheyl Broaddus graduated from Encina High School in 1961.
If you have any additional information on Ms. Broaddus, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Wendy Lee Douglas - Miss Sacramento 1963, Miss California 1963,
Top 10 Semi-Finalist at Miss America 1963
If you have any information on Ms. Douglas, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Yvonne Zetz - Miss Sacramento 1964
(An excerpt from The Sacramento Bee, 1982)
During the year Yvonne Zetz was Miss Sacramento, her boyfriend, Dave Torgerson, was off playing baseball in the Los Angeles (now California) Angels farm system. The couple married in 1965, and moved to the south Bay area where Dave played for the San Jose Bees. Yvonne traveled with Dave to and from minor league towns the next two years. then the couple chucked the dram of becoming the next Tom and Nancy Seaver. Dave quit baseball and they returned to Sacramento to start a family. Before she was crowned, Yvonne Zetz, now 36 and now Yvonne Torgerson, had modeled for a couple of years while attending Hiram Johnson High School. But she didn't pursue modeling and show business offers that poured in at the end of 1965. "I was asked to do the Gold Digger thing and dance in Vegas," she says. "I was flattered. However, I didn't want to do anything like that. I just wanted to get married and have a family." After moving back to Sacramento, though, she modeled off and on until her second son was born in 1969. today she works part time as a waitress in a Sacramento restaurant.
If you have anymore recent information on Ms. Zetz, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Lyne Cheryl Steiner - Miss Sacramento 1965
If you have any information on Ms. Steiner, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Sheri Kurk - Miss Sacramento 1966
If you have any information on Ms. Kurk, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Mary Eddi Duckworth - Miss Sacramento 1967
During her year of reign, Mary's hobbies included swimming, horseback riding, sewing and reading.
If you have any information on Ms. Duckworth, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Patti Smith - Miss Sacramento 1968, 4th Runner-Up to Miss California 1968
Won the Talent Competition at Miss California 1968
During her year of reign, Patti's hobbies included playing tennis, making feather flowers and singing.
If you have any information on Ms. Smith, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Polly Ann Houghton - Miss Sacramento 1969, 1st Runner-Up to Miss CA
1969, Won the Talent Competition at Miss CA 1969
During her year of reign, Polly attended Sacramento State College where she majored in English. Her hobbies included singing, playing the piano, and reading.
Suzanne Wensch - Miss Metro Sacramento 1969, Maid of California 1969
Suzanne Wensch (now Suzanne Nickens), won the title of Miss Metro Sacramento in 1969. This title was the first step toward becoming Miss Universe (Miss Sacramento winners traverse Miss America). Nickens entered and won the Maid of California contest in 1969 as a stand-in for Miss Sacramento County, who was unable to compete.
If you have any more recent information on Ms. Houghton or Ms. Wensch, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Sandra Lynn Herring - Miss Sacramento 1970
If you have any information on Ms. Herring, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Linda Lillian Jonason - Miss Sacramento 1971
If you have any information on Ms. Jonason, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Laura Harrison - Miss Sacramento 1972
(An excerpt from The Sacramento Bee, 1982)
Shortly after her Miss Sacramento reign, Laura Harrison became a PSA flight attendant. She kept a fairly low profile until 1980, when she appeared in an an adult photo essay. Soon Hollywood producers were knocking on her door and Harrison found herself on the threshold of stardom. "I was offered a contract to do three movies," she says. "I took acting classes at UCLA because they wanted me to get some experience. Then the producers came around and I found out you don't ever get anything for nothing ... Some of the girls trying to get into the movie business will do anything." Harrison now has no desire to be an actor. "I'd rather be the brains behind the scenes," she says. She returned to Sacramento and started Entourage, a catering assistance business and she still works part time for PSA.
If you have any more recent information on Ms. Harrison, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Debra Jo Nix - Miss Sacramento 1973
If you have any information on Ms. Nix, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Cynthia Ann Olson - Miss Sacramento 1974
If you have any information on Ms. Olson, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Patricia Ann Williams, Jolene Favero - Miss Sacramento 1975
Jolene Favero graduated from Encina High School in 1975.
If you have any information on either Ms. Williams or Ms. Favero, please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Linda Regan - Miss Sacramento 1976
Linda Regan (known today as Linda Regan Bott) won the tile of Miss Sacramento at age 17. Immediately, Linda began a four-year association with the Miller’s Outpost retail chain which kept her busy jetting back and forth to Los Angeles to do print ads, commercials and voice-over work for their ad campaigns. Simultaneously, Linda was tackling 5 Broadway shows a day, six days a week at Marriott's Great America in San Jose. After her year of reign, Linda moved to Los Angeles where she landed a job with the “Golddiggers,” a 6-member troupe of female singer/dancers who opened for Dean Martin, Joan Rivers, David Brenner and others as they toured North America. After three years with the Golddiggers, Linda took some time off and crafted her own nightclub act, wowing audiences from Los Angeles to Monrovia, Africa and countless points in-between. From there she embarked on a several-year stint as a cutting-edge cabaret performer at the Pink Giraffe Club in Hong Kong. Three more years with the Golddiggers led to Linda’s first album release in 1993. "No Boundaries" featured what would become the theme song for the Sacramento AIDS foundation, "Let The Miracles Begin". Linda ultimately ended up in the song writing capital of the world, Nashville, Tennessee where she worked with some of the city’s best songwriters and artists. In the new millennium, Linda has returned to her roots - torch ballads, big band classics and jazz standards. Her newest album, "Something So Familiar" is abundant with timeless standards where she first found her calling. Linda's website: www.lindaregan.com
Now, She owns Free Fire Radio station KCNR1460 a.m. with her husband and
co-anchor on the air on their morning talk show called Free Fire Radio.
Credits: Marc Beauchamp, m.redding.com
Carlotta Gutierrez- Miss Sacramento 1978 (No Pageant in 1977)
If you have any information on Ms. Gutierrez please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Deborah Adams - Miss Sacramento 1979
If you have any information on Ms. Adams please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Andrea McElwain - Miss Sacramento 1980
(An excerpt from The Sacramento Bee, 1982)
Supporting herself as a dance instructor and part-time sales clerk, Andrea McElwain, 21, is a communications major at Sacramento state University. She wants to be a television news anchorwoman. "I was a starving dancer and when I got into the Miss Sacramento program, I started speaking and found out it was a talent of mine and I really enjoyed it," she says. "Actually, I'm a real ham." Mcelwain, an American River College student at the time she was crowned, won $1,300 in scholarships to help pay her expenses at Sacramento State. she says her title has been a tremendous asset in other ways, too. "I would never be able to teach if I didn't have the experience of being Miss Sacramento," she says. "That opened a lot of doors for me." She is a free-lance teacher and says the title has brought her most of her clients.
If you have any more recent information on Ms. McElwain please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Deborah Moller - Miss Sacramento 1981
If you have any information on Ms. Moller please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Trina Gillespie - Miss Sacramento County 1982
If you have any information on Ms. Gillespie please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Thora Chaves - Miss Sacramento County 1983
If you have any information on Ms. Chaves please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Lisa Manley - Miss Sacramento County 1984
Lisa Manley-Jeffers is a native Californian who began her professional life as an actress. A member of Equity, the union for professional actors, Lisa starred in numerous theatrical productions across the United States. In fact, many people in the Tulsa area remember her as "Laurey" in Discoveryland!'s production of "Oklahoma!". After her marriage, she worked in the insurance business as a Long Term Care Consultant, promoting to National Sales Trainer for Amex Life and GE Assurance. Lisa moved to the Los Angeles area in 1999, where she opened her Voice and Performing Arts studio. She and her family relocated back to the Tulsa area where she became a Real Estate Consultant with Keller Williams Realty. She considers herself an honorary Oklahoman, having lived in this area for a total of 9 1/2 years. Professional associations include National Association of Professional Women, National Association of Realtors, and Greater Tulsa Area Realtors. View Lisa's Website: www.homes4saleintulsa.com
Karyl Knopp - Miss Sacramento County 1985
Karyl (Knopp) Villa graduated from UCLA in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies. She was working for The Running Scene Magazine in Sacramento as an Account Executive when she decided to compete in The Miss Sacramento County Pageant in 1985 and became the eventual titleholder. That year she ranks as one of the top ten experiences in her life and one she will always cherish. During that year she met her future husband, Tom Villa. They now live in Granite Bay, have two children and have been married 23 years. Their daughter Lauren is a Sophomore at UC Davis, and their son Paul is a Sophomore at Del Oro High School in Loomis. Karyl loves her family, playing tennis and piano, and being a happy homemaker!
Janette Emelio - Miss Sacramento County 1980
If you have any information on Ms. Emelio please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Josselyn Boyle - Miss Sacramento County 1987
If you have any information on Ms. Boyle please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Leslie Witt - Miss Sacramento County 1988
If you have any information on Ms. Witt please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Kyla Todd - Miss Sacramento County 1989
If you have any information on Ms. Todd please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Annetta Lucero - Miss Sacramento County 1990
If you have any information on Ms. Lucero please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Suzanne Newhouse - Miss Sacramento County 1991
If you have any information on Ms. Newhouse please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Kristin Bergstrom - Miss Sacramento County 1992
If you have any information on Ms. Bergstrom please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Ahtossa Piroozfar - Miss Sacramento County 1993
Ahtossa Piroozfar Fullerton graduated UC Davis, and then attended Santa Clara University, obtaining both a law degree and MBA. As of January 1, 2010, she will be a partner in the San Francisco law firm of Wasacz, Hilley and Fullerton, specializing in juvenile and family law as well as mediation services. Ahtossa lives in Mill Valley with her husband and three children, and enjoys engaging in numerous volunteer and philanthropic activities both in Marin and San Francisco. While Ms. Sacramento County, Ahtossa's platform focused on getting out the vote, and she is grateful for the experience the Miss America program afforded her.
Kristi Smith - Miss Sacramento County 1994
If you have any information on Ms. Smith please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Melody Clinger - Miss Sacramento County 1995
If you have any information on Ms. Clinger please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Stacy Perez - Miss Sacramento County 1996
If you have any information on Ms. Perez please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Lisa Churches - Miss Sacramento County 1997
If you have any information on Ms. Churches please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Altinay Miller - Miss Sacramento County 1998
If you have any information on Ms. Miller please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Sherilyn Peek - Miss Sacramento County 2000 (No Pageant in 1999)
Non-Finalist Talent Award at Miss California 2000
Sherilyn Peek, known today as Sherilyn Turton, graduated from Chico State in 1999 with a BA in music with an emphasis in vocal performance. After living in Sacramento for two years, she was married in 2001 to Nate Turton. She went on to earn her multiple subject teaching credential from Chico State in 2002, and taught English and Drama at Champion Christian School for two years - one year while she earned her credential, and an additional year after that. Nate and Sherilyn moved back down to the Sacramento area in 2003 where she substitute taught and tutored for two years. Their daughter Katie was born in September of 2004 and their son Ethan was born in April of 2007. Sherilyn went back to teaching full-time in the fall of 2007 and currently teaches fourth grade at California Montessori Project (CMP) in Carmichael. CMP is a public charter school with five campuses that offers a tuition-free, Montessori education to public school children. In addition to teaching, Sherilyn sings regularly on her church worship team and has written thriteen Christian songs which have recently been copyrighted. She plans to continue teaching and writing Christian music. Only God knows where her music will take her, but she is hoping that someday some of her songs might be heard on the radio and at churches across the United States!
Michelle Crisostomo - Miss Sacramento County 2001
If you have any information on Ms. Crisostomo please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Rebecca Bolnick - Miss Sacramento County 2002
If you have any information on Ms. Bolnick please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Meghan Blake - Miss Sacramento County 2003
Meghan Blake was raised in Oroville, California and graduated with honors from U.C. Davis with a B.A. in Communication. Meghan currently lives in Washington, D.C. and works at the public relations agency Edelman- where she manages corporate reputation issues on environmental sustainability for Fortune 500 companies such as Wal-Mart. Even though her talent at Miss Sacramento was belly dancing, Meghan is an outdoor enthusiast, mountain biking any chance she gets, snowboarding in the winters and traveling to warmer waters to surf. Meghan believes that the Miss Sacramento program helped her develop the confidence needed to walk into the most stressful situations with a smile on her face- as well as the ability to talk to a top reporter just as easily as a farmer in the Ozarks. "I feel truly lucky to have been a part of this organization!”
Brandi Chock - Miss Sacramento County 2004
If you have any information on Ms. Chock please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Christiana Clark - Miss Sacramento County 2005
If you have any information on Ms. Clark please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Nicole Honaker - Miss Sacramento County 2006
Top 10 at Miss California
Nicole graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 2008 with a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology. She continued to compete in the Miss America program after giving up her Miss Sacramento County 2006 crown, and has won over $8,000 in scholarship which paid for two full years of her college education. During her year of reign, Nicole platform promoted the Importance of Being Physically Active and the Benefits that are Associated with Being Involved in Athletics. Nicole currently coaches competitive gymnastics at the non-profit Community Youth Center- continuing the platform work that she began during her reign as Miss Sacramento County. Nicole remains actively involved in the Miss Sacramento County Program, passing on the amazing opportunities and friendships that the program has afforded her.
Danielle Feil - Miss Sacramento County 2007
If you have any information on Ms. Feil please email us at Miss_Sac_County@hotmail.com
Brittney Henry - Miss Sacramento County 2008
Brittney Henry currently attends California State University, Sacramento where she is working towards her Bachelor's Degree in Intercultural Communications. Before college, she attended Puyallup High School in Puyallup, Washington. Her platform as Miss Sacramento County was "Promoting Higher Education for Low-income Families." During her year of reign, Brittney spoke in schools and volunteered with the Sacramento Community Learning Center and Life Inspiration for Teens organizations to spread the message to Sacramento's youth of the benefits a college degree. Brittney's hope is to inspire as many teens as possible to strive for financial freedoms and break free from the oppression of living in poverty. She is Miss Washington 2011 and will compete for Miss America 2012.
Hannah Shaw - Miss Sacramento County 2009
Non-Finalist Talent Award at Miss California
Miss Congeniality at Miss California
Hannah Shaw, originally from Visalia, CA moved to Sacramento in 2005 to pursue her education in Criminal Justice at California State University, Sacramento. Upon graduating in May 2009 with her Bachelor of Science in Creminal Justice, she began her career in Law Enforcement. Hannah graduated from the Sacramento Sherrif's Academy in September 2009 and is currently on patrol as a police officer. While attending Sacramento State, Hannah had many wonderful opportunities including rowing for Sacramento State's rowing team (her team won NCAA Championship Honors in their home regatta), and dancing for Sacramento State's dance team- The Hornet Girls. Hannah's continued dance success landed her a spot on the San Francisco 49er's 2008-2009 Cheerleading Team, The Goldrush. With her Goldrush teammates, Hannah had the unique opportunity to travel, perform and represent the United States in Hong Kong at the 2008 Chinese New Year Parade. During her Year of Reign as Miss Sacramento County 2009, Hannah promoted her platform of Youth Mentoring. She was able to work with some amazing organizations including the Boys and Girls Club of Sacramento, The Non-Profit Aspira Association, and Sacramento State University's Youth Mentoring Program.