From Plan B Committee: Dear Miss America Family,

From Plan B Committee:

Dear Miss America Family,

We realize that yesterday’s lawsuit verdict was not exactly what we had hoped for. While we had hoped to have reinstated the 1.0 state organizations for GA, PA, TN, and WV, the lawsuit will still move on to a final decision of who controls the organization later this spring. We continue to be very hopeful that Jennifer Vaden Barth will be successful in court and we are thankful that Judge Blee saw merit in her case. We are also hopeful that we can all come back together as one Miss America family and move forward later this spring with limited leadership from those currently leading the Miss America Organization.

As Jennifer and her team are laser-beam focused on the lawsuit, there is a small group of us who are working behind the scenes to put together a “Plan B,” so that there is a very clear path forward in case the lawsuit is unsuccessful. Our sole goal is to communicate a vision of a plan so that we are not starting at “ground zero” on the day the lawsuit might not prevail. While we hope we do not have to use “Plan B” and are successful in court, this plan will help us to get started on a new plan focused on continuing the 98 year tradition of the Miss America program in the event the lawsuit fails.

First, let us say that those of us who are organizing “Plan B” simply want what Suzette Charles stated in her recent op-ed: The mission of the Miss America pageant should be “granting scholarship money to very special women who are revered for their beauty, talent and academic accomplishments, as well as their well-toned physiques and personal civic-minded platforms.” While we are not opposed to change and the modernization of the program, we want to be a part of a program run with good governance and integrity.

Before outlining the specifics of the “Plan B” vision, we want to state up front that the “Plan B” team is only interested in communicating a vision for a path forward, and communicating this plan with the constituents prior to the lawsuit verdict. Those of us involved in sharing the “Plan B” vision have zero interest in being a part of the national leadership of the new organization. We strongly believe that the leadership of the new organization should be in the hands of those who have publicly fought so hard over the last year to save the organization. When Jennifer Barth and others involved in the lawsuit read about “Plan B” as you are reading about it here, they will be reading about it for the first time. No one from Jennifer’s team seeking legal action is associated with “Plan B.”

If on lawsuit day we the Miss America constituents are unsuccessful, we hope that “Plan B” will begin immediately. Here is the vision of what we hope “Plan B” will accomplish:

1. Immediately following the failure of the lawsuit (if this happens), the “Plan B” committee recommends that four individuals immediately become the start of a Board of Trustees for a new non-profit organization: Jennifer Vaden Barth, Valerie Clemens, Laura Fleiss, and Kate Shindle. We recommend that two of the four individuals listed above become co-chairs for the organization, and that the new organization adopt in its future by-laws a plan to always maintain co-chair positions on the Board.
2. “Plan B” recommends that the following individuals be brought up for consideration as possible national Board members: Mansfield Bias, Delta Burke, Ashley Byrd, Suzette Charles, Carolyn Daniels, Suzi Doland, Ericka Dunlap, Katie Ebner, Mike Fleiss, Caressa Jackson, Nicole Johnson, Carrie Lakey, Betty Maxwell, Heather McCallum, Cara Mund, Teresa Scanlan, Sage Steele, Leah Summers, Marjorie Tripp, and any/all of Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant leadership. Of course there are many other individuals who would be great National Board members as well.
3. All MAO license holders who held licenses at the time of the September 9, 2018 national competition date will be given the option to immediately become part of the new organization. If the lawsuit fails, these state EDs and Boards will need to make an immediate decision and announcement as to whether they will continue under the MAO 2.0 organization, or if they will hold a state pageant that is not affiliated with the Miss America Organization 2.0 and is instead affiliated with this new organization (Miss America 1.0, so to speak). Any state licensees who wishes to break away from the Miss America Organization 2.0 will automatically become a state licensee under the new organization.
4. For the states whose licensees choose to stay with MAO 2.0, the national Board would be looking for individuals in those states to start a new state pageant. The national Board (led by Barth, Clemens, Fleiss, and Shindle) would select the individuals who would run additional state organizations. We hope that priority for consideration would be given to strong, long time volunteers, local volunteers, and former state titleholders who love the tradition of the program. The goal would still be to host a summer state pageant in 2019, even if it is smaller-scale and a one or two day event, as opposed to a full competition week (depending on funding, size of the state pageant, etc.)
5. State pageants that are in place this summer should hold a traditional state pageant, following the lead of the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant. We recommend that all state pageants held in the summer of 2019 use the title “Miss State Scholarship Pageant” for the time being. All MAO local titleholders would be welcome to compete in this state pageant, even if they choose to also compete in the MAO 2.0 competition. The recommendation for scoring at the state pageant this summer is to use the same scoring system that the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant will be using.
6. All local organizations after this summer should choose whether or not they are affiliated with MAO 2.0, or if they will be affiliated with the new (yet traditional) Scholarship pageant organization. All MAO locals would be welcome to immediately become part of the new national program.
7. “Plan B” recommends that the new National Board not host a national pageant in September 2019. Instead, we recommend that 1.0 state winners attend the National Sweetheart Pageant in Hoopeston, Illinois, if the state pageant organization decides this is feasible and appropriate. We recommend leaving the decision to each state and not make this a mandate.
8. “Plan B” recommends that the new National Organization take a year to decide the following: A) Is it best to fight for the “Miss America” brand name, and would it be legal to be the “Miss America 1.0 Scholarship Pageant” since MAO has already decided to market themselves as 2.0 and as a competition and not a pageant; B) Should the new organization consider merging with the Miss National Sweetheart Pageant since they already have a national pageant established, C) Should the new organization strive to reestablish itself as the leading national pageant event in Atlantic City and focus on reestablishing relations with Atlantic City to become the sole recognized pageant event by the city.
9. “Plan B” recommends that the new National Organization work toward ensuring that 51 state winners are crowned in the summer of 2020; that a televised national pageant be held as early as September 2020, and that this televised event become the premier celebration of Miss America’s tradition and 100 year history, even though the pageant itself will be a new pageant of sorts.
10. “Plan B” believes that the new organization should always strive to recognize the history of the Miss America program from 1921-2018, and should always include, welcome, and embrace all past state and Forever Miss Americas, including Gretchen Carlson and Nia Franklin.

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/miss-america-2-0.104176/page-4