Although pageant prize packages have been on the decline in recent years for various reasons, titles like Miss America and Miss USA are known not only for the opportunity, but for the prize package! The New York and LA apartments, the travel, the luxury cars, the six figure salary, and so much more! This is an important topic to discuss because when I started competing in mrs. pageants I noticed that there was not a mrs. pageant prize package that compared to the infamous miss ones. The difference is so extreme that it implies that as women age, we become less valuable. As I am writing this blog post in September of 2024, Mrs. America still has a portable DVD player in their prize package!
Not only is this extremely out of date, but to me it says that an organization doesn’t care enough about their contestants or their titleholder to take the time to curate relevant and useful prize packages. Household names only have so much power and I think that it is high time that pageant systems stop relying on their name, and start doing more to curate wonderful prize packages so that they can not only recruit women but maintain and grow their number of contestants and expand their partnerships. Pageantry is a business after all. So as a counter I have decided to give you a list of the top 6 things that I would love to see in mrs. pageant prize packages across the board! Hopefully the organizations are reading, taking notes, and working to secure sponsorships.
Cars
One thing that Miss pageants are known for is giving their titleholders a car for their year of reign to get around to all of their appearances. Some systems even offer big discounts for the titleholder to purchase the car after her year, being that she’s already put so many miles on it. I know firsthand as a Georgia peach that the Miss Georgia America Organization and Kia of Columbus have been partners for many years, and it seems to be a strong partnership. If state titleholders are getting well-known and reputable vehicles and if national titleholders are getting luxury vehicles, surely Mrs. America, Mrs. World, or Mrs. United States can get the latest SUV, minivan, or family vehicle for her year of reign. Being that most mrs. contestants are women with families, it makes sense for mrs. pageants to partner with car brands and dealerships to fulfill a need and gain exposure. How amazing would it be to see Mrs. America driving around with her husband and kids in the latest Kia Telluride or Cadillac Escalade?!
Gift cards
I personally feel that gift cards are very underestimated items for price packages. I think mrs. contestants would love gift cards ranging from $500 to $1,000 to use at Target, Kroger, Amazon, or Walmart. These are stores where wives and moms do their family shopping anyway so why not help them save money while they are representing a system? I would even love to see a Shein gift card for wardrobe during the year of reign.
Business grants/scholarships
Life does not stop when you become a family woman. There are plenty of wives and moms that are still in school, wanting to pursue higher education, want to start a business, or already have one. Many miss pageants pride themselves on the aspects of education and scholarship and I feel that this is a trait that is lost among mrs. pageants. You are never too old to stop learning and no one knows everything. I would love to see more mrs. pageants incorporate business grants and scholarships of a few thousand dollars to allow their titleholder to invest into her business, her education, or any certifications that she desires to obtain.
Travel/childcare stipend
Y’all already know that I believe that it takes a village for anyone to be successful, especially a family woman. I would love to see mrs. pageants add a travel/childcare stipend into their prize packages because when you have a mrs. titleholder you don’t just crown her, you crown her family as well. There are plenty of mrs. pageants that boast family values but they exclude family members from pageant week events and they are not considerate of the extra time and costs that a wife and mom has to put into ensuring that her household runs smoothly when she’s away on titleholder appearances and duties.
For example, If you are a stay at home mom and your husband works full-time and you have to travel one weekend per month as a national titleholder, you will either have to take your child with you or find childcare. Your husband could take off of work but that is money that your household is losing. Let’s say you and your husband work full time, you will still have to find childcare. Let’s not forget any alterations or accommodations that need to be made for scheduling and transportation. No matter the scenario, when a wife or mom is away from her family she has to put in extra time and money to account for that absence.
I think this is something that mrs. pageant systems need to be considerate of an empathetic to. A travel/childcare stipend could help supplement hiring a babysitter when you have an all day appearance, or help to offset food costs when your husband and children come to pageant weekend when it’s time for you to give up your crown. I am not saying that mrs. pageant systems should be completely responsible for all of the costs that their titleholder incurs for herself and her family, not at all. What I am saying is that mrs. pageants were created to uplift family women, thus they should be accommodating and lend a helping hand so that family women can serve without it being at the expense of their family.
Therapy
I have come to a place where I believe that therapy should be standard for every state prize package and beyond. The pageant world is full of so many pressures and we all need a sounding board. It is one thing to be a titleholder as a single woman who is only responsible for herself. Can you imagine how multifaceted that must be as a woman who is responsible for others outside of herself and balancing life as a woman, wife, mother, and titleholder? In addition to this therapy could also be useful for adjusting to life after the crown, which is a very common struggle for pageant girls. I think mrs. pageants should start adding therapy to their prize packages to help women balance all of the titles that they have in life, and work through the not so glamorous parts of pageantry.
Etiquette classes
Etiquette classes are something that I think is beneficial for life in general, and I would love to see them in more pageant prize packages. If pageant systems are wanting their titleholders to go out and represent them at various events and be the face of the organization, then they should be investing into the feminine influence and social graces of these women so that they can put their best foot forward. As a southern woman I believe that exposure, femininity, and manners will get you far in life and help you maintain the relationships that your education and professionalism provide.
I hope that this blog post was entertaining and got your wheels turning for great prize package items. If you would like to watch the corresponding YouTube video to this blog post click the link below!
