America's Inspirational Miss

I had to really give this sometime before writing this review. Before the pageant even began, I had frequent conversations through Facebook with one of the directors. She reassured me that she was making sure each child had a positive and safe experience. It seemed like she really cared. She mentioned she and the other director were nurses and they were taking measures to ensure with this pandemic everyone would be safe. This was very reassuring to me. The venue for the dinner had to change beca Show more

I had to really give this sometime before writing this review. Before the pageant even began, I had frequent conversations through Facebook with one of the directors. She reassured me that she was making sure each child had a positive and safe experience. It seemed like she really cared. She mentioned she and the other director were nurses and they were taking measures to ensure with this pandemic everyone would be safe. This was very reassuring to me. The venue for the dinner had to change because of COVID according to the directors. It was supposed to be at a zoo where the kids would be able to feed animals. Come registration day we were given time and location at a hotel. We went to this hotel and went into registration where we were greeted by being sternly told we needed to leave the room and wait in the hall because only 10 people were allowed in the room at a time including the 4 staff members that were in there. This forced us all to stand in a little hall close to each other. When we were finally allowed in the room there was hand sanitizer available. They did not properly have on record that we paid for the dinners and optional events that we signed up for previously but that was quickly rectified. After registration we had to drive down the road to a movie theater and into the basement for the "welcome party". There were 2 welcome parties, and the contestants were divided into which time their party was several days before the event began. We were in the 1st welcome party. When we arrived, we had to walk over decorations that were supposed to be hung but looked like they either forgot or did not have the time. Nobody was there except for a few staff. We were served a can of soda. About 20 min later the directors arrived, and food was served. It contained of store-bought hamburger buns that where soggy with what tasted like canned chicken. Cold baked beans and pasta salad in little plastics cups with covers on them. We were given cute little wooden utensils and finally a straw. For dessert they gave Texas cake which was delicious. This dinner cost $20 each. The directors reassured everyone that they were willing to work with everyone with the timing regarding hair and makeup because this is there 1st pageant ever and we need to be patient with them. While some where met and greeted directly with the directors neither me or my daughter was. The next day we were given our location of hair and makeup (again 2 different ones assigned) which was a narrow area that was near the stage. At one point during the competition my daughter was yelled at by the director she was not allowed to talk while in the hair and makeup room. Keep in mind she was talking not yelling or screaming. Literally talking! This was not the only time the director yelled at everyone in this about not being allowed to talk. At the beginning of each day we were yelled at by the directors and threatened that they were going to do this and that. When problems where brought to their attention we were told we needed to be patient because it is their 1st pageant or because of COVID. If they were not able to use either of those excuses, they would just ignore the issue all together. Moving onto rehearsal it was led by children who did the best that they could for being young children. It got very confusing quickly. After day 1 of competition we were required to attend another dinner. This time it was $40 per person. It was at a party house or banquet hall. It was cute. We were forced to stand in line again close together for 15-20 min. I am not sure why. The staff brought the dinner. There was chicken and a meat. The chicken was OK I tried the mystery meat and not sure what it really was. Mashed potatoes had gravy on it. My kids did not like it but again it was OK. The green beans my children devour except this time. They were gross! For dessert we had our option of various cheesecakes but when you ask staff what kind they said it was brought in and they have no idea since they did not make it. At no point in time during this event was social distancing enforced and hand sanitizer was not available near the stage or dressing rooms. After the 2nd day of competition our hair and makeup room were pushed to combine with the other room which was the same place as the welcome party. Again, social distancing was almost impossible. No facemasks or a strategy for the contestants to be able to wear facemasks where in place when lining up in the hall where the kids where almost on top of each other they were crammed in the tight space. Throughout the competition I repeatedly saw and overheard conversations of different parents of contestants speaking with judges. I even overheard one parent talk about specifics of what was on her daughters’ interview score sheet. Keep in mind at this point the competition has not ended. The song choices did contain a few swear words and would not have deemed appropriate for little kids. The 1st day of competition the directors did say that we would receive photos from the professional photographer as it was included in the price and that was there and at the end of the pageant we would have the scoresheets emailed. To this date I have not received either and I was blocked by both directors after the competition. My overall experience, I was so upset I subjected my daughter to this kind of atmosphere. It was far from a positive experience.Show less

I’ve really put a lot of thought into the aftermath of the America’s Inspirational Miss Pageant held last weekend in Maumee, Ohio. This was the only pageant I’ve ever pulled a contestant out of in ALL my pageant career. First let me start off with this....my granddaughter won every single optional during the awards banquet on Saturday evening, the only contestant in the pageant to do so. Based on that, we could have just ignored the issues and plowed through with fun fashion and evening g Show more

I’ve really put a lot of thought into the aftermath of the America’s Inspirational Miss Pageant held last weekend in Maumee, Ohio. This was the only pageant I’ve ever pulled a contestant out of in ALL my pageant career. First let me start off with this....my granddaughter won every single optional during the awards banquet on Saturday evening, the only contestant in the pageant to do so. Based on that, we could have just ignored the issues and plowed through with fun fashion and evening gown on Sunday, but there comes a time when a crown is just not worth it. This was definitely that time. Allowing the staff, and the one judge to treat me, as well as our team in the manner they did is definitely not something I could stand by and allow. I’m very competitive and love the thrill of a win, but winning, after being treated poorly really doesn’t feel like a win. I felt sad, even after winning all the optionals on Saturday at the awards banquet, and just wanted to go home. I knew I was there in a professional capacity as well, so I pushed through it. What bothers me so much, is that many of the contestants and their families appeared to accept the terrible atmosphere as normal, and this saddens me. I told one of the queens mothers yesterday that had AIM been our first pageant experience, it would have also been my last experience. There is just not enough words to describe how awful the weekend was from start to finish. I just want the girls competing to know that this is NOT how other pageants are run. Sure, there are always bad pageants, bad judges, etc. But that is rare. We attend pageants frequently, often 3-4 times per month during normal years. The pageants we go to are fun & fair, provide a safe, and family friendly environment, and care about us. From a short 3 hour prelim, to a 10 day international pageant, I’ve done them all. I rarely have an issue, even if we go home without a crown. If we enjoyed the pageant, felt it was fairly judged, saw no conflict of interest between staff, judges or contestants, and if the pageant ran the way they advertised, we definitely would go back. You can’t always win, and often losing is just the push you need to improve the next time. And if a pageant isn’t fair, if there is COI, or they don’t give out the prize package promised, I generally check it off my list and don’t do it again. I’ll be honest if you ask me why, but I usually will not go “public” about it because I don’t want the backlash from people who weren’t there, or because I don’t want to hurt the winners feelings. And sometimes others relish in the fun of seeing someone “lose” because they just aren’t nice people. At AIM there have been several people who did win, who have stepped forward publicly to say that the pageant was as described by my “review” on Facebook. A young queen, who is my client, and a part of our coaching team has not received her prizes. The directors posted that she didn’t get them because she wouldn’t (not didn’t) sign a contract. The contract could have easily been emailed and returned. As we had a 10 hour drive home and the pageant ran late, her mother informed the director she couldn’t stay any longer. The director simply said, no problem. They then ignored her messages, blocked her from social media and posted on their social media that she skipped out. In addition they have lied about a sash being damaged and left behind in the dressing room with a vulgar note. They insinuated that a teen left it, but have not provided proof to this. Why? Because they cannot. And now, on Wednesday, if they did it would clearly be doctored. What was left behind on a table? The AIM Jr Teen NY sash that my granddaughter borrowed because we accidentally forgot hers at home. It was left with exactly two safety pins in it that I used to make it smaller and to close it because it didn’t have Velcro. Why didn’t one of us return it in person? Reach out to me at [email protected], I will gladly describe why we didn’t wish to speak to staff in person again. The AIM directors have gone on social media in the past few days making accusations, and statements that are untrue. They have deleted negative reviews, turned their pageant social media pages on and off and blocked anyone with a complaint. They are refusing to give a national queen her prizes simply because the parent pointed out the issues she had with their ability to direct a decent pageant and because they just don’t care. They clearly showed they cared about their core group of friends, bending rules in their handbook, or outright breaking rules. I believe they didn’t expect any of us to speak up about their atrocious behavior, how terrible the pageant was, or how unfair it was. When we did we were either completely ignored, blocked on social media, or lied about on social media. It just appears that this group is used to being at terrible pageants so to them it is normal. Of course you will always get someone to say positive things about a pageant simply because they won, or because they are afraid to speak up due to public backlash, or just because they have never been to a great, fair pageant, and this is “normal” to them. You also have the contestant looking for brownie points, hoping they will do well next time. We don’t do pageants theta require that to win, we do the ones that you win based on merit. There are so many amazing systems out there. Systems where what is advertised is provided, both in atmosphere and prizes. Systems where directors are honest, and care about the competitor and about future competitors. And systems that are fun, family friend events that you would be proud to represent. As each day passes, I’m so glad we pulled Shiloh out, it was truly bad enough that even after winning all the optionals we knew it was not a title we would allow her to support or represent. I just hope the directors either learn from their many mistakes and accept the criticism they have received, or hang up their crowns and move on to another journey. I don’t believe they have the real pageant experience to put on a national level title holder pageant, should not expect only certain queens to lock into a year long contract, when they are not enforcing other queens to do so, and should up their prize package if they do wish to continue making this a contract style scholarship pageant. I’m also incredibly disappointed in the Pageant Planet verification. That verification is NOT earned, it is paid for. Verification by Pageant Planet definitely needs to change to a positive verification AFTER a system can prove they deserve it, not because they simply paid you a fee.Show less

Overall my daughter had a great experience. There were some hiccups but its thier first year so a break was given In my book! Even though my daughter didn't win she had the time of her life on stage. The directors were polite and caring and made sure everyone was great. I walked back a couple times and the directors were talking to all the kids and joking with them. I would proudly have my granddaughter attend again!

ABSOLUTE TRASH EVENT. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO MY WORST ENEMY. IVE HAD COLONOSCOPES THAT WERE MORE ENJOYABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN. I FEEL BAD FOR THE GROUP THAT CONTINUES TO BE BAD MOUTHED. THIS WAS OUR FIRST PAGEANT AND OUR LAST. WHO SIGNS UP FOR THIS ABUSE EVERY WEEKEND. THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT PAGEANTS WERE. PEOPLE THINK TODDLERS AND TIARAS ARE A BAD TIME....COME ON OVER TO AIM....THEY MAKE THOSE PEOPLE LOOK NORMAL ON TV!