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City Pulls For Own Fantastic Four

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

PLANT CITY - If there is strength in numbers, there is a good chance a Plant City contestant could be crowned the 2008 Miss Florida.

Four women with Plant City ties - MacKenzie Clark, Caycee Hampton, Amanda Holland and Katie Sharer - are competing for the title at the pageant in St. Petersburg. The women are among 41 others vying for the Miss Florida crown.

The winner moves on to the 2009 Miss America Pageant, set for Jan. 20 to 22 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The Miss Florida pageant, which will not be telecast, will be held at Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. The contestants were to start arriving there on Friday. Competition starts with an offstage interview Monday by a panel of judges. Onstage interviews and talent will be Wednesday, followed by evening wear and swimsuit competitions Thursday. . The finals are July 5.

Here are biographical sketches of the four local contestants:

•Clark, 21, the daughter of Robert and Hollie Clark, competed March 15 in the Miss Heart of Plant City competition at Plant City High School. She came in second to Holland, but she was named Miss Central Florida when state pageant officials informed the Miss Heart of Plant City organizers they could crown a second winner as Miss Central Florida.

Jennifer St. Martin Morgan, vice president of the Miss Heart pageant, said dual crowns are not unusual in Florida.

"Mary Sullivan, the executive director of the Miss Florida pageant, called and approved an opening for the Miss Central Florida title," Morgan said. "That was exciting news for us. Now we have two great contestants at Miss Florida. Amanda and MacKenzie will represent the Plant City area well. We are proud of them both."

Holland and Clark were treated June 19 to receptions sponsored by the owners of the Red Rose Inn & Suites, Evelyn and Batista Madonia Sr. Both of the contestants were given use of private dining rooms, where they could receive guests, model clothes planned for the Miss Florida competition and display their talent to be performed at the Mahaffey.

"This is all very exciting." Clark said as she welcomed her supporters at the Red Rose Inn. "Wearing the crown as Miss Central Florida is the greatest. Seeing all my friends here, wearing the different outfits and performing my sketch has been a lot of fun."

Clark and her mother have been through this before, but they agree it doesn't get old.

"The whole thing has been exciting and challenging for everybody," Hollie Clark said. "It does seem to get more demanding each time. Preparing for Miss Florida is more intense than I would ever have expected."

As far as her daughter's participation in pageants goes, Clark said MacKenzie takes it all in stride.

"She has competed as Miss Kathleen, Miss Polk County and Miss Gainesville, was selected for the Florida Strawberry Festival queen court and now holds the title as Miss Central Florida," she said. "And there is never any warning. Three weeks before an event she will announce she's competing. It turns the whole house upside down. But it's always fun. This is just another step for her. She's good at it."

At Miss Florida, Clark will perform a 21/2 minute monologue for her talent.

"It's a Catholic School Girl's Memory Play," Clark said. "It's about a girl and her dream. Mrs. Madonia saw me perform the part at the Red Rose. She told me to go for it. ... It's always a pleasure to hear someone say that."

Clark graduated from Kathleen High School in 2005. She is going into her senior year at the University of Florida, studying broadcasting. She has interned at The Tampa Tribune; WFLA, News Channel 8; and TBO.com. All three are owned by Media General, which also owns the Plant City Courier & Tribune.

"I would like to become a television broadcaster after college," Clark said. "I have enjoyed my experience so far. I'm working on it. The fall semester is coming up fast."

In the meantime, Clark works with her mother at her cosmetics shop, Merle Norman Cosmetics, at 1514 S. Alexander St.

•Hampton, 20, Miss Capitol City 2008, is another contestant who is not new to the pageant world. She is facing her third competition for the title of Miss Florida. She is the daughter of Kim and Chris Hampton.

"I think the experience I have gained at Miss Florida will help in my chances," Hampton said. "The first-time jitters are replaced with an anxiousness to get going. I've been hitting the treadmill to get in shape. And I have practiced my song over and over."

Hampton will sing "When the Lights Go Down," made famous by Faith Hill.

"I think it's more nerve-racking for the family and friends in the audience than it is for the contestants," Hampton said. "I'm ready. It's time to go."

As a 3-year-old, Hampton won first place for best personality in her age group at the Florida Strawberry Festival's baby parade. That was in 1991, and it set the stage for many accolades to come. In 1992 she won best personality title for 4-year-olds.

Her mother, Kim Hampton, said in a 2006 interview that her daughter shined at an early age.

"She's been an amazing kid from the start," Kim Hampton said.

Her daughter won awards with the FFA at Plant City High School, where she was also a cheerleader. During her senior year, Hampton was first maid on the Florida Strawberry Festival queen's court.

On March 18, 2006, she won the Miss Heart of Plant City title. In 2007 she won the title of Miss Heart of Suwannee River Valley. Both titles resulted in Hampton competing in the Miss Florida pageant. This time will be her third.

Hampton is a pre-law student at the University of Florida, majoring in history with a minor in Latin American studies.

•Holland, 2008 Miss Heart of Plant City, is the daughter of Aland and Connie Holland. Her father is in aluminum sales and her mother is a third-grade teacher at Walden Lake Elementary School. Her brother, Ryan, 22, attends the police academy in Winter Haven.

Holland's grandmother Eleanor Lester, 70, came to Plant City from Cincinnati, to watch her granddaughter compete.

"I'm very proud of Amanda," her grandmother said. "She is a very talented dancer. I'm not sure where she got that talent. Certainly not from me. But she loves to dance. And that helps."

Holland is a 2005 Durant High School graduate and was selected as Little Miss Plant City in 1995. She has been winning dance competitions since she was 12, her mother said.

"I first started taking dance lessons at Jackie's Dance Theatre," Holland said. "Then I danced as a student at the Performing Foyer in Auburndale. Now I am a dance teacher at the Dance Carousel on Wheeler Street.

"I love kids and I love to teach. Two more years of college and other pageant competitions should keep me busy for a while."

Her father agrees.

"Competing at Miss Florida is another step in a journey that started 15 years ago," he said. "She's going to USF the University of South Florida to become a schoolteacher. But this is what she loves; dancing. No matter what happens in St. Petersburg, this is her time. They want her to dance at Disney. There are more competitions to come."

He compared the competition for Miss Florida to teams competing for a right to play in the Super Bowl.

"Only one competitor can win," he said. "But for the rest they were good enough to get there. Amanda will learn a lot and get better for the experience. She doesn't have to win. She will get better every time she competes. We'll see what happens."

•Sharer, 21, the 2004 Florida Strawberry Festival queen, will be making her second appearance at the Miss Florida pageant. This year she is going to the competition as Miss Winter Park. She is the daughter of Vicki and Richard Sharer, and a recent graduate of Paul Mitchell the School, a high-end cosmetology school.

"I put in 1,200 hours at the Tampa school," Sharer said. "I plan to combine my cosmetology certificate from Paul Mitchell and a degree in small business management from the University of Tampa to build a career."

At the Miss Florida competition, Sharer will sing a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, "When You Say Nothing at All." It is among the best-known hit songs for three different performers: Keith Whitley; Alison Krauss and Ronan Keating.

Sharer was the guest of the city of Orlando on June 21, when she and seven other queen and teen crown winners were given a dessert reception at the rotunda at City Hall. On Thursday Sharer was guest of honor at the home of Marsha Passmore.

"Marsha and so many friends in Plant City have been very supportive," Sharer said. "Marsha is a gracious and wonderful friend."

Sharer is a past titleholder as Florida Teen Miss Hometown USA, when she was a sophomore at Plant City High School. In 2006 she was crowned Miss Tampa. Her theme for the Miss Florida pageant will be a familiar one to her.

"It's the heart of the matter," Sharer said. "I am all for promoting self-esteem and character development in today's teens."

Evelyn Madonia believes all the young women competing for the Miss Florida title share that same spirit and mentality.

"It is a beautiful time in their lives," she said. "These girls have stars in their eyes."

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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