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Plant City Picks 2 Pageant Contenders

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

PLANT CITY - Two local teens have been selected to represent Plant City next year in the Miss Florida USA pageant in Hollywood.

Nikki Fraser, a 19-year-old student at Hillsborough Community College, was chosen Miss Plant City USA, and Victoria Watkins, a 15-year-old Plant City High School sophomore, was chosen as Miss Plant City Teen USA. A panel of five judges chose the winners at the Oct. 19 pageant at the Red Rose Ballroom.

If they win at the state level, they will compete for crowns in the 2010 Miss USA competition.

Fraser, a 2007 Durant High School honors graduate, is pursuing a two-year degree at Hillsborough Community College. She plans to complete the nursing program there and make nursing a career.

Fraser, a Valrico resident, is the daughter of Jennifer and Tracy McDonald.

"I was surprised when they announced I was the winner," Fraser said. "I don't have much experience in pageants, and I was a little nervous when I was onstage answering questions. All the girls in the competition were very pretty. I just went there to have some fun."

Fraser's mother was among the 100 spectators at the ballroom.

"Nikki has danced on stage for over 15 years. So I expected her to be comfortable during the competition," McDonald said. "But I was in shock when they called her name as the winner.

"During the competition, my heart was racing. I was more scared than she was. It was a proud moment for me. Nikki is such a good kid. I'm so happy for her."

Fraser teaches dance at the Campo YMCA in Bloomingdale.

Celeste Diaz, Fraser's supervisor at the YMCA, said she hired her about five years ago.

"Nikki works with dancers from 2 to 17 years old," Diaz said. "She has become a very popular teacher. The kids just love her. She is an incredible tap dancer and teaches tap and hip hop, among other forms of dance. I must say she is a beautiful person, inside and out."

Watkins, the daughter of Michael and Heather Watkins, isn't a newcomer to the beauty pageant circle.

When she was 10, Watkins was selected to the court for Little Miss Plant City.

Her oldest sister, Ashley, 20, was chosen as Florida Strawberry Festival queen in 2005. Sister Allie, 18, was the first maid on the 2007 strawberry festival queen's court, and this year, as Miss Lakeland, finished first runner-up in the Miss Florida pageant in St. Petersburg. Watkins also has a 17-year-old sister, Joie, and a younger brother, Michael, 13.

Watkins said she was excited to win the title.

"It hasn't all hit me yet," she said.

During the competition, she said she is an avid surfer.

"Our entire family goes to Cocoa Beach to surf in the summer," Watkins said. "This year, I was photographed teaching my dog Dan how to surf. The pictures and story will run in TransWorld Surf magazine."

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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