Amy Wilson is the new Executive Director (ED) of the Miss Santa Clara Organization. Wilson was born and raised in Santa Clara.
“My daughter has been a Miss Santa Clara Princess for the last three years,” said Wilson, who has not competed in a pageant or scholarship competition before. “Through volunteering for the Princess Program, I was able to learn about the Miss Santa Clara Organization and all the good things the organization does to focus on the young women of our community. I was always willing to help Stephanie Quintal, the former ED.”
According to Wilson, she stepped into the role as ED when she saw an online post that the Miss Santa Clara Scholarship Competition was coming to an end.
“Stephanie had taken a role in the Miss California Organization and no one was stepping in to keep the local competition going,” Wilson said. “I talked to Stephanie and decided to take over the licensing agreement and become the new ED of the Miss Santa Clara Organization and take over the leadership of the program. So, I founded the Santa Clara Scholarship Association as a non-profit to fundraise for the scholarships.
“I want to be able to give back to the community and support our young women in our community to reach higher for their education,” Wilson continued. “We’re actively fundraising to capture as much scholarship funds for our contestants as possible. I’m actively working with the City of Santa Clara to gain their support. We are looking to provide scholarships to all the title holders. Contestants will be judged by their interview, talent and on-stage question.”
Miss Santa Clara 2020, Miss Santa Clara’s Outstanding Teen 2020 and Miss Santa Clara County 2020 will be the scholarship competitions held on Sunday, March 15. This year, the competitions will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center instead of the Mission City Center for Performing Arts, where the event has previously taken place.
Miss Santa Clara County will be a new title.
“I want to define our area and clearly define Santa Clara County, which Santa Clara is a part of, so we can put our roots in our community and drive volunteerism in our community,” Wilson said.
Girls ages 5 to 12 can still participate in the Princess Program, a non-competition experience.
“It’s a mentor program along with a leadership training for our young girls to build confidence, dance in the competition and learn about ways to volunteer,” Wilson said. “One of the new things we are doing with the Princess Program is that we are asking each participant to volunteer in the community. For example, they can volunteer at the Art and Wine Festival, read to children at schools, and organize food drives.”
According to Wilson, the first orientation will be on Saturday, Jan. 18 where interested participants can learn about the qualifications they need to participate in the 2020 scholarship competitions and hear about what a participant’s experience entails. Email Wilson at misssantaclaracompetition@gmail.com for further details about the orientation, the competitions, and the Princess Program.
