25827: Hermantin(News)Broward queen promotes health (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Miami Herald

Posted on Sun, Jul. 24, 2005


BEAUTY PAGEANTS
Broward queen promotes health
The first Haitian-American woman to hold the Miss Broward County title wants to 
increase access to health care and to encourage healthy lifestyles.
BY DARRAN SIMON
dsimon@herald.com

When Rachel Louissaint saw the Miss America pageant on TV last year, she 
believed she had as much poise and elegance as the contestants.

''I just loved their confidence,'' the slender 21-year-old said, her hair 
draping down to her cheek. ``I knew I was capable of being just like them.''

Brimming with self-assuredness, Louissaint, of Pembroke Pines, went online and 
tracked down a local pageant organizer.

Today, she is the first Haitian American to hold the Miss Broward County title.

Louissaint, a Florida International University nursing student, competed 
against 43 other local pageant winners statewide in the weeklong Miss Florida 
competition in Miami this summer. She did not advance.

Candace Cragg, a University of North Florida student who was Miss Jacksonville, 
won the Miss Florida title. Cragg will represent Florida in the Miss America 
competition in September.

Confident nonetheless, Louissaint won a $600 college scholarship along with her 
local title.

She assumed the title in February after the original Miss Broward County failed 
to perform her duties, which include making public appearances, according to 
Brenda Edwards, executive director of the Miss Broward County Scholarship 
Organization.

The organization is a part of the Miss America pageant system.

The first Miss Broward County, a high school student, became busy with classes 
and other activities, Edwards said, so the teen and the pageant committee 
agreed that she would step down.

Only three points separated the top three Broward finishers, which included 
Louissaint, Edwards said. Edwards would not say exactly where Louissaint ranked 
in the competition.

''You could see her confidence,'' Edwards said. ``You could see her quiet 
determination. She is constantly striving for personal growth and to learn more 
about the world at large.''

Louissaint will reign until November.

She plans to speak locally about making healthcare more affordable, which is 
her platform.

She also wants to encourage healthy lifestyles and more health screenings to 
prevent obesity. That way, she says, the healthcare industry can place more 
emphasis on other chronic diseases.

She plans to make more than 30 appearances statewide.

The Miss Broward County title is another milestone in Louissaint's young life.

MANY TALENTS

At 9 years old, she wrote a book, The Hijacked Plane -- Scary Night, about a 
young girl with a fear of flying who saves a hijacked plane on the way to 
Canada. More than 1,000 copies of the book were published by Jan Mapou, owner 
of Libreri Mapou, a Miami bookstore.

At 13, the girl released a rhythm-and-blues album, On top of the world. She 
co-wrote the songs on the album with her mother, Marie Carmelle Louissaint, 52 
now.

Louissaint, who was born in Montreal to Haitian-born parents, started singing 
at 5 in a Montreal church.

She wants to pursue a singing career, and has auditioned for American Idol and 
Making the Band 2.

This year, she was crowned Miss Pan-African at FIU, and was the second 
runner-up for the Miss FIU title.

''I learned a lot about life, that if you have a goal just go for it,'' 
Louissant said.

The Miss Broward County pageant, one of eight pageants authorized by Miss 
America in South Florida, was revived in 2003 after a decade-long lack of 
sponsorship, Edwards said.

Interest in the national pageant has waned in recent years.

The Miss America pageant was dropped by ABC last fall because of record-low 
viewership.

Last month, the pageant organization -- cut adrift by the major TV networks as 
ratings continued to plummet -- announced it had sold the television rights to 
Country Music Television, and that the date -- at least for this year's pageant 
-- would be moved from its traditional mid-September slot to January, according 
to The New York Times.

Experts say viewers just aren't as interested in beauty pageants as they used 
to be.

Showcasing a bevy of beautiful girls on TV has not been a novelty for years, 
and especially these days, when cable television is flooded with scandalous 
reality TV shows.

FEW CONTESTANTS

In Broward last year, only eight women competed in the pageant, which includes 
an evening gown, talent competition and interview contest.

Participants are also judged on their platforms.

Sitting in her kitchen on Saturday wearing her crown and sash, Louissaint 
recalled the tension that struck her in the Miss Broward pageant, minutes 
before the opening number at the North Lauderdale city gym.

She said a prayer behind the curtain: ``I was like, `God, it's in your 
hands.'''






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