Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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“Jessica did a marvelous job,” said Josef Walker. “I was so pleased.”
Walker, an executive at Thomasville Chevrolet Buick Pontiac, who was active in the Miss North Carolina organization for more than 30 years, watched Saturday night’s pageant on television, however Kay Dickinson, state hostess of the Miss North Carolina organization was able to watch it live.
“We were all so proud of Jessica,” said Dickinson, who was among over 100 friends and family members who went to Las Vegas to support Jacobs. “She was wonderful each and every preliminary night. We were so thrilled that she was a runner-up. She has worked so hard to get to that point.”
Ironically, Jacobs, who lives in the Davidson County section of High Point, was not the only contestant from the Furniture City. Hannah Martine Kiefer, competing as Miss Virginia, finished as third runner-up. Kiefer, who attends Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., competed in the Miss North Carolina pageant in 2006. As Miss Forsyth County, Kiefer finished as second runner-up in the 2006 Miss North Carolina pageant. Jacobs, as Miss Thomasville, was third runner-up in that same pageant. The Ledford and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate then went on to win the Miss Central Carolina title before being crowned Miss North Carolina last year.
When her name was announced as one of the 16 finalists, a recording of Jacobs came on the screen during the telecast of the Miss America pageant on TLC.
“People are surprised to learn that I’m an American Indian,” Jacobs said in the recording. “I’m a member of the Lumbee tribe. I’ve learned a lot, as far as Miss North Carolina, about my culture, because I’ve been invited to many of the powwows and cultural events that let me know who I am.”
A third North Carolina-born contestant was in the pageant. Crystal Garrett, Miss South Carolina, was born in Fayetteville, when her father, who had a career in the U.S. Army, was stationed at Fort Bragg. Garrett also made the top 16. She was the last contestant eliminated before the top 10 finalists were announced. Eight of the 10 were able to perform their talent on the TLC telecast, including Jacobs and Kiefer.
“How wonderful that High Point Ballet had two national finishers,” Dickinson said.
Jacobs and Kiefer both studied at High Point Ballet and danced ballet as their talent.
“I was very pleased that the pageant let eight contestants do their talent,” Walker said. “I’d like to point out that the Miss America pageant and the reality show about Miss America are totally separate entities.”
For the first time in Miss America pageant history, a reality show with several episodes, all involving the state pageant winners, was broadcast on TLC before the pageant itself. Like Susan Lawrence Googe, Miss Thomasville 1974, who went on to be Miss North Carolina 1975 and Miss America First Runner-Up that year, Walker did not think much of Miss America Reality Check.
“I thought the reality show was an absolute train wreck,” Walker said. “Watching young women in high-heeled shoes running an obstacle course is not reality. It was very foolish to do such a thing. Some of those girls have studied ballet for years. What if they had fallen and broken a leg? They would have been unable to do their talent.”
Also watching the Miss America pageant on television was Jenna Kindley, the current Miss Thomasville.
“It was wonderful, said Kindley, who knows both Jacobs and Kiefer. “Jessica and Hannah both looked very classy and elegant. Their ballet performances were awesome and amazing.”
What was not known by the TV audience — or most of the crowd at Vegas’s Planet Hollywood, for that matter — was that Kiefer’s mother had a heart attack in the hotel Saturday afternoon, and Jacobs father, a High Point physician, is credited with saving her life.
As the competition was drawing to its conclusion, the eight finalists were asked questions taped earlier and asked by people on the streets of Las Vegas. The question answered by Jacobs was “According to the polls, nearly 75 percent of people believe this country is headed in the wrong direction. What do we need to do to get in on track?”
Jacobs answered, “I think many people think Americans are headed in the wrong direction because of the media coverage that we get on people like Lindsay Lohan and different celebrities who really do influence our young people — and our young people are our future. So, of course, we’re worried about how our country is going to develop when these are our role models. As Miss America and as contestants in our states, we have the opportunity to be role models, and I hope that all of us can do that and really make a difference.”
Now that she is back to serving as Miss North Carolina, Jacobs, who won a $10,000 scholarship to resume her graduate studies at N.C. State in the fall, can continue being a role model. She has more scheduled events in the Thomasville area. On Feb. 29, she will be at the Communities In Schools of Thomasville fundraiser called Champaign and Diamonds, being held at Colonial Country Club. Jacobs will also appear at Pilot Elementary School on March 4, at Hasty Elementary School on April 21 and at Silver Valley Elementary School on May 29.
“We almost feel like we’re the real winners,” Dickinson said. “Jessica placed well, but we get to bring her home. She is a wonderful Miss North Carolina.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230, or at reid@tvilletimes.com.