Welcome to www.missillinoisusa.com

I just wanted to thank you all for an AMAZING weekend! I wish I had made the top 17, but all the girls who did were so deserving and so beautiful! I'm SO excited for Mia. If she does even half as well at Miss USA, she will win for sure! What a wonderful representative she will be for Illinois! We'll be tuned in at the Warren house in April!

I hope to have the priviledge of joining you all again next year for another chance. Again, I can't thank you enough for the experience. Having won a teen division in 2005 in a much smaller pageant system, I wasn't sure what to expect. You guys really know how to put on a great show. Please thank all the coordinators for me for all of their hard work and help.

Sincerely,

Danielle Warren

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I just had to write and thank you for absolutely EVERYTHING!!!!!

I found your Pageant to be THE Pageant. I am so happy and blessed that MISS ILLINOIS TEEN USA was the chosen one for my daughter's first experience. Your impressive, entire staff produced a professional, first-class, quality production. The complete package promised to Noelle was followed through with enormous, unexpected, compassionate surprises.

Your patience and understanding is to be commended. For without it, Noelle would not have had the opportunity to gain the self confidence you instilled, interview skills and poise that will help her throughout life.

This was a special opportunity to enjoy a level of drama and glamour at it's highest. A splendid event filled with excitement that many girls only dream of. Thank you for being patient and flexible with deadlines. You have responsibilities to be accounted for and yet you found the generosity to somehow stretch the deadlines and accommodate us up to the very last minute.

Noelle is hoping for an opportunity to return next year. Her eyes are open and aware of so many details. She's begun to work on 2008 now!

Thank you for giving her a weekend filled with a big step towards success!

Warmly,
Kelly Perkowski

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you all for the wonderful weekend at the Miss Illinois USA Pageant. My daughter, Danielle, was competing for the first time (in your pageant) and had an awesome experience. The girls were all so wonderful and supportive of each other, and they have memories that will last a lifetime.

Danielle did not make the semi-finals, but her friend, Monica Perone did, so we had someone to cheer on! We are so proud of all Danielle accomplished and the enthusiasm she is expressing in wanting to compete again! Mia is a wonderful representative for Illinois and we will be cheering for her in April at the Miss USA Pageant. I think you may have a winner on your hands here!

On Wednesday after the pageant, Danielle got her acceptance letter into the nursing program she's been waiting a year to get into. As one door closes, another one surely opens.

Thanks again for all the work, time and effort you and your team put into this pageant. As a parent, I am truly grateful for all that you did for my daughter!

Sincerely,

Laura Warren
Geneva, IL

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you so much for a fantastic weekend. I had a blast. I made tons of new friends and learned so much about myself. My Family loved the show and the way you work the whole production. I'll be seeing you all again in years to come! Thank you again for a wonderful time

Love Always, Stephanie McGovern

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for making a difference in our youth of today. Awarding my daughter, Kayana Marks, this empowering opportunity, has already changed her life. With every step of this enchanting journey, Kayana is growing and blossoming into an impressive young lady.

Thanks again for your contribution to our daughter's life journey.

Sincerely, Debra & Eldwin Marks

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you so much for the pageant weekend and all that you and your staff do. Kendra had the time of her life! I think it was probably the happiest I have ever seen my daughter. (One of) her dreams since she was a tiny little girl has been to be Miss USA. The pageant weekend allowed her to do something she never could have imagined.

We came to the pageant hoping that she could just have a great weekend and she had so much more. First Runner up was beyond our wildest dreams. So thank you and your staff for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Vicki Shoopman

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I wanted to thank you again for a fantastic weekend at this year's Miss Illinois USA pageant. I had an incredible time meeting new faces and making new friends, especially my roommate Amber... she was so sweet, friendly and supportive, truly a wonderful girl to be around.

This was by far the best and most memorable year I have experienced with your program! As always Lynn and Jim were amazing. They are an incredible team to work with. As for your staff and volunteers, there really are not enough good and kind things that I could say about them. They have all made me truly feel welcomed over the years.

I am saddened by the fact that I will no longer be eligible to compete. However, I do look forward to the next adventure that life has in store for me. I wish all of you a fantastic year and Catherine a fabulous time at Miss USA.

With much love, Nikki Kaapke

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Good Morning! I am almost speechless. What a beautiful show you guys put on. Words cannot express the joy I felt in my heart. I was so proud to have my little Hope be a part of this production company. Thank you soooooo much for all your encouragement and support during this journey.

There were times when we wanted to pull out, but I am so pleased that I continued forward. This was the best, and I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed this event. What you guys do to make our girls feel good about themselves is only a God given talent. I did not get the smallest impression that one single girl was unhappy. They were all happy even if they did not win. In my book they were all winners. To be able to go on stage and perform takes courage.

Again, thank you all for allowing Hope to be in this wonderful Pageant. Her award and this experience will be cherished forever.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you so very much for allowing me to be a part of your spectacular pageant! I had a blast. I got to meet so many different people from the state of Illinois. I made tons of friends & hope to do Miss IL USA again in the future.

Your pageant helps girls to gain self-confidence. My parents and friends who came that weekend to watch told me that it was totally worth it. I enjoyed being part of that great production. Everyone was very helpful & kind! Don't change a thing, it was awesome!

Best of luck to Kelly Cruse at Miss Teen USA. I'm sure she'll do great! I watched Miss USA and Jill did fabulous - I was very pleased with how far she made it! Keep up the good work I hope to see all of you in upcoming years!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It has been over a month now since the Miss Illinois Teen USA pageant and not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about what an amazing opportunity and experience being a contestant in the pageant was for me. I didn't know what to expect when entering the pageant because I had never been in a pageant before, but I never would have imagined what amazing young women I would meet and create lasting friendships with during those three short days.

From meeting the girl who rebuilt her entire car, to the girl who will be spending her summer in Africa to speak to people about HIV/AIDS awareness, to the girl who sang for us backstage and has released her own CDs; having the opportunity to be around such talented girls with such great potential was great motivation to strive to better myself and my community.

Being on stage in front of hundreds of people was one of the greatest confidence boosters I have ever experienced. I had the confidence to believe in myself and in every other girl at the pageant; we were all rooting for each other.

As my senior year comes to an end, I will not have the opportunity to compete again for the Miss Illinois Teen USA title. I will be attending college out of state but I will always remember the highlight of my senior year being the pageant.

So I guess the reason why I'm writing this letter is to say thank you for this experience...but "thank you" isn't strong enough to encompass how much I appreciate the hard work that all of you do in order to allow for the opportunity to learn and build confidence for the hundreds of girls across the nation that participate in the Miss Teen USA pageants.

Best wishes to Kelly Cruse. Congratulatons on her title and I wish her the best of luch at the 2005 Miss Teen USA pageant. I will be watching and wishing her great success in representing the state of Illinois. Her story and her achievements are touching. I cried on stage when she was crowned because I am planning to pursue a future profession in pediatric oncology.

______________________________________________________________________________________

I would like to thank you for all the fun and interesting things that my daughter had this weekend in Chicago. Kayla had so much fun and made a lot of new friends. She is looking forward to next year. This was our first pageant and we loved everything and learned a lot. Anyway thanks a lot. My daughter was scared of the stage but now she is glad we came.

My daughter, Kylie Janssen, competed for her first time last weekend and wanted to drop a line to thank you for a terrific experience! She absolutely loved it, and as an observer I felt the show was spectacular! Kylie would like to consider doing it again. We both felt she did a great job on stage.

Again, thanks for a terrific experience and life long memory. You have a system that you can be very proud of!

Penney & Kylie Janssen

Leaving her in Chicago Friday was scary, but the minute she called Friday night and explained her magnificent view of the city and the lake and all of the nice people and fun, we knew the weekend would be successful just because of the experience of being there.
After seeing Stacey compete Saturday, I told her to make sure she had everything ready to appear on stage Sunday because she was going to compete again as a semi-finalist. She said, "Mom, have you not been watching! Have you seen these girls?"

You see, Stacey has an auditory processing learning disability and works her tail off for average grades because she can rarely pass a test. She is a special education student who takes all regular ed classes, and to be really good at something besides her modeling, isn't something she is used to.

She has NEVER been in a pageant. Her evening gown was $15, her swimsuit was a $32 Speedo and we bought the interview suit at J.C. Penney for under $60, I think. What the judges saw was Stacey, our beautiful daughter for the sweet, good person that she really, really is! They have no idea what they have done for her!

Stacey would like to send thank you notes to everyone- even the emcees because they are fabulous at putting the girls at ease! You ladies and gentlemen are phenomenal!

Also, the judges did a fantastic job choosing our Miss Illinois Teen USA. She is a class act and I picked three of the same top five as they did! In fact, I drew a crown on her Saturday night in my program book! Of course the mom in me had that cute little fifteen year old Miller girl in there, too!

We are so proud of her and proud to have been a part of such a wonderful pageant! Thank you for a wonderful experience for all of us Millers here in Taylor Ridge!

God bless each and every single one of you!!
Sue Miller & Mitch Miller
(Stacey too)