Excitement was high among the District contingency in the audience as the District of Columbia was called first during The Top 10 Announcement at the Ms. Senior America Pageant finals in Atlantic City, N.J.
Ms. Senior DC Phyllis Jordan had won the opportunity to compete among the top 10 of 39 contestants who were all age 60 and older. The finalists also included Illinois, South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, New York, Utah, Virginia, New Jersey and Arizona.
Ms. Senior DC shares during her philosophy of life and evening gown segment of competition that communication is key. Her rose gold metallic gown with flowing fishtail swished as she elegantly glided across the stage. The talent segment intro asks the question of the audience, have you ever wanted to be evil? With her playful impersonation of the singer Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Jordan Ms. Senior DC sang “I Wanna Be Evil.”
And the winner, Colorado representative Gayle Novak was crowned Ms. Senior America. Her talent during the pageant was a performance from Mama Mia, “Money, Money, Money.” Runner-ups included New Jersey, Utah, Tennessee and Alicia Diamond Windsong from the state of Virginia, respectively.
The District also was represented as the MC Steppers danced during the First Preliminary and Finals to a medley of Chaka Khan tunes and concluded their finals performance with “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars to a standing ovation and cheers from the audience. Toni Jackson, Ms. Senior DC 2014 and Wendy Bridges, Ms. Senior DC 2015 joined the dance group for their third stint on the Ms. Senior America Pageant stage.
A special congratulations goes to Sandra Bears, Ms. Senior DC 2005 who was awarded an Honorary Senior America Banner. A Top 10 Finalist in 2005, this year Bears served as emcee for the Senior America Showcase on Tuesday night. Also in the showcase this year was Billie LaVerne Smith, Ms. Senior DC 2016 who played a Duke Ellington favorite on the piano, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
Smith and Toni Jackson also sang with the National Queen’s Choir which performed during the showcase, pageant preliminaries and the pageant final.
Great job, District of Columbia, way to represent on a national level. Now America knows D.C. residents 60 and older are “Aging with Style!”
