Last week judges at the Miss Miami USA pageant narrowed the field down to two contestants - the former Miss Texas and last year's Miss Daytona. When the announcement finally came, the hometown girl Meg Perkins, 23, was crowned Miss Miami. This is Perkins' second win in four pageant competitions and another line item for a resume already full of names like Von Dutch, Audi, Doritos and McDonalds. These names are just part of her impressive background which also includes principal roles in Wyclef Jean’s “Gone Till November” and the ever popular “Who Let the Dogs Out.” In just seven weeks Perkins will be competing for the title of Miss Florida and is rumored to be a frontrunner.

What responsibilities come with Miss Miami or is it just a title?

It’s really what you want to make it, some girls want to win a preliminary or a city event just so they can qualify for Miss Florida. I want to make myself available and do more public appearances, which is why I have several events booked and hope to focus on working with The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

What is it like backstage during a competition, do these girls get catty?

For the most part the girls are really helpful and supportive. In rare cases you get girls who are maybe catty and give backward comments, but the girls 'chasing the crown' don't have the right attitude and honestly- they don’t win. That show on MTV (Tiara Girls), shows the worst stereotypes.

What differentiates contestants, why did you think you won?

I won because I went in with the mindset that I was competing with myself and not the other girls. It may as well be Miss USA, because this is the city I was born and raised in, and the one that's really is special for me.

Do the interviews really matter?

During preliminaries we meet with each judge for 2 minutes and you have to be eloquent and sound intelligent. Pageants are really won in the interview, but you can lose it in swimsuit and evening gown. Sounds cheesy, but the swimsuit competition is won from the neck up.

You have a boyfriend right, what does he say about you being Miss Miami?

{laughing} He just keeps calling me Miss Miami.


Is there a party after a competition to celebrate the winner?

If you don’t win you don’t want to be around… you just want to go home or go eat!

Is the Miss Florida competition open to the general public?

The unofficial fact is that if you have fan support it influences the judges. I want to get people there. If I can raise sponsorship money, I would love to put it towards my friends and fans ticket price ($50).

Miss Florida USA, featuring approximately 70 contestants ages 18-26, will run from July 11-15. The final event takes place on the 15th at the Broward Community College Campus and airs on Channel 7 at 7 p.m. Channel 7’s Louis Aguirre and former Miss Florida 2000, Kristen Bell, will host the event. The winner will compete in the 2007 Miss USA Pageant, owned by Donald Trump.

Email Meg Perkins at MissMiamiUSA@gmail.com.