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Former Miss TAMUK, Raquel Tidwell
takes her final walk
before handing the crown over.
Ortiz reigns as Miss TAMUK By Roberta Flores |
 Lilly Ortiz stands with her sash as the new 2008 Miss TAMUK. She was awarded the crown after the pageant ended. |
Usually tears and surprise are a large part of winning the Miss TAMUK pageant. The person who wins gets the crown, the title and a chance to serve as a representative for Texas a&M University-Kingsville.
However this year the tears and surprise came after the show when it was revealed that the wrong young woman was given the crown at the ceremony at Jones Auditorium, April 12.
Theatre arts major Stephanie Wright, 25, was crowned on stage during the ceremony. However, shortly after the show, it was revealed to the top three that there had been a mistake and the real winner was actually 19-year-old business management major Lilly Ortiz.
“I knew something was wrong because, after I was named runner-up, everyone kept telling me to get off the stage. Then we were pulled aside and were told who won,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said that the situation was unfortunate for the contestants.
“Although it was a horrible situation, Stephanie was very mature and sweet about it,” Ortiz said. “She gave me the crown and sash and made a point to tell the other contestants what had happened.”
The mistake happened when the results were handed to emcee Marcy Martinez.
“The results were transposed when they were written on the paper given to the emcee. The results show that Ms. Ortiz received a 4.8 out of 5 and Ms. Wright received a 4.2 out of 5 with 5 being the highest. Thus, the highest score was the winner,” said Nino Mendietta, Director of Memorial Student Union Building and Student Activities.
According to the rules, each judge was supposed to critique the girls in the following categories:
Clear Articulation
Poise/Confidence
Answer was clear, thoughtful and effective
Comfortable speaking in front of the audience
“It was human error. The show went too quickly and we thought it was best to take care of the situation as soon as possible. That is why we only waited until after the show. We thought it would be confusing and awkward to stop in the middle of the show,” said Erin McClure, pageant coordinator.
Ortiz said that she did not expect the negativity and backlash from the mistake.
“I know that it was an honest mistake and I believe the school handled the situation the best way they could. I was pleased with how it was handled. I really wish that people would be more understanding and realize that both of us got raw ends of the deal,” she said.
The individual scores of all contestants will be available to all students on the TAMUK website, according to McClure.
Above: The final three, 2nd Runner Up Erica Rodriguez, 1st Runner Up Stephanie Wright and Miss TAMUK Lill Ortiz stand prior to the announcement of 2nd Runner up. Victoria Perez was awarded Miss Congeniality and Erica Rodriguez was awrded Miss Lantana and Most Photo Genic
Above: The Miss TAMUK pageant contestants stand on the stage of Jones Auditorium awaiting for the elimination process to begin.
Above: Pageant winner Lilly Ortiz takes on the spot questions from TAMUK alumna and television news anchor for the Valley Morning Starr, Marcy Martinez.