Pageant News Bureau - Miss Dream Girl America 2006

By any objective standard, Miss Dream Girl America is the perfect pageant. To use a pun, it's a contestant's dream. And remarkably few girls take part in it.

Of course, those few are very fine. "They're a strong field, like an all-star team in a sport," said PNB founder Gerdeen Dyer, who judged the 2006 national contest on Labor Day weekend in Jacksonville.

The 2006 winners were the once and future elite of the pageant world. Anastagia Pierre was crowned Miss Teen Dream Girl America. Lindsay Watters was crowned Miss Dream Girl America. The Teen runners-up were Dani Feigenberg (first), Myriaha Musgrave (second), and Laura Boyd (third). The Miss runners-up were Justine Lane (first), Samantha Snyder (second) and Kaleigh Gleeson (third).

From left, the Miss Dream Girl top three: 2nd runner-up Samantha Snyder, winner Lindsay Watters and 1st runner-up Justine Lane.

Miss Dream Girl third runner-up Kaleigh Gleeson shows off her check and gets a hug from Melissa Gallup, last year's Miss Dream Girl America.

From left, the Miss Teen Dream Girl top 4: 3rd runner-up Laura Boyd, 1st runner-up Dani Feigenberg, winner Anastagia Pierre and 2nd runner-up Myriaha Musgrave.

The Supermodels With Style winners, chosen by Supermodels Unlimited magazine, were Kaitlin Russell in the Teen category and Sherri Leaf in the Miss category. Ms. Musgrave was the Talent winner. Ms. Feigenberg was the first runner-up, Ms. Watters was the second runner-up and Ms. Pierre was the third runner-up. The Photogenic winners were Ms. Pierre in Teen and Ms. Snyder in Miss. The Teen Photogenic runners-up were Courtney Larkin (first), Ms. Feigenberg (second) and Chelsea Nisted (third). The Miss Photogenic runners-up were Ms. Watters (first), Laurie Conley (second) and Haley Huff (third)

That's a formidable array of winners. But why were there fewer than 20 contestants all told? It's one of the oddest situations in all pageantry.

Dream Girl America should be having to fight off contestants. It was created specifically to give beauty queens what they want: 1) Low entry fees. 2) Emphasis on substance instead of expensive frills. 3) Fair judging. 4) Big, guaranteed prizes. 5) A reign that doesn't tie a girl down. (Dream Girl not only permits winners to seek other crowns, it encourages them.)

In pure business terms, you pay a little to get a lot, so why doesn't every girl who wants a crown try Dream Girl America?

"Because they think it's a scam," says Patsy Butts, the pageant's irrepressible and utterly outspoken founder.

Anyone who knows Mrs. Butts -- a prosperous pillar of Jacksonville society who has never finagled anyone out of a nickel in her life -- can only laugh at her comment. But the grain of truth is there. People think it's all too good to be true.

"Patsy is so unpretentious, the pageant is so unpretentious ... people just don't get it," said Dyer. "They expect a certain amount of hype in this business, and they're confused when they hear straight talk. Patsy doesn't break promises. She doesn't even cut her prizes if she has a small field. If she only had one contestant, that girl would be set for life."

In other words, Dream Girl America is a do-gooder pageant. But it stands at a crossroads. In spring 2006, Mrs. Butts became a widow. Her husband, Elliot W. "Happy" Butts, a daring World War II aviator and legendary Florida businessman, died after a long illness.

She had three choices. She could fold up Dream Girl America and busy herself with other worthy pursuits. She could let the pageant continue as a kind of treasure hidden in plain sight. Or she could get the word out to every girl in the United States. She chose the third path. The word is going out.

"It's a sad year for her, but this could be the beginning of very big things," said Dyer. "Miss Dream Girl America is a natural for growth. If it were a stock, I'd buy it."

Look for an upcoming interview with the Miss Dream Girl America winners.

The dream that's real