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PNB interview:

Ronnie Bueche 
talks to Patrick Nathaniel Bartholomew III

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Getting better every year

Ronnie Bueche, a 5'7" Louisiana brunette, got a late start in modeling, but she has been making the most of it. She was the winner of Ms. Summer Savage in the summer of 1999, and she later won the Ms. Venus Swimwear 2000 title. Patrick Bartholomew spoke to her in autumn 2000 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

PNB: Ronnie, how did a 31-year-old woman win the Venus International Model Search competing against 70 girls in their 20s?

Bueche: I'm still not sure. (Laughter) To hang in there with the younger girls, I have to get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later. I just have to work that much harder to keep up with the younger girls.

Winning the Venus competition really made me feel like I'm getting better with age and not worse. I think it also said a lot to other women who thought they weren't eligible for this model search. I've heard Rich Atlas, the executive director of Venus Swimwear, say to several girls [in the 2001 Venus competition] that last year's winner was in her 30s. If you lead a healthy and disciplined life, you can continue to look better with age.

Photo courtesy of Ronnie Bueche

PNB: What do you think the judges saw in you last year that caused them to select you as the winner? Bueche: Actually, I had a chance to speak to some of the judges afterwards. Chelsi Blair, the former Miss Universe, and Spencer Murfey, president of Florida Tan, said there was something about my stage presence that knocked them over. They said that I acted like I owned the stage. In my psyche, I had convinced myself that I was here to do the best that I could do and I was going to go out there and just not worry about anything else and show them everything that I had to offer.

I guess I did. I feel that I have this inner energy that shines out especially when I'm on stage. I felt comfortable and I was having a good time.

PNB: In addition to winning the contest, what other contracts did you receive last year?

Bueche: I won a contract with Florida Tan, which I have gone above and beyond. I'm still working for them, and I was the first brunette they ever hired, so I felt like that was quite an accomplishment. (Laughter.) I worked with Stu Jones and the Florida Powerboat Club. We did a race down in the Keys, and that was a lot of fun, too. I worked for 3Dshopping.com and we modeled Venus Swimwear online. That was really neat because they put us on these little pedestals, and they had to turn us fractions of inches to get the whole view.

Of course, I also got a Venus contract. I was especially happy because I actually received two Venus contracts, one for winning and the other as a part of the girls that Venus chose for their catalogs. I was like "Yeah!" I work with their wholesale department. I do the Surf Expos. I also did the wholesale video so I'm in every little section. I also got the Kenra "Natural Beauty" award, and I just got money for that. I didn't even have to work so that was great.

PNB: During this past year, to what locations did you travel?

Bueche: We did a shoot in Jamaica. I also went to Germany with Florida Tan. We worked a trade show there. We had a lot of fun eating the German food. We also went to Yuma, Ariz., for a shoot with Florida Tan. I haven't been out West before. We shot in the sand dunes that are about 50 feet high. It was freezing though because it was in January. They used a heater to keep us warm. And Venus took me to Las Vegas for the Bar and Nightclub Show.

More talk with Ronnie Bueche ...

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