Sutherlin High School graduate Elizabeth Denny is heading for Las Vegas this week to compete in the Miss USA contest.
Denny, 26, was crowned as 2017 Miss Oregon USA last October, winning the title over 26 other contestants from around the state.
Denny was in Roseburg Friday night for a send-off dinner at Dino’s Restaurant, before heading to the national competition which begins with preliminaries on May 11 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
“I’m so excited, it’s been a long journey to get where I am now,” said Denny. “But being around my community that supports me so much is just a great confidence booster and a reminder of where I started.”
The contestants don’t have individual platforms in the Miss USA program. Denny said the program has one platform — confidently beautiful — and it focuses more on empowering women.
“The key in this competition is to be a confident woman and if you are a confident woman in every phase of the competition, then you are the whole package and that’s what they’re looking for,” Denny said.
She will compete in interview, fitness/swimwear, and evening wear.
“I’ve been working out twice a day, every day. I really stay updated on everything that’s happening in politics both here and abroad,” Denny said. “I feel confident, I really do.”
Denny won Miss Douglas County in 2010 and Miss Umpqua Valley in 2012, and won three open contests, so she was able to compete in the Miss Oregon Pageant in Seaside five times. Her highest finish was second runner-up at Miss Oregon. That pageant is part of the Miss America program.
Denny has competed in 17 pageants overall, winning more than $100,000 in scholarship money. She was able to finish her Bachelor of Science degree in communications at Portland State University debt-free with that money.
The finals of the Miss USA contest will be televised live on the Fox network on Sunday night, May 14. The winner will go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant early next year.
http://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/roseburg/elizabeth-denny-heads-for-miss-usa-pageant/article_e5546330-5d97-5639-8336-9ce6ea47630e.html