Dobelle to help University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle won't be sitting idle when he goes on vacation later this month.
choose Miss America
The UH president will
take vacation to serve
as a pageant judgeStar-Bulletin staff
He will be a judge in the Miss America pageant -- one of seven judges entrusted to decide which one of the 51 contestants will wear the crown as Miss America 2003.
Preliminary competitions begin on Sept. 17, and the final night of competition on Sept. 21 will be telecast live on ABC.
"I am honored to have been selected as a judge," said Dobelle.
"The pageant offers young women an opportunity to come together, showcase their talents and bring attention to a social issue they feel passionate about."
He will take personal vacation time to participate in the pageant in Atlantic City, Dobelle said.
Angela Perez Baraquio, former Miss Hawaii who captured the Miss America 2001 title, said she hopes Dobelle's participation will bring "greater pride and national recognition to Hawaii's higher education system."
Baraquio is a graduate of the university's Manoa campus and met with Dobelle to discuss his role as a pageant judge.
Other judges include: Donna Axum Whitworth, Miss America 1964; Jose Feghali, gold medal winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; James Matthew Jones, founding executive vice president of The Vaccine Fund; Tamara Haddad, veteran executive producer of network news and entertainment programs; Gwendolyn Calvert Baker, President of Calvert Baker & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in global education; and Kay Casstevens, a journalist who is currently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Parris Glendening of Maryland.
The finalists are judged on composite attributes, lifestyle and fitness, presence and poise, peer respect and leadership, artistic expression and knowledge and understanding.