CITY FOCUS:There she is: online

Ever wanted to judge a beauty contest? Well, for the first time this year, fans of the Miss Huntington Beach pageant can have a say with an online vote.

Pageant organizers are promoting their new website — misshb.org — to generate more interest in the annual contest.

Fourteen contestants will vie for the crown Feb. 3 at Huntington Beach High School’s historic auditorium. Rehearsals started Wednesday and organizers hope to have photos of each contestant on the website by this weekend.

“People can vote right up to the last week of the pageant,” said Matt Liffreing, the event’s master of ceremonies the past four years. “This is another avenue for the girls to get their name out, and they will be passing out their cards to go to the website and vote for them.”

Women of Action, a part of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, organized the contest, which requires about 34 members to pull it off. But about 10 of the members, especially event director June Dugmore and co-director Jackie Judd, handle most of the work.

“It doesn’t replace the judges, but you can have a popular vote that can be recorded on the website,” Judd said.

The website will also give visitors an opportunity to buy a ticket to the event.

“Anyone can download the discount ticket and bring it to the auditorium, too,” Liffreing said.

Pageant organizers also hope the website will help get the contest’s sponsors more exposure. The Independent is one of the pageant’s sponsors.

Roping in Huntington Beach resident Andrea Preuss, Mrs. America 2006, as a celebrity judge is another coup for the contest, pageant planners said.

The pageant started in 1963 and has been a long-time tradition, Dugmore said. “It used to be just a hometown pageant, but is now franchised with the Miss California and Miss America scholarship pageant,” Dugmore said. “Each of the three winners will be awarded a scholarship that ranges from $1,000 and up.”

Tickets are $15 and are used toward scholarships. Tickets can be purchased at the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, on Feb. 3 at the auditorium doors or from any of the 14 contestants.

This year’s contestants are: Allison Grace Apodaca, Caitlyn Becker, Erin Nicole Britt, Lauren Kay Butler, Chelsea Cepek, Ashley Churchill Nicole, Michelle Furr, Samantha Renee Gallo, Karissa Kent, Stephanie Anne Lucas, Kayli Sheldon, Tabitha Steffier, Jessica Tran, and Alicia Nicole Wallace.

For more information, visit misshb.org.