Home Field Advantage
The night was sultry. It may seem like the opening line to a mystery. Perhaps it was. Thirty-seven women from nine Central Florida Hooters locations arrived at Hooters of Sanford to compete in the Hooters Regional Swimsuit Contest on June 9th. Each one hoped to advance to the 11th Annual Hooters International Pageant in Las Vegas on July 18th, but only two could qualify from this event.
The Hooters of Sanford location proved to be ideal for the competition. Many Hooters locations are either located in a strip mall or have their own small lot. Hooters of Sanford’s presence at the Seminole Towne Center Mall provided ample space for the event and parking for guests. It was also the first Hooters location to have a full liquor bar, something most other Central Florida stores lack.
The weather cooperated by not raining on the event, but some in attendance may have preferred rain to the oppressive heat and humidity. Everyone was looking for some relief from the muggy atmosphere, including guests, Hooters girls working at the event, and the swimsuit contestants themselves who started the evening in dresses for a VIP meet and greet.
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Central Florida proved it has no lack of lovely women in the area. Each lady had her share of supporters from co-workers, friends, family, and people who just liked her. Hundreds of people crowded the venue to cheer their favorite. Some carried signs or wore custom t-shirts. The women working from Hooters of Sanford had a little home-field advantage for cheering, even banging on pots when girls from that store appeared on stage.
VIP guests were allowed into an area immediately surrounding the six foot high stage, The VIP area included private seating at tables, drink service, and a buffet. Prime seats cost $80 per person, with $60 seats just behind them. Among the VIPs sitting right behind the judges was Florida State Senator Lee Constantine (R-District 22). Everyone else lined the barricades to cheer on their favorite in the event.
Local radio personality Crash from WJRR served as MC, working with a crew to keep the music going and everyone entertained while the judges tallied scores between rounds.
Two lucky guys got to sit in beach chairs on the stage for the final rounds after winning contests. The first won a contest to see who had the oldest currency (1941) and the other earned his seat with a wing-eating contest. Fans definitely wanted their photographs of the event. In the VIP area, cameras ranged from professional SLR gear to point & shoot digital cameras and camera phones. Two gentlemen at my table also brought half a dozen disposable cameras to capture their shots. On the other side of the barricade, most of the cameras were digital point and shoot models, but a few people brought digital SLR cameras. WJRR reps invited everyone with a camera to submit their photos of the event to display on the WJRR website. If you’d like to send your photos, just e-mail them to focus@wjrr.com. Be sure to put your watermark on the images if you have the ability.
At the end of the evening, the judges chose from the Airport Hooters location as Miss Central Florida, and Jessica Moody from the Waterford Lakes Hooters store qualified as Miss Orlando. Shalimar arrived on stage breathless and ecstatic. She was clearly thrilled to qualify. Jessica Moody had viewers guessing for a moment before she bounded on stage Two other ladies from Central Florida also qualify to compete in Las Vegas since they were featured in the Hooters Calendar – Linsey Toole, Miss August 2007 and Lynn McCoy, Miss “Babuary” 2007.
Shalimar Hernandez
Jessica Moody
UPDATE: Complete Web Gallery Online
