Traverse City’s Jessica Mason Froehlich, First Runner Up at Ms. America Pageant

Jessica at Northport Dog Parade. Photo credit: Jessica Mason’s Ms. Michigan State America 2016 FB page

It was a long night in Brea, California for the 2017 Ms. America Pageant that was live streamed on Saturday, September 3rd from 10:35 p.m. to about 1:30 a.m. ET. The show will be rebroadcast here on Wednesday, September 7th at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Traverse City’s own Jessica Mason Froehlich represented our state and our city as Ms. Michigan State at the competition. Her pageant platform is “Compassion over Reaction: Stop bullying by understanding why it starts.” She advocates for Bully Breeds like Pit Bulls and uses them to connect with children who face bullying issues.

The Ms. America competition is open to women who are 26 years of age and older who are single, divorced, widowed or married. The women competed in four areas including evening gown, interview, sportswear and the on-stage question. The pageant is unique in that the women have philanthropic platforms and spend their time giving back to others. According to the pageant’s website, this year’s contestants and national titleholders have together contributed to over 2000 volunteer service hours. For the first time in the history of the pageant, all contestants received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for the documented volunteer hours the contestants accumulated in the past year.

Jessica competed against 42 other contestants, making it to the top 12 and then the top five of the group. Before the winner was announced, other awards were handed out. Jessica won the “Woman of Distinction Award” for making the most appearances before the pageant.

Waiting to see who is crowned Ms. America 2017

Jessica was 1st runner up, with California’s Oksana Vovk winning the crown. Vovk’s platform was autism awareness and organic living. She was able to win the crown despite tripping over her evening gown and falling to the floor. Vovk is an Newport Beach attorney and the mother of an autistic son. She is a native of the Ukraine and raised her son as a single mom after being in an abusive relationship.

Jessica said, “The winning question of the night (given to Vovk) was ‘Do you learn more from successes or failures?’ I believe the only way to fail is to not learn from the experience. I am so honored to be runner-up to such an exquisite and kind woman. Thank you so much to everyone who supported be getting here. I’m so proud of my hard work, dedication, and placement that Ms. America.”

Jessica at Northport Dog Parade. Photo credit: Jessica Mason’s Ms. Michigan State America 2016 FB page

Jessica will continue representing Michigan with her Ms. Michigan State title and will be seen around town, volunteering in the community. Jessica appears every Thursday on 104.5 BobFM at 8:15 am with Finster to profile an adoptable animal from the Cherryland Humane Society and talk about rescue events and volunteer opportunities.

Jessica, along with her husband Bill, are co-owners of Studio 21 Dance and Fitness. She is a volunteer coach of the Salvation Army’s All-American Starz Dance Team where free community dance is offered for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to afford dance classes. It is a free dance, cheer, pom and leadership team for ages 6-12. To learn more, click here. She will be a dancer in this Fall’s Swingshift & the Stars event competing with Chiropractor Dr. Nathan Reed Doctor for the Grand Traverse Dyslexia Association.

Jessica and Bill during a recording of their talk show.

Jessica also does a non-profit media talk show with her husband, Bill Froehlich, called Common Royalty. It’s about everyday people doing extraordinary things where they profile the unsung heroes of our community. The show airs weekly on the LIAA Channel and can be found by going to this site and searching for the show here. It also airs on UpNorthTV Channel 189 on Sundays and Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. and on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m.