By Gina Gomez
Jan 31, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron, a Fredericksburg native, was crowned “Miss America” on Saturday night, January 30, 2010. Katie Stam, the previous “Miss America” presented her the crown in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old looked dazzling in a tight fit bright yellow gown and sang “Listen” from “Dreamgirls” by Beyonce which wowed the viewers and the judges.

She looked ravishing in the swimsuit, evening gown and mesmerized the judges with her talent and interview rounds. The beauty got $50,000 scholarship after beating the 53 other contestants in Las Vegas. Caressa Cameron is a broadcast journalism student in the Virginia Commonwealth University and dreams of becoming an anchor in future.

The panel of judges in search of the new “Miss America” included actress Vivica Fox, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, musician Dave Koz, Miss America 2002 Katie Harman, gymnast Shawn Johnson as well as a former “American Idol” finalist Brooke White. Initially, comedian Paul Rodriguez was supposed to be one of the judges, but later he denied the offer saying he has some urgent family matters to attend.

The “Miss America” ceremony was broadcast live on TLC. Mario Lopez hosted the show. The 53 contestants who took part in the contest were from 50 states that included the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands as well as Puerto Rico.

Caressa Cameron was asked in the interview round her thoughts on fighting obesity. She replied that children should not be encouraged to watch television and they should not play video games. Instead they should play with sticks outside as she did as a child. Kristy Cavinder became the first runner-up in the contest. She won $25,000.