Miss Manatee County Has Her Time On Stage, ‘At Last’

LAKELAND, FL — The winning performance may have been operatic, but for a candidate from the Sarasota area, her time on stage came “At Last.”

Reigning Miss Manatee County Jercoia Waiters crooned a stunning rendition of the classic “At Last,” during the second night of the Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant, held at the Youkey Theatre inside the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida.

While Waiters didn’t win the talent portion of her group – contestants are divided into three groups in the preliminary rounds – she received a rousing ovation from the crowd.

Winning over the judges with a thundering performance of the opera classic Nessun Dorma, Miss Tampa Olivia Butler took home the coveted talent award on the second night of the Miss Florida contest. Miss Miami, Stephanie Almeida, won her division’s lifestyle, fitness and swimsuit preliminary title.

To win the Miss Florida tiara, contests vie in five categories – interview, on-stage question, talent, evening wear, and lifestyle and fitness swimwear. Each category is weighed differently – in the preliminaries, talent is worth 35 percent and interview 25 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, the on-stage question event is worth 5 percent and swimwear earns 15 percent of the needed total. The percentages vary in the final event.

While preliminary winners aren’t guaranteed access into the final round of 11 – 10 by point count with one chosen by online vote – they do receive a $300 scholarship. This is the pageant’s 82 year.

The third night of the preliminaries starts at 7:30 p.m. at the RP Funding Center’s Youkey Theatre, 701 Lime Street, Lakeland.

Story by Jack Cormier/Photo courtesy of Visit Central Florida