Pageant Controversy Taking Ugly Turn To Legal Action?

By Fran Paolinelli

LANCASTER – Controversy continues to surround the recent Jr. Miss Antelope Valley Pageant as directors put aside the judges’ decision and chose another contestant. With accusations flying from both sides and emotions running high, the situation has reached the point that it is being referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. 
 
 
Aspen Brito, Jr. Miss Leona Valley, participated in the Jr. Miss AV Pageant, as she was required to do. However, by the time the pageant was actually held, she was 20 days older than the age limit. Her family said they were unaware of the age problem and that after Brito was chosen and crowned, an unhappy father of another contestant obtained information about her age and complained to the pageant directors.
 
 
 
Directors of the Jr. Miss AV Pageant deny that they learned about Aspen Brito’s age from a parent, stating in an email sent to all contestants except Brito, “At no time prior to or following the pageant did a contestant’s parent approach the committee to demand to view Aspen’s birth certificate or personal information, or to maliciously inform us Aspen did not meet the age requirement. The committee overheard Aspen was not of competitive age from another, in passing.”
 
 
However, according to Brito’s mother, Denise, and Thomas Shaw, president of the Jr. Miss Leona Valley Pageant, a parent has “an e-mail that originated from a parent of another contestant, in which the parent admits to having a listing of certain personal information for all” the Jr. Miss AV contestants.
 
 
 
The controversy began a few hours after Aspen Brito was crowned the new Jr. Miss AV and a director of the pageant called the family requesting that Brito return her crown and relinquish the title. When the family refused, the directors chose another contestant to serve as Jr. Miss AV, according to Denise Brito.
 
 
 
“Jr. Miss Rancho Vista was offered the crown and her parents were more than happy to accept it. She was not the only one offered the title. It is my understanding that the other's declined,” Brito told AV News Wednesday night.
 
 
 
Brito also said that the family, as well as the Jr. Miss Leona Valley Pageant directors, have tried to contact directors of the Jr. Miss AV Pageant but no one has returned their calls.
 
 
 
“The Leona Valley board sent a letter requesting a resolution to the dilemma regarding our daughter and have yet to hear back from the Jr. Miss (AV) committee,” Brito said.

Brito also said no one notified them that a new Jr. Miss AV had been chosen to replace their daughter. The family learned about the action when they received a copy of an email that was sent out to all parents, excluding the Britos. The email reportedly came from someone with the email name of “JMAVSparkleQueen”.
 
 
 
“Otherwise we would have eventually learned of the new Jr. Miss (AV) through Facebook,” Brito said. “Jr. Miss Rancho Vista sent out another email, excluding my daughter, inviting everybody to her crowning, which will take place this Thursday (Feb. 16) at Cascades. “
 

According to Brito, the Jr. Miss AV committee has not responded to anybody that has tried to reach a director for comment.
 
 
 
Cindy Alcott, a Jr. Miss AV Pageant director, disagreed, saying “the Leona Valley director was immediately contacted and Mrs. Brito called the Committee shortly thereafter. At no time did the Committee make any “demands” on the family other than a simple request to meet right away. The family was understandably upset and although they stated they would call us back, they never did; and the last we heard was a man in the background saying we would hear from their attorney. After waiting several hours for their return call, the Committee left a message for the Leona Valley director and we have not personally heard back from either since that time.”
 
 
 
Susie McGuffy, a Leona Valley pageant director, says she indeed tried to contact Alcott. AV News and several other media also attempted to contact Alcott. At first she did not return phone calls and when finally contacted by AV News, refused to speak, saying she wanted to talk to an attorney.
 
 
 
In the meantime, AV News has obtained a copy of a letter reportedly sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Feb. 10. In that letter, also emailed to the Jr. Miss AV Pageant Committee, Rich Thomas, president of the Leona Valley Jr. Miss Pageant, stated concerns about the way the pageant was handled, its nonprofit status, accountability and the safeguarding of private information of the young women participating in the contest.
 
 
 
“We are disturbed by and concerned about certain aspects of the Jr. Miss Antelope Valley Pageant this year, as well as aspects of how this particular pageant is handled. In that light, we have several questions we are posing to you so that we can gain a better understanding.
 
 
 
“How does the Jr. Miss AV Pageant group qualify as a tax-exempt organization? (We have been unable to find a listing for your group on the State of California Department of Justice Attorney General’s website for exempt organizations. As well, we find no listing in GuideStar.)
 
 
 
“To whom is the Jr. Miss AV Pageant Executive Board accountable? (This would be financially accountable as well as accountable for policies, procedures and practices.)
 
 
 
“What is the policy, procedure or practice by which the paperwork submitted by the contestants for your pageant is reviewed for compliance with your specified rules and standards?  Who is responsible to perform this verification step?
 
 
 
“What practices are in place to safeguard the personal and private information that is provided to you by each of the contestants? “
 
 
 
Thomas stated that the Leona Valley Jr. Miss Pageant has a copy of an email from a parent in which they admit to having personal information about all of the Jr. Miss AV contestants.
 
 
 
“It has been asserted that at least one parent of a contestant in your pageant had a listing of some personal information of all the contestants.  What has your investigation of this assertion determined with respect to the validity of the claim as well as the source of the personal information that was obtained by this parent?  (A parent of one of our Community Queens has an e-mail that originated from a parent of one of your contestants, in which the parent admits to having a listing of certain personal information for all your contestants, in case you are not aware of this e-mail.)” stated Thomas.
 
 
 
Thomas’ letter to the district attorney’s office also questions how the pageant determines the amount of the scholarship that is awarded to the Jr. Miss AV and asks what that amount is for this year.
 
 
 
“We have been told that a portion of the money raised by the contestants in your pageant is given to a local charity. How is the amount of the donation to that charity determined? Who oversees the financial dealings of the Jr. Miss AV Committee and to whom is a report of the financial results provided? Are the financial records subject to independent internal or external audit?
 
 
“What is your perspective and current opinion on the proper and reasonable resolution to the dilemma that exists regarding Jr. Miss Leona Valley, Aspen Brito, having been crowned Jr. Miss AV? Within the same evening your Board decided she should be striped of her crown and title, although the paperwork she submitted to your Board had been accepted more than 6 months earlier as qualifying her for your pageant. Where does the actual responsibility rest for the problem that was raised by another parent?”
 
 
 
Thomas closed the letter by stating, “As her sponsoring organization, we fully support Aspen Brito in her role as Jr. Miss Leona Valley and the title she won of Jr. Miss Antelope Valley. Our community is proud of Aspen and has found her to be a fabulous role model. We need not list all her terrific attributes, as obviously those were abundantly clear even to the judges of your pageant. We aim to see a positive outcome to the situation regarding her title and crown, and trust that all parties involved will be able to “take the high road” in working together towards a resolution."




Alcott did not return several calls from AV News on Thursday.