Panama City woman wins Miss Plus America Elite, raises awareness for disaster preparedness

PANAMA CITY — A local woman’s spontaneous decision has opened a floodgate of opportunity.

Panama City’s Tanya Holloway recently won the Miss Plus America Elite 2021 pageant in Louisville, Kentucky, and is preparing for the upcoming Mrs. Plus World Pageant in March.

The Miss Plus America Pageant is a faith-structured organization for plus size women that has been in existence since 2003. Holloway said she first heard about the pageant years ago when she saw another local woman competing.

“It had been something that had just always stuck in the back of my mind as something that if I had the opportunity, I would love to do, but I also didn't grow up doing pageants,” Holloway said. “So, I knew nothing about it. Other than you get up on stage in a pretty dress and you look very well put together and you speak very eloquently. And I always thought, ‘Wow, I really, I want to be like that.’”

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The decision to just do it

When Holloway’s husband was set to be deployed for 15 months, she said she found herself trying to find activities to fill her and family’s time. She even joined the local roller derby club, the Sugar Sands Roller Dolls.

Then, she remembered the pageant from years ago that she always wanted to compete in and seeing there was a competition for July in 2021, she decided to sign up.

“I was Mrs. Sunshine State,” Holloway said. “I just said, ‘You know what, I'm going to compete and have fun, no expectations, just see what happens.’ I realized quickly that I needed a coach.”

Once she found a coach, she quickly found herself immersed in the pageant culture and started the preparation for the event.

“I didn't realize how much work goes into wardrobe planning and just stage presence for a pageant,” Holloway said. “There's a certain way to walk when you're in a pageant, ... there's a certain look to the gown depending on your age group. So something someone would wear for say, as a teen in a pageant is not the same thing you would wear as a Mrs. in a pageant.”

Holloway’s history of hurricanes and helping

When it comes to the pageant world, having a platform is considered an integral part of becoming a contestant. As someone who went through Hurricane Michael, she said she knew which platform to pick.

“My personal platform is ‘Don't be scared, be prepared, disaster preparedness for vulnerable communities,’” Holloway said. “In that, I do different outreach activities. I've done some Red Cross preparedness presentations for groups where I like to focus on groups that are not typically given the same amount of attention or awareness about disasters.”

Working with rural areas and disadvantaged communities, Holloway said she aims to help individuals get prepared for any disasters or situations they may face, from hurricanes, tornados or even housefires.

In 2018 Holloway, like many Bay County residents, felt the negative impacts of the Category 5 hurricane and suffered during the following weeks and months. Her entire family was all under one roof as they moved from various locations.

“Our house was impacted, it didn't seem like it was too much at first, but then getting into it, it ended up having to be gutted,” Holloway said. “We were out of our house for a year. We moved, I think, five times from temporary location to temporary location.”

Nothing could match the pain she felt seeing the community she had so much love for going through such damage, she said.

“It just broke my heart to see the folks who made it through the storm, but didn't know what to do next,” Holloway said. “That's why it's really important to me that the community gets that information about what to do.”

By competing in these pageants, she said while she did not realize it at first, they are the perfect opportunity for her to get the message out and educate those on disaster preparedness.

Becoming Miss Plus America Elite

The Miss Plus America pageant has three divisions — Miss, Ms. and Mrs. Then there is an Elite Queen, who is the winner of the entire pageant.

When Holloway got to the competition, she said it wasn’t at all what she expected but it was better. She said she met a bunch of amazing women and learned so much about their different platforms.

As she went through the competition, she promised herself it was for fun and she would just be herself. Then, she kept going further and further.

“When I was called in top five, I was actually the fifth one called,” Holloway recalled. “I was just like, ‘OK, well that was fun.’ And I'm clapping like, ‘OK, who else is going to make top five?’ I didn't think it was me when they called my name.”

She said she especially was not expecting to win the entire thing.

“They called the Elite Queen and I was looking at the person I thought was going to win, because I was ready for them to call her name,” Holloway said. “I was getting ready to congratulate her and they called my name, and I was like, ‘Why are they calling my name?’”

A rush of emotions fell upon Holloway as she was crowned Miss Plus America Elite, from shock to sadness since she felt all of the contestants deserved to win as well.

“I was really proud of myself as well,” Holloway said. “And I was just so honored because to see my sister Queens embrace me and clap for me and congratulate me, it just really meant a lot. It still means a lot.”

Since the pageant is meant to highlight other body types, specifically plus sized, Holloway added that the competition is huge for body diversity and representation.

“Representation matters. If you can see yourself in that role, then you can strive toward it and feel like this is something I can do,” Holloway said. “A lot of times with pageants, you don't see people who look like me. And what is sad about that is the average American woman is a size 16, which is my size.”

Holloway now begins her journey to Houston, Texas, for the Miss Plus World and Miss Plus World Intercontinental Pageants on March 9. She will hold the title of “Miss Plus Intercontinental America,” adding that she excited to not only represent her country, but also Panama City in the pageant.

“I'm so excited about the international aspect, hearing about the different projects that they're working on in their countries,” Holloway said. “I always get tickled by accents. I love just hearing other people talk from other places.”

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Florida woman wins title of Miss Plus America Elite 2021