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Delray Beach teenager Rebecca Markert has given her home city something to celebrate. The 16-year-old beat out hundreds of other Florida teens on her way to winning the title of Miss Florida Junior Teen. The “South” State of Florida’s National American Miss pageant was held July 20-21 in Miami, Florida. With her win, Rebecca received cash prizes, the official state crown and banner, a VIP day at Disneyland®, and a complimentary trip to the National American Miss competition in Hollywood, California this November. There she will compete against hundreds of Miss Junior Teen state winners from around the country for the title of National American Miss Junior Teen Queen, including the Miss “North” Florida Junior Teen winner, Haley Asofsky.

“The entire pageant experience was eye opening to me,” said Rebecca. “I am thrilled to have this opportunity and I am excited to bring exposure to my platform charity Little Smiles, learn more about the entertainment industry, and represent the sunshine state as Miss Florida Junior Teen.”

The National American Miss Pageant is based on inner beauty as well as poise and presentation. Its founders say emphasis is put on the importance of developing self-confidence, learning good sportsmanship, as well as setting and achieving personal goals. The State of Florida competition was divided into the following areas: beauty and poise, personal introduction, as well as seven individual interviews with the judges. In addition, contestants, including Rebecca, were recognized in a number of other categories, including Miss Personality, Volunteer Service, Talent and more. Despite being new to the pageant arena, Rebecca impressed the judges with her personality, casual wear, spirit, and acting skills – winning awards in each of those classifications.

Rebecca’s talent during the competition included playing the ukulele and singing. While singing comes natural for the high school junior, who has performed in numerous plays and theater productions, playing the Hawaii-born ukulele is not. Always up for a challenge, Rebecca taught herself to play the small string instrument only months before the Miss Florida Junior Teen pageant and performed it with ease.

One of Rebecca’s more important responsibilities as Miss Florida Junior Teen is to be involved with and champion a charity of her choice. Rebecca has already started partnering with the Florida-based Little Smiles charity, a local organization dedicated to children, which she chose as her campaign platform. Little Smiles is a non-profit volunteer organizations based in Florida that provides toys, movies, computers, celebrity meet-and-greets, concert and sporting event tickets, theme park trips, junk food runs, and much more to children in local hospitals, hospices and shelters throughout Florida. Through the charity, Rebecca has already had the opportunity to spend time at the Miami Children’s Hospital with some of the young patients, Virginia from the KVJ radio show, deliver pizza to the nurses, and shoot Nerf® guns with the kids! Learn more about the organization at www.LittleSmiles.org.

About Rebecca Markert
Rebecca Markert is 2013 Miss Florida Junior Teen. Rebecca is 16 years old and lives with her family in Delray Beach, Florida. She is a junior at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida, where she is an honors student; National Honors Society member; member of the school’s varsity cheerleading squad; an actor in the fall and spring theater productions; and a member of the school’s Thespians and Cappies “Critics and Awards Program” clubs. Rebecca is a New England Academy of Dance and Boca Ballet Theatre trained dancer with more than 12 years of experience. She also spent two years at the prestigious Stagedoor Manor summer camp in the Catskills.

New to pageants, Rebecca is thrilled to have been part of the entire Miss Florida Junior Teen experience and ecstatic that she won! She is hoping her title will allow her to bring awareness to the Little Smiles organization and help open new doors within the entertainment industry. Her aspiration is to one day be an actor in TV and film.

See the original newspaper article at http://pineapplenewspaper.com/delray-beach-teen-wins-miss-florida-junior-teen-pageant/14487