The Miss America Organization board today announced that Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson will pass the gavel to Miss South Dakota 1997 and South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs.
Attorney Brenda Keith will be vice-chairwoman.
"When I was asked to take this volunteer position over a year ago, I dedicated myself to helping the organization build on its history while working to secure its future and am extremely proud of the work we have collectively done," Carlson said in a release. "With a promising network partnership, the time is ideal to give new leadership the opportunity to move forward with what has been accomplished."
At the board's request, Carlson will stay on as an adviser, but not as a member of the board.
"Miss America will always be a part of who I am and I will enthusiastically watch as the organization continues to grow and succeed," she said.
The Miss America Board of Directors thanked Carlson for her leadership, commitment and service and welcomed Krebs and Keith to their new roles.
Gretchen worked tirelessly as chair of the MAO Board of Directors to stabilize the program.
"As a board we acknowledge the vast support, time, and resources Gretchen has personally poured into the program and sincerely thank her for her dedication and service. We also are thrilled that Shantel and Brenda have agreed to lend their valuable talent, experience and expertise to leading the board as we approach this great institution's 100th anniversary," the release stated.
The board unanimously elected Krebs after she served on the board since October 2018.
Most recently, Krebs was South Dakota's secretary of state, was a South Dakota senator and state representative for a decade. Krebs comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has owned and operated her own retail and consulting businesses in her home state.
Before politics, she also had a successful career in the healthcare industry and competed in the 1997 Miss America Competition as Miss South Dakota.
As a female legislator, statewide elected official and entrepreneur, I understand how important it is to empower the coming generations of women to seek out how they can have a positive impact on our society by stepping up to the plate, Krebs said. I am excited to support MAO in the chair role by helping to craft initiatives which will serve to inspire and motivate young women across the country to lead by example. I've been volunteering with the Miss America program for over 20 years everything from a local executive director to making sponsorship calls for the state board.
Before joining the MAO board, Keith, who was also unanimously appointed to the vice-chairwoman post, served as the executive director of the Miss New Hampshire Organization. She is chairwoman of the State Licensing Committee, is an essential liaison between the board and the MAO state executive directors and has brought her decades of vast experience in volunteering within the organization to the national level, according to the release.
Additional MAO board officers are Treasurer Barbara Moore and Secretary Kathleen Neville. Regina Hopper continues to volunteer as president and CEO. MAO board members and officers serve the organization as volunteers.
The organization recently announced it would telecast its 2020 competition live on NBC, but provided no date for the event.
