2009 Mrs. Michigan United States® Contestants Click on the titleholders' names highlighted in blue for more information about them.
Mrs. Barry County Melinda Burpee	Mrs. Western Michigan Kate Vincent 3rd Runner-Up	Mrs. Macomb County Jennifer Harvala
Mrs. Central Michigan Kendra Nichols	Mrs. Southwestern Michigan Heather Hillabrandt	Mrs. Oakland County Khristian Joy Alexander Ad Sales Spirit Award
Mrs. Wayne County Kelly L. Cicotte Audience Choice Award Internet Choice Award Ticket Sales Spirit Award	Mrs. West Central Michigan Sharolyn Metternich	Mrs. East Central Michigan Jeannette Greco Pawlowski Mrs. Michigan Interview Award Evening Gown Award
Mrs. Upper Peninsula Christine McMahon 4th Runner-Up Commitment to the Arts Award		Mrs. Southeastern Michigan Michelle Butler
Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee 1st Runner-Up Community Service Award Photogenic Award Best Program Book Ad Award Longest Married Award		Mrs. Shiawassee County Lorilee Aaron Gute 2nd Runner-Up Swimsuit Award Mrs. Congeniality

What were the final results of the 2009 pageant?

Congratulations Mrs. Michigan United States 2009, Jeannette Greco Pawlowski! Representing East Central Michigan in the pageant, Jeannette works as a public school teacher and graduated from Madonna University with two separate bachelor degrees in Education and in Public Relations / Marketing. She is an active volunteer in the community and this year has made over 25 appearances at local events to donate her time and efforts to help the organizations that are dear to her heart. Jeannette helps and gives to The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Camp Casey (a therapeutic horseback riding camp for kids with cancer), Generation Rescue (Jenny McCarthy’s organization to help find a cure for autism).

Jeannette is most proud and passionate about her own platform and charity organization Healthy Minds, a cause educating and finding help for adolecent mental illnesses. Teaching children the importance of not only being physically fit, but also being mentally fit!

Jeannette is married to her best friend Michael and they are raising a lovely six-year-old daughter named Charlotte. Her family resides in Commerce Township and together they enjoy living off Commerce Lake boating and playing on the beach. Jeannette has two dogs a Labrador Retriever named Sandy and her baby a Teacup Yorki named Spanky. She loves hiking and walking her dogs.

Jeannette’s hobbies include taking Latin dance lessons with her husband, cheering on her daughter in all of her activities including coaching her daughter’s cheerleading team. She also enjoys horseback riding, working out, decorating her home, gardening and photography. Her passion for traveling has taken her around the globe to adventures in over 24 countries.

First Runner-Up is Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee,
Second Runner-Up is Mrs. Shiawassee County, Lorilee Aaron Gute,
Third Runner-Up is Mrs. Western Michigan Kate Vincent, and
Fourth Runner-Up is Mrs. Upper Peninsula Christine McMahon.

Congratulations also to the following special award winners:

Pageantry Magazine Spirit Award: Choreographer Theresa Butkovich of the Rose Marie Floyd School of Dance

Ticket Sales Spirit Award: Mrs. Wayne County Kelly L. Cicotte

Ad Sales Spirit Award: Mrs. Oakland County Khristian Joy Alexander

Longest Married Award: Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee

Internet Choice Award: Mrs. Wayne County Kelly L. Cicotte

Audience Choice Award: Mrs. Wayne County Kelly L. Cicotte

Congeniality Award: Mrs. Shiawassee County Lorilee Aaron Gute

Best Program Book Ad Award: Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee

Photogenic Award: Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee

Community Service Award: Mrs. Ortonville Dr. Elizabeth McGhee

Commitment to the Arts Award: Mrs. Upper Peninsula Christine McMahon

Swimsuit Award: Mrs. Shiawassee County Lorilee Aaron Gute

Evening Gown Award: Mrs. East Central Michigan Jeannette Greco Pawlowski

Interview Award: Mrs. East Central Michigan Jeannette Greco Pawlowski

Jeannette will now represent Michigan at the Mrs. United States Pageant in Las Vegas July 19 - 24, 2009! Congratulations to all of our ladies!

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Who was on the judging team?

Auditor – Dwayne Harrigan: Dwayne holds a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University as well as a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan State University. He has over 18 years of financial experience and is currently Director of Finance for Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority. He is a member of the Michigan Government Finance Officers’ Association and International City / County Management Association.

Dwayne is married with two sons and a daughter and is an avid Detroit Red Wings fan.

Head Judge – Octavia Reese Huizenga: After completing her undergraduate studies at Hope College, this Detroit native represented the state as Miss Michigan 2005 in the 2006 Miss America competition in Las Vegas. Since then, Octavia has become a published journalist and transitioned her graduate journalism education into a career at an international public relations firm.

In her career, she had the pleasure of executing national PR campaigns for clients including Nestle Purina’s involvement with the film “Marley and Me”, as well as other major clients such as The United States Mint, McDonald’s, and BP. Octavia currently works freelance for a presentation company, touring the nation in promotion of Ford’s new commercial truck, the Transit Connect.

In her spare time, she continues to play the cello, her Miss America talent, frequently performing for special events, teaching private lessons, and as a member of the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Octavia lives outside of Chicago with her husband Joe, senior minister at Roseland Christian Reformed Church, their one-year-old son Steve, a baby son or daughter (due in October), and their black lab Pete.

Judge – Steve DeBruyne: Steve was born in Ontario, Canada and grew up in Michigan before moving to New York City to study theatre. A graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, his professional acting credits include Malcolm in “The Full Monty: Broadway National Tour”, Joseph in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, Perchik in “Fiddler on the Roof”, and Ren in “Footloose”, among others.

Currently, Steve is the Assistant Artistic Director at the new Encore Musical Theatre Company (theencoretheatre.org) located in Dexter, Michigan. The Encore presents six professional quality musical theatre productions a year featuring professional actors from New York City, often with Broadway credits, in leading roles. Next up for The Encore is the musical comedy “Little Shop of Horrors”.

For now, Steve is calling Pinckney Michigan home, but plans to return to New York in the future to pursue his acting career further.

Judge – Susan Odom: Susan has worked in the historical museum field for more than 13 years and specializes in 19th century American foodways, domestic life, and agricultural history. She operates a small freelance business called “All About Food” that offers historical cooking demonstrations, presentations, classes and consulting. Recently, Susan also joined the staff at the Leelanau Historical Society and Museum in Leland, Michigan. Previously, she worked for seven years at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan as part of Firestone Farm, a living history farm that presented life circa 1885.

Susan is also known for her work as the producer of the film adaptation of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was released as part of the 2006 Hollywood feature film "Ambrose Bierce: Civil War Stories" starring Campbell Scott. The feature film version is available on Amazon.com.

Susan has written for Gastronomica, The Food History News, Edible Grand Traverse and several museum journals. Her webpage is www.allaboutfoodways.com.

Judge – Christian Masson: Christian was born and grew up in southern France and lived in Paris for over 12 years before moving to the United States. He has been with General Motors for over 10 years and now has US citizenship. Christian has worked on various projects and holds several US patents and GM trade secrets.

Christian graduated from the CNAM Paris, France, with a Master of Science in Controls Engineering and a Master of Science in Applied Physics. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Christian is an online marketing expert and is the president of Global Music Promotion LLC whose purpose is to teach artists, musicians, and bands how to effectively promote their music online. He is also a musician and has played the guitar for over 30 years with various bands in the US, France, and Germany.

Judge – Sandina Polgar: Sandina is the Chef and Owner of “Dinner with the Mrs.” personal chef service, answering the “what’s for dinner?” question for clients in the Wayne County area since 2002. She is a graduate of the United States Personal Chef Institute and takes continuing education classes through Schoolcraft College and through the Culinary Institute of America.

Sandina is a member and scholarship recipient of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs which promotes the continuing education and advancement of women in the culinary and restaurant industry. In addition to her Personal Chef business, she also conducts cooking classes in her home, providing students with the opportunity to turn simple foods into sensational dishes.

Sandina is the proud mother of three and resides with her husband of 28 years, Mark, in the city of Trenton. And we are very proud of her for being our very own Mrs. Michigan United States 1996!

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How can I buy photos or a DVD from the 2009 pageant?

You can order Photo CDs and video DVDs below. All major credit cards and e-checks are accepted.

2009 Mrs. Michigan United States® Pageant Photo CD Package - $47.00 plus $3.00 shipping

2009 Mrs. Michigan United States® Pageant DVD - $32.00 plus $3.00 shipping

2009 Mrs. Michigan United States® Pageant Photo Gallery To order copies of official pageant photos, please contact info@mrsmichiganunitedstates.com.