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| Pam Krajewski walks in front of the 2012 Miss Camp Hollywood judges (James Bennett) |
Of course, one might see that last statement and think it a little ... odd. Why wouldn't someone want to take first? Wasn't Pam trying to win? And, if Pam essentially took second ... who took first, anyway?
The answer to the last question is Antonietta Smekal, a broadcast producer from the Los Angeles area. We don't know a ton about her other than what we saw during the competition and what we can glean from her Facebook page. She is clearly well-connected, with upwards of 1,000-plus Facebook friends, and she appears to have called Southern California home her entire life.
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| Antonietta Smekal, Miss Camp Hollywood 2012 (Rusty Frank) |
Putting that aside, I can reconcile the choice in a couple different ways.
First off, while there was a formal scoring system for the contest, and we have a vague idea what that system was, the ultimate goal was to reward the girls with the most personality, whatever that personality may be. While Pam and Antonietta clearly had different personas, they also clearly came across as confident and fully trusting of who they were. Basically, it's more than fair to say that Pam and Antonietta each had a lot of personality, which is exactly what the judges were looking for. That was key. Based on having a lot of personality, both Pam and Antonietta belonged on the Camp Hollywood main ballroom stage that night as winners.
Secondly, though, and more importantly, I think there's a practical thing that has to be kept in mind as well — and it's largely the reason Pam and I are very much at peace with runner-up.
Yes, Miss Camp Hollywood, much like Miss Heartland Swing, is an honor. But it's also a role. In fact, it's probably moreso a role than it is an honor. We know this first-hand from Pam's having been Miss Heartland Swing.
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| Smekal, after winning Miss Camp Hollywood 2012 (Facebook) |
Pam's done that in the Midwest for the Heartland Swing Festival as Miss Heartland Swing, of course. We've gone to events upwards of 14 hours away, sometimes even if we could only make it for a few hours before returning home, attracted attention and made it clear the Festival we're representing is a big deal. At Honor Flights, Pam will talk up swing dancing and even dance with me for the crowd to watch and admire. It's certainly not the main reason she volunteers (honoring the troops), but it's a nice side benefit in a very visible place. She knows her role and she's been filling it extremely well.
(As an aside, Pam kept her Miss Heartland Swing tiara and sash in the suitcase for Camp Hollywood because she didn't think being showy of a previous win would bode well in the contest. We did have Miss Heartland Swing fliers out and Pam would often introduce herself to dance partners as Miss Heartland Swing, but she kept the more-visible accoutrements stored away).
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| Krajewski answers a question from 2012 Miss Camp Hollywood emcee Tip West (James Bennett) |
In the time between the contest and the awards, Pam and I, knowing Pam did amazingly well, talked briefly about how she might possibly fill the role. "We could maybe fly out here for an event or two," I said, "but we'd have to pick carefully." I'm not going to get too deep into how much just this trip cost us, but it wasn't what I'd classify as "cheap". Being Miss Camp Hollywood would have involved making a similar trip many times over, theoretically.
Furthermore, for as much as we try and do in Milwaukee and occasionally Chicago for the Miss Heartland Swing effort, not being around regularly in California would have created a big disconnect for us from what it is we would have been trying to promote. How are we supposed to talk up regular nights and venues in a place where we've never been to them?
It just wouldn't have been practical for Pam to fill the role of Miss Camp Hollywood.
One might ask, "Well, why even try then?" Fact is, you don't know what the role involves until you go out and find out about it. It's not that we didn't think the role would involve representing Camp Hollywood, but we didn't know where, what or how much that would involve. Not to mention, there's still the honor. Miss Camp Hollywood is a great honor and one worth shooting for — so much so that even runner-up is also a great honor, albeit one without any real role.
Even with what little we know about Antonietta, she seems to have two things — the California connections and the proximity — that put her in a far better position to fill the role than Pam. And, to be honest, if I were voting, I'd be thinking as much about the role as the honor. I suspect Antonietta will fill the role well enough to warrant the honor.
Adding all that up is why I feel like runner-up was the perfect thing for Pam in the end. It's an honor, without a doubt, but really without a role, which is fine, considering Miss Heartland Swing is enough of a role itself. It's something to take a lot of pride in and it made the whole trip worthwhile, without putting either us or Camp Hollywood into an awkward position. It's a great thing.
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| Krajewski in a vintage swimsuit (Danah Zoulek/Danah Zoulek Photography) |
So yeah. In the end, runner-up was probably the best thing that could have happened. We're happy, grateful and proud. And we know Antonietta will do great ... in fact, if she wants to do any of the things we've been doing with the Miss Heartland Swing effort or would like to tap into Team Pam's resources for the folks on the West Coast, she's more than welcome.
To paraphrase Pam on stage, we just hope we're an inspiration and an example. And, in L.A., Pam was exactly that.
