San Antonio Hooters Girl Crowned Miss Hooters International 2008

Vanessa Ferbeyre, Nesie Daglis, Sara Hoots, Heather Brady and Serina Snelling were selected as the top 5 Hooters Girls in the 12th Annual International Swimsuit Pageant. (PRNewsFoto/Hooters of America, Inc.) FORT LAUDERDALE, FL UNITED STATES 07/09/2008

9 Jul 2008 07:01 Africa/Lagos

San Antonio Hooters Girl Crowned Miss Hooters International 2008

Sara Hoots will represent Hooters for 1 year after taking home the $50,000 grand prize

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Sara Hoots, a Hooters Girl in Selma, TX a city right outside of San Antonio, will return to her hometown $50,000 richer after being crowned Miss Hooters International 2008 tonight at the 12th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant. She was selected from 128 Hooters Girl contestants that traveled from as far as Shanghai to represent the 446 Hooters restaurants around the world.


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080709/CLW047 )


From evening gowns to swimsuits, the contestants was judged by a distinguished celebrity panel including Actor, D.B. Sweeney; Miami Heat Point Guard, Gary Payton; IndyCar racer, Helio Castroneves; E! Entertainment Host, Michael Yo; ESPN's "Stump the Schwab", Howie Schwab; Professional Golfer, John Daly; NBA Player and Best Damn Sports Show Period co-host, John Salley and Top Fuel Dragster, Brandon Bernstein. For the second year in a row Sports Announcer and host of Fox Sports Net Best Damn Sports Show Period, Chris Rose, hosted the pageant.


Along with the cash and crown Sara Hoots also brings home the responsibility to represent the concept as the quintessential Hooters Girl -- the cheerleader, girl next door. "The judges had a tough job this year, every contestant was gorgeous," stated Beth Taylor, Pageant Director for Hooters. "But we couldn't have picked a better winner. Given her name and genuine personality, Sara was destined to take home the crown," stated Beth Taylor, Pageant Director.


In addition to the winner, there were 4 top finalists, all of whom will take home prizes. Heather Brady, representing Killeen, TX was first runner up and received $15,000 in cash plus prizes; Nesie Daglis who represented Downtown Atlanta took home $10,000 was second runner up and in third place was Vanessa Ferbeyre, Miss Miami took home $8,000. Serina Snelling, representing Hampton, VA was the 4th place runner up and receives $7,000. Ms. Congeniality was voted for by the contestants themselves and was won by Emma Cam of Australia, and a Ms. Photogenic award which includes a professional photo shoot valued at $5,000 went to Sarah Barret of Lafayette, IN. In recognition of the chain's international expansion, a Miss Hooters World was given to Suzie Fu representing Beijing, China.


The pageant was held at the Broward Theatre for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, FL and was broadcast live to all Hooters restaurants across the country. During the show, Hooters Girl, Stormie Hawkins from Peoria, IL was awarded the Viewer's Choice Award by receiving the majority of over 130,000 text votes that were cast during the contest.


Hooters of America, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of over 440 Hooters restaurants in 42 states and 27 foreign countries. The first Hooters opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida and is celebrating the 25th anniversary this year. Hooters is well-known for its brand of food and fun, featuring a casual beach-theme atmosphere, a menu that features seafood, sandwiches and Hooters nearly world famous chicken wings, and service provided by the All-American cheerleaders, the Hooters Girls. For more information about Hooters visit www.hooters.com.


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080709/CLW047
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN7
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Hooters of America, Inc.

CONTACT: Alexis Aleshire, Public Relations Manager, Hooters of America,
Inc., +1-770-799-2256, aaleshire@hooters.com


Web site: http://www.hooters.com/