Mary Katherine Fechtel

Mary Katherine Fechtel (born July 10, 1995) is an American titleholder from Leesburg, Florida, who was crowned Miss Florida 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 live on ABC and placed in the top 10.

Mary Katherine Fechtel
Born (1995-07-10) July 10, 1995[1]
EducationUniversity of Florida
TitleMiss Orlando's Outstanding Teen 2010
Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2010
Miss University of Florida 2015
Miss Florida 2015
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major
competition(s)		Miss America 2016

Pageant career

Miss Florida 2015

On February 16, 2015, Fechtel won the Miss University of Florida 2015 title over 20 other contestants for the crown.[2][3] She was crowned by the Miss University of Florida 2014 titleholder, her older sister Elizabeth Fechtel.[3]

Entering the state pageant of behalf of her university in June 2015 as one of 47 finalists, Fechtel's Miss Florida 2015 pageant competition talent was a lyrical dance to the song "Listen" by Beyoncé.[4][5][6] Her platform was human trafficking and online safety in prevention. She adopted various topics for speeches, most notably women empowerment and faith. [7]

Fechtel won the competition on Saturday, June 20, 2015, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Florida titleholder Victoria Cowen. She earned more than $18,000 in scholarship money and other prizes from the state pageant. As Miss Florida, her activities included public appearances across the state of Florida. She is best known for her dedication to human trafficking awareness and internet exploitation. During her travels she supported state nonprofits, spoke to over 20,000 students in Florida K-12 schools, and trained law enforcement officers and prosecutors in anti-human trafficking efforts. She was a spokesperson for the Everglades Foundation and lobbied for the Florida Legacy Act.

In February 2016 the Florida House of Representatives passed a Personal Resolution Bill in her honor (HB9069) for exceptional dedication to her various platform issues.

Vying for Miss America

Fechtel was Florida's representative at the Miss America 2016 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2015.[7][8][9] She won a preliminary swimsuit competition, earning a $1,000 "lifestyle and fitness" scholarship award.[10][11] In the televised finale on September 13, 2015, she danced to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" during the talent portion of the competition.[12] Fechtel placed in the Top 10 finalists and earned a $7,000 scholarship award.[11]

Sisterly parallels

Mary Katherine's older sister, Elizabeth Fechtel, succeeded her as Miss Orlando's Outstanding Teen 2011 and Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2011.[13][14] (Elizabeth went on to win the Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2012 crown.)[3][15] She was crowned Miss University of Florida 2014 and was succeeded by Mary Katherine in 2015.[2][3] Elizabeth was crowned Miss Florida in 2014,[16] just as Mary Katherine would be in 2015,[17] but Elizabeth was demoted to first runner-up after just six days when an error tabulating judges' scores was discovered.[4][3][18]

Personal life and education

Fechtel is a native of Leesburg, Florida, and a 2012 graduate of First Academy High School in Leesburg.[19][20] Her father is Vince Fechtel and her mother is Dixie Fechtel.[19][3][5]

Fechtel is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida where she studies family, youth, and community sciences.[4][2][8] While a student at Florida, Fechtel became a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.[12][21] She was elected Vice President of Standards. She represented the University of Florida in athletics as a Florida Dazzler and became a cheerleader uniform model for Varsity Fashions. As a leader in Dance Marathon at UF she worked with children at Shands Hospital and became a public proponent of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. She withdrew from classes for the duration of her reign to fulfill her duties as Miss Florida but completed her degree in December 2016.[12]

References
  1. "Happy July Birthday to the LBC Deckhands". LBC Newsletter. Leesburg, FL: Leesburg Boat Club. July 2013. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  2. Cochrane, Emily (February 17, 2015). "Miss UF 2015 crowned, succeeds her sister in position". The Independent Florida Alligator. Gainesville, FL: Campus Communications. p. 6. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  3. Campbell, Theresa (February 18, 2015). "Back-to-back pageant wins as Miss UF for Fechtel sisters". Daily Commercial. Leesburg, FL: New Media Investment Group. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  4. Campbell, Theresa (June 22, 2015). "UF student wins Miss Florida crown one year after sister loses hers". The Gainesville Sun. Gainesville, FL: New Media Investment Group. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  5. Dowell, Rosemarie (June 19, 2015). "MaryKatherine Fechtel, Arianna Beyer vying for Miss Florida title". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  6. Dowell, Rosemarie (June 23, 2015). "MaryKatherine Fechtel, Lake's second Miss Florida, prepares for Miss America pageant". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  7. "State Contestants: Florida – 2015". Miss America. 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  8. "19-year-old UF senior crowned Miss Florida". Jacksonville, FL: WJXT-TV. Associated Press. June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  9. Holliday, Eileen (June 20, 2015). "Leesburg woman crowned Miss Florida 2015". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  10. "Louisiana, Florida win 2nd night Miss America preliminaries". Shreveport, LA: KTBS-TV. September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  11. "Miss America Show Scholarships 2016". Miss America. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  12. Erickson, Briana (September 16, 2015). "UF student to take off a year to uphold Miss Florida duties". The Independent Florida Alligator. Gainesville, FL: Campus Communications. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  13. "Florida Outstanding Teen 2011". Miss Florida. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  14. Omaye, Jayna (June 27, 2014). "Leesburg woman stripped of Miss Florida crown after counting error". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  15. "Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2012 Rides In The University of Florida's Homecoming Parade". Tampa, FL: Miss America's Outstanding Teen. November 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  16. Campbell, Theresa (June 22, 2014). "Leesburg woman claims Miss Florida title". Daily Commercial. Leesburg, FL: New Media Investment Group. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  17. Hayes, Christal (August 23, 2015). "Leesburg pageant winner heads to Miss America year after sister faced tabulation error". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  18. Pillion, Dennis (June 28, 2014). "Miss Florida pageant crowns wrong winner, takes title from contestant six days later". Press-Register. Mobile, AL: Advance Publications. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  19. "Miss Orlando's Outstanding Teen Crowned Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2010". Scholarship Pageant Newsletter. 1 (2). Miami, FL: Miss Florida. May 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  20. Campbell, Theresa (July 26, 2015). "Leesburg native MaryKatherine Fechtel prepares for Miss America". Daily Commercial. Leesburg, FL: GateHouse Media. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  21. Becque, Fran. "Sorority Women on the Road to Miss America 2016 (2015 State Winners)". Focus on Fraternity History. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Victoria Cowen		 Miss Florida
2015		 Succeeded by
Courtney Sexton
Preceded by
Myrrhanda Jones		 Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen
2010		 Succeeded by
Elizabeth Fechtel
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