THIS YEAR'S (2011) TEEN/MISS/MRS. JUDGES
A prominent panel of judges is carefully selected from both inside and outside the community in order to carefully evaluate the field of delegates who represent the best qualities for their very important public relations positions. The delegates are evaluated by the judges on:
- personality and charm
- civic awareness
- poise and beauty
- first impression
- and an interest in assisting with the ongoing promotion of Long Beach, Southern California, and the Community Action Team (C.A.T.) through public appearances.

Danny Lowenthal
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Danny Lowenthal is the son of longtime Long beach community activists, Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal and State Senator Alan Lowenthal. He was raised in Long Beach, studied psychology at UC Santa Barbara and attended law school at Cornell University. After law school he worked as a prosecutor for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and then managed the group of lawyers who defended the City against allegations of bias in the workplace. He tried to head off lawsuits by sensitizing management to what was, and was not, acceptable workplace behavior. As a lawyer, Lowenthal was a longtime volunteer with First Impressions, a project that reached out to fourth and fifth graders in the most underprivileged communities in Los Angeles to increase their understanding of the legal profession and teach nonviolent methods of conflict resolution. He also volunteered for many years in Long Beach as a commissioner on the Citizens’ Police Complaint Commission, adjudicating citizen complaints of brutality and wrongdoing against members of the police department. In 2006 he was elected to a judgeship on the Los Angeles Superior Court. He currently presides over a criminal courtroom at the Downey courthouse. He avoids using a one-size-fits-all style of justice, and instead attempts to tailor sentences to the individual needs of the parties. He lives in Long Beach with his 9-year-old son, Avi.

Carole White Breithaupt
A Wilson  High School graduate became the first Miss Long Beach in May of 1950.   Carole was a stewardess for American Airlines and later joined MATS (Seaboard Western) bringing home wounded from the Korean War.  Obtaining her Real Estate license, she co-founded/co-owned JTM Brokerage for 25 years.  She has authored a book, “Legacy of a North Dakota Pioneer – Six Generations and 138 Years.”   In 2007, at the age of 78, Carole completed her education and received her Junior College teaching credential in Business.   She is the mother of three and grandmother of twelve.

Andrea Preuss, Mrs. America 2006
Andrea views her life as a trilogy of family, marriage, and community service.  She is creative with over 15 years of classical ballet training, 10 years of jazz/tap and 8 years of gymnastics.  One of her most exciting experiences was traveling to over 50 countries as a professional entertainer on the World Cruise aboard the QE-2.  Andrea is no stranger to pageantry having been a top 10 finalist in Miss Teen USA, International Cinderella Teen, Miss Virginia America, Mrs. United States 2003, and Mrs. America 2006.  She also traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia where she placed in the top 10 at Mrs. World.  After losing her mother-in-law to cancer, she and her daughter helped raise millions of dollars for cancer.  Andrea was a national spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a national spokesperson for the American Anthem Project, an advocate for children with cancer, serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation House and previously co-hosted a weekly radio show entitled “An Hour of Giving” that educated others on how they can make a difference through volunteering. She has her MBA from Pepperdine University and is the West Area Director of Reimbursement for a biologic pharmaceutical company.  She and her husband Bill have been married for 15 years and reside in Huntington Beach, with their children, Savannah Belle (13), and Wil (11).

Ryan Choura, CEO of Choura Events
Ryan is the owner of Choura Events, a 4th generation full-service event company in Long Beach.  Under Ryan’s leadership Choura has grown from not only a catering company, but to a full line of tenting, staging, lighting and now custom event furniture line. Currently Choura employees over 200 event professionals and in 2010 Choura completed over 4,000 events including the Golden Globes, Electric Daisy Carnival , Grammys after-parties and recently the Taste of Beverly Hills.  Ryan believes that life is more than your title, therefore counts the following areas as some of his largest areas of success.  He has been married for 12 years to his wife Audrey.  They have two kids.  He also serves on the BIOLA Alumni board and the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau board.

Raquel Beezley, Miss Calif. USA 2008
Raquel won the prestigious title of Miss California USA in 2008. She is a young entrepreneur who successfully launched her first business at the age of 23. She has been affiliated with Pageantry for over 13 years. She is Owner  and Elite Image Consultant at The Pageant Wave and Co-Founder of the non-profit Give Love Back. She is passionate about pageantry and is committed to seeing that it is a positive, self-developmental opportunity to all the women who compete in it.

THIS YEAR'S (2011) LITTLE MISS JUDGES

Elisa Sabes, Miss Long Beach 2010
Elisa graduated California State University, Long Beach in Spring 2009 with honors and a B.S. in Finance, Real Estate and Law. Throughout college, Elisa was a member of the nationally ranked cheerleading squad and active in the Financial Management Association and Corporate Mentoring Program in the College of Business. Seeking ways to network and further involve herself with the community, Elisa ran and became Miss Long Beach 2010. She is an active volunteer with the Community Action Team and the American Heart Association. Most recently, Elisa was selected as an honoree at the inaugural “30 Under 30” event, honoring 30 outstanding women under the age of 30 working to improve the community. In her free time she enjoys yoga, spending time with friends, and taking her Maltipoo "Bentlee" to Rosie's Dog Beach in Belmont Shore.

Mary Maldonado, Miss Southern California 2010
Mary is a student at UCLA with ambitions to pursue a career in medicine. She has over five years of experience teaching and caring for children. Currently, she works as a support teacher at The Growing Place Preschool in Santa Monica. Mary has held the title of Miss Teen Long Beach 2005 and went on to Miss Teen California International where she placed first runner-up. She competed in Miss California International at the age of 18 and became the youngest woman to ever win the title. In 2010, she came back to the Long Beach Pageants and had the privilege of becoming the very first Miss Southern California! Mary is honored to be judging for a pageant that promotes community service, character building, and communication skills. 

Christy Van Der Westhuizen, Mrs. California United States 2011
Christy is a 17-year veteran of pageants, most notably as the reigning Mrs. California United States 2011, and this summer, placed as a Top 12 finalist at the Mrs. United States in Las Vegas. Christy has also held many local titles, including most notably Miss Long Beach 2006 and Mrs. Long Beach 2010. As a summa cum laude graduate of Chapman University, Christy earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in public relations. After graduating in 2004, she worked for Holland America Cruise Line as a social host/cruise director, where she met her husband, Renier. Currently, Christy is a community marketing director at Whittier Place Senior Living, where she helps seniors and their loved ones on a daily basis. She is passionate about "Serving Our Seniors" and volunteers with the Alzheimer's Association as well as serves as a "Senior Angel." Christy resides in Lakewood, CA and enjoys morning boot camp, karaoke, and running.

LAST YEAR'S (2010) JUDGES

Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003
Actress and television personality Susie Castillo can currently be seen co-hosting NBC’s new reality series "SCHOOL PRIDE" (airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on NBC), where she empowers communities to renovate their run down public schools.  Susie's poise in front of the camera has led to many other high-profile hosting gigs, including MTV's TRL and Real World Reunion specials, Arthur Ashe Kids Day on CBS and the live telecast of the Miss Teen USA pageant. As an actor, Susie most notably portrayed Mercedes Hernandez on Tyler Perry’s hit sitcom, “House of Payne." She made her feature film debut in Disney's live-action comedy hit, "Underdog," playing the role of News Reporter Diana Flores. Susie has also guest-starred on several TV shows, including ABC's "My Wife and Kids" and UPN’s "Half and Half", just wrapped on her first indie film, "More Than Stars", and is scheduled to star in a horror film in the spring of 2011.  Susie’s fresh look landed her a deal as a Neutrogena spokesperson, joining fellow Neutrogena beauties Jennifer Garner, Diane Lane, Vanessa Hudgens and Hayden Panettiere. In 2007, she published her first book “Confidence is Queen: The Four Keys to Ultimate Beauty through Positive Thinking.” In 2003, this Puerto Rican and Dominican beauty became the third Latina ever to win the Miss USA® Pageant, prompting People en Español to name her one of the "25 Most Beautiful," and launching her career in entertainment. With a strong presence and personality, Susie quickly emerged as one of television’s most recognizable faces and was named on Maxim’s "Hot 100 List" in 2008.   

Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004
During one of the most watched Miss USA® competitions in years, Shandi Finnessey was crowned Miss USA® 2004 in the famed Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, before a live audience of 13 million viewers. She went on to become first-runner up to Miss Universe 2004 in Quito, Ecuador. After her year spent as Miss USA, Shandi moved to Hollywood, where she began her career as a TV host/personality. In addition to being on the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars and hosting GSNs nightly interactive game show Playmania for 19 months, Shandi has been a guest on numerous shows, including Larry King Live, Reality Chat, Red Eye, The Sean Hannity Show, The Today Show, Access Hollywood and Extra, to name a few. She can currently be seen hosting Lingo with Chuck Woolery on GSN. You can visit her website at www.shandi.info to find out more!

Andrea Preuss, Mrs. America 2006
Andrea views her life as a trilogy of family, marriage, and community service.  She is creative with over 15 years of classical ballet training, 10 years of jazz/tap and 8 years of gymnastics.  One of her most exciting experiences was traveling to over 50 countries as a professional entertainer on the World Cruise aboard the QE-2.  Andrea is no stranger to pageantry having been a top 10 finalist in Miss Teen USA, International Cinderella Teen, Miss Virginia America, Mrs. United States 2003, and Mrs. America 2006.  She also traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia where she placed in the top 10 at Mrs. World.  After losing her mother-in-law to cancer, she and her daughter helped raise millions of dollars for cancer.  Andrea was a national spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an advocate for children with cancer, serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation House and previously co-hosted a weekly radio show entitled “An Hour of Giving” that educated others on how they can make a difference through volunteering. She has her MBA from Pepperdine University and is a Regional Director for a biologic pharmaceutical company.  Additionally she and her mother are the co-directors for the California Cinderella Pageant. She and her husband Bill have been married for 13 years and reside in Huntington Beach, with their 2 children; Savannah Belle (11), and Wil (9).

Ryan Choura, CEO of Choura Events
When Ryan Choura took over Choura Events in 2003, he knew two things; he wanted to expand the range of services the company offered, and he wanted to shake things up and bring fresh energy and ideas to the event industry. He began by breaking sales records at The Grand, Long Beach Event Center, and then in 2005 he beat out the top caterers in Southern California for the coveted catering contract at Cal State Long Beach. In 2007 Choura purchased the event rental/tent design company Anza, and followed with the purchase of Bixby Knolls Party Rentals in 2008. As of 2009 Ryan oversees eight event companies under the Choura Events umbrella with a combined staff of over 225 employees. He prides himself in his ability to spot and nurture the most talented people to ensure that both his employees and clients feel their value and importance. Ryan is an avid golfer, surfs, and is committed to community service, belonging to several local civic and non-profit organizations. A dynamic and talented speaker, Ryan gives motivational talks to local High School students on how to make smart decisions for their futures.

2009 JUDGES

2009 Judges: (L to R) Janice McQueen Ward, Ryan Choura, Justin Rudd (pageant director), Tamiko Nash

- Tamiko Nash, Miss CA USA 2006 and first runner-up to Miss USA 2006
- Janice McQueen Ward, Mrs. United States 1999
- Ryan Choura, Choura Events