NEWS
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Contact: Bruce Conley
Associate Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 274-5526
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu
July 6, 2006
Augustana Sophomore Named Miss Deaf America
SIOUX FALLS – Augustana sophomore Chelsea Tobin from Pierpont, S.D., was crowned Miss Deaf America 2006-2008 at the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) biennial convention in Palm Desert, Calif.
Miss Deaf America is an ambassador for the NAD and a spokeswoman for approximately 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans. The goal of the Miss Deaf America pageant is to foster future leaders and is part of the NAD’s youth programs.
Tobin, who is majoring in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Augustana, is the first deaf person to attend South Dakota Girls’ State, and only the second to attend Girls’ Nation.
The first Miss Deaf America pageant was held in Miami Beach, Fla., in 1972. At the 1998 pageant in San Antonio, Texas, for the first time, contestants were required to make a three-minute presentation. This became the Miss Deaf America Platform.
Tobin is the daughter of Rodney and Evelyn Tobin of Pierpont. She is a 2005 graduate of Langford High School.