2 from area fare well in Miss Ohio contest

Roberta Camp of Grove City, south of Columbus, won the Miss Ohio 2007 title.

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

MANSFIELD — Two young women with Canfield ties fell short — just barely — of earning the 2007 Miss Ohio crown.

Elyse Healey, 21, of Canfield, daughter of Chris and JoAnn Healey, and Christie Youssef, 21, who also lists Canfield as her hometown, both made the list of 10 semifinalists.

Neither, however, was among the five finalists.

Roberta Camp of Grove City, south of Columbus, won the pageant and goes on to compete in the Miss America pageant.

When the announcers read the top 10 names from the Renaissance Theater stage, they read Healey’s name last. The announcers said that the 10 contestants weren’t read in any particular order.

Youssef’s name came fifth, right in the middle of the semifinalists pack.

Youssef, Miss Portsmouth, who played the harp during the competition’s talent portion, touts a platform of domestic abuse prevention.

A Westmont College, Santa Barbara, Calif., graduate, Youssef also has competed in the Miss California pageant. In 2004, she was that pageant’s fourth runner-up.

For the evening gown competition. Healey wore a long red gown. A man in uniform escorted each contestant onto the stage before each young woman walked and turned solo before the judges.

The six-judge panel included Charissa Payer, a former Mahoning County assistant prosecutor, now an assistant attorney general, who competed in the pageant in 1989.

Healey belted out “Once Upon a Time,” from Broadway’s “Brooklyn,” in the talent segment of the pageant.

The song’s lyrics talk about believing in miracles and that anything is possible. In an earlier interview, Healey told The Vindicator that the song is a message about her life.

The competition started late last week, wrapping up Saturday night.

But Healey told The Vindicator in an earlier interview that her preparation for a chance to compete in the Miss America pageant began 10 years ago.

According to her Web site, www.ElyseHealey.com, Healey got the idea to pursue the title when she was 11 and her vocal instructor’s daughter was crowned Miss Pennsylvania and made the trip to Atlantic City to compete for Miss America.

“Suddenly, Miss America didn’t seem like an impossibility, it became a goal,” she writes on her Web site.

The Youngstown State University senior earned her pageant berth this year when she was crowned Miss Greater Cleveland last July.

She also competed in last year’s pageant and finished third runner-up.

The Cardinal Mooney High School graduate’s platform in the pageant was “Think Ability,” which focuses on people with disabilities. Healey has been volunteering at Leonard Kirtz School for the last five years.

The school is part of the Mahoning County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

After graduating from YSU, Healey plans to study law at The Ohio State University.