The Prize

Dena Cass showing her love of the fans. Photo by: Melanie Kaminski

Pageant winners earn a $900 cash prize, a paid entry fee to Nationals, a crown valued at $300 and about $2,000 in preliminary bookings.

“The First thing that went through my mind when I won Miss Gay Iowa was well, finally,” said Taylor, 29.  A self-described “farm boy” from Osceola, she has been participating in the pageants since 1999.

As with the statewide competition the main prize at Nationals is the bookings and getting one’s name out there.  The winner will have her airfare and accommodations paid for while she is flown to perform all over the states.  “It’s almost like a vacation package all year,” said Cass.

Love, 22, feels it is important to go into the pageant with a winning attitude.  If she would have won last year's pageant and went on to nationals, her main goal would have been to promote Studio 13 and use her title in an active way, such as hosting an AIDS benefit.