Who’s from South Florida?

About a decade ago, the Miss Hooters International Pageant was held, no kidding, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, an occasion that downtown Fort Lauderdale sophisticates sniffed at as some kind of violation of the city’s evolving cultural destiny.

They were wrong, of course. It was a lovely affair, a showcase of confidence and beauty (and the beauty of the venue) broadcast on live TV. Several South Florida women took part, and we learned that they were smart and funny and ambitious. And when it was over, the Broward Center was still standing.

With apologies to Henry Flagler and Frank and Ivy Stranahan, South Florida was built on women in bikinis. We must not run from that heritage, but embrace it. Beautiful women are people, too.

This year the Clearwater-based chicken-wing chain will ask South Florida competitors in the Miss Hooters International Pageant to travel to Lake Tahoe for the June 19-20 event. This is like inviting top competitors from Hawaii to a surfing championship in Salt Lake City. It has been snowing in Lake Tahoe this week.

Here are the women who will bring Florida sunshine to the 2019 Miss Hooters International Pageant.

Briana Smith (Miss Fort Lauderdale)

The daughter of a military veteran, Smith has been at the Sunrise Hooters for two years. She is Miss February in the 2019 Hooters calendar and recently took part in a photo shoot in Bimini for the 2020 calendar. Fun fact: She is studying Mortuary Science at Broward College, hoping to be a mortician.

Gianna Tulio (Miss Boca Raton)

Tulio has worked at the Boca Raton Hooters for two years and is pursuing a business degree at Florida Atlantic University. Tulio is Miss June in the 2019 Hooters calendar and also just did the Bimini shoot. Fun fact: Tulio was featured in a TV commercial with NASCAR star Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevy.

Angela Porter (Miss Naples)

Porter has worked at the Naples Hooters for five years, and is pursuing a career in real estate and interior design. She has made four appearances in the Hooters calendar and just posed for the 2020 calendar in Bimini. Fun fact: Porter knows football, making appearances as Hooters Pigskin Princess in 2016 and 2018.

Alyssa Duckett (Miss Fort Myers)

Alyssa Duckett has been at the Fort Myers Hooters for more than five years and is a 2017 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor of Science degree. By day, she’s a medical assistant at an orthopedic clinic. Fun fact: One of her hobbies is reading. She’s got my vote.