Miss Sun Fun USA
The five Miss Sun Fun USA pageants (1960 to
1964) were sponsored by
the Myrtle Beach Jaycees and the Greater Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce of
South Carolina. It was a national pageant, with representatives from
many states in the United States. The national queen traveled for one
year representing Myrtle Beach.
For the first four years there were 10
semi-finalists, 5 finalists and a Top 3. In 1964 there were 8
semi-finalists and a Top 3.
On October 21, 1964,
the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
cancelled the annual Miss Sun Fun USA pageant. They explained that crowning
the girl was not enough. It required too much time and had not made
much revenue to get the most out of the winner in personal appearances. If they did not send her around the country to
promote their area, it was not worth it.
Though the pageant was abandoned, during June 1965
Linda Vaughn, at that time the final national Miss Sun Fun USA, crowned her
successor at dinner at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The new winner,
and all others afterwards, was selected by the Miss Sun Fun committee and
were from the local area.
Newspaper cut-outs
are from the Florence Morning News, South Carolina.
