Forever Florida

Local former Miss Floridas unite to form a nonprofit supporting new title holders.

By Heather Merriman Saba
| 6:00 a.m. June 18, 2015

Ellen Meade, Lisa Saba, Dana Judge and Jamie Becker

Sarasota
Neighbors

For several years, a group of women, all holding the Miss Florida title, have tried to organize something as a way to acknowledge that once you leave the role of Miss Florida, you still have a connection. What came from this was the formation of The Forever's Foundation, a new nonprofit with a mission to connect former Miss Floridas while supporting the current Miss Florida in her endeavors throughout the year. The organization was formed by former Miss Floridas, including four who reside in Sarasota and Manatee counties — Jamie Becker, Dana Judge, Ellen Meade and Lisa Saba.

"As far as scholarships go, the best we could help was to support the current Miss Florida with her expenses, to help her accomplish want she wants as Miss Florida," says Judge, ’90.

"A lot of what Miss Florida has to do is not covered, and it can be a burden if she doesn't have the financial support," says Saba, ’84.

The official debut of the organization will be this weekend at the 80th Miss Florida pageant, in St. Petersburg. They have recruited more than 30 former Miss Floridas to gather at the weekend's events, including 25 who will be participate in The Forever's Foundation first talent show fundraising event. The ladies will also have enjoy brunch Sunday morning after the new Miss Florida is crowned, as a way to officially welcome her into the Miss Florida sisterhood.

In addition to whis weekend's full schedule of events, The Forever's Foundation has published a book with all of the profits going toward the new foundation. The book, titled, "Thirty-four Paths to the Crown and the Life Thereafter," is a collection of stories from 34 former Miss Floridas.

Reigning Memories

Ellen Meade — 1973

I had a very unique talent — I performed the "Black Swan" pas de deux on roller skates. I was a North American roller skating champion when I was 14. I had always been a ballet girl, so we combined my talents.

Lisa Valdez Saba — 1984

I was one of the girls selected by the board to be on the USO Tour after I won Miss Florida. I had always considered myself to be a patriotic American, but I think until this moment I had taken it all for granted. At one of our first shows, we were in Puerto Rico, there were all of these enlisted Navy seamen and there was a group of young men sitting on the front row. Lee Greenwood's "Gold Bless the USA" was popular then and we were singing it to the crowd. A boy sitting in the front row had tears running down his cheek while we were singing and it was a realization for me — these young people are serving our country and the sacrifice they are making and the love they have for our country is so incredible. Since then, whenever I hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" being played, I get teary-eyed because I know what it means. It made me a sincere American.

Dana Dalton Judge — 1990

The one thing that always makes me laugh the most was the red Cypress Gardens dress I had to wear. We were sponsored by Busch Entertainment at the time and, lucky me, I got to wear that miserably painful dress on every float in every parade in the entire state of Florida. During the Orange Bowl they built this huge orange float that was pulled by the Clydesdales, and when the horses go forward, you go forward. I had nothing to hold onto, and that dress and I flew forward the entire parade — and it's a long parade. I literally almost fell off! I'll never forget it. After that every time I saw a girl on a float, I'd think, "I hope she has something to hold onto."

Jamie Bolding Becker — 1996

At one of the fairs, I think it was Pasco County, I was there for the ribbon cutting and then they announced that we were going to be doing a "Celebrity Milk Off Contest." I was in a cocktail dress and 5-inch heels and I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, I can't do this." Then, next thing I know, this guy starts teaching me the proper way to release the udder. What is so funny, my competitive instinct kicked in and I was like, "I'm going to win this thing!" Sure enough, I did, and I got this huge trophy with a golden cow.