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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, September 22, 2003

Miss Hawai'i happy with first-runner-up finish

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kanoelani Gibson caught a wave almost her first day in New Jersey, when all 51 Miss America contestants were guests at a beach home.

Miss Hawai'i Kanoelani Gibson gets a hug from her friend Jan Tanner of Kaimuki at Honolulu airport as she returns home from the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.

Gibson, first runner-up in the Miss America Pageant, won a $40,000 scholarship.

Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Spotting her host's 12-foot longboard, "I said, 'Ohhhh, can I go?' " Gibson said.

Miss Hawai'i caught those Atlantic waves — and a wave of charisma that nearly carried her to the title at Saturday's televised Miss America finals.

It was a cheerful first runner-up who arrived home at Honolulu airport yesterday afternoon, sleepless but energized by her welcoming committee. Two friends who had been glued to pageant coverage, fellow members of New Hope Christian Fellowship, said they thought of her as a winner.

"She is so real!" said Lita Thomas, with husband Al nodding. "We kept talking about the way she hugged people. And they were all like —" Lita mimicked the startled looks. "But they got used to it."

Gibson said she felt far more relief than disappointment that Miss Florida, Ericka Dunlap, took the crown. She had been told how burdensome the winner's itinerary would be.

"I was scared to death," said the 22-year-old. "I guess I didn't think I was going to make it this far. So at the end I was looking at my family and friends and thinking, 'What am I going to do?' "

As first runner-up, Gibson ("Kanoe" to family and friends) took a $40,000 scholarship prize. The Kapolei resident is on leave from her job as a flight attendant for Hawaiian Airlines, and pursuing a secondary-education degree at the University of Hawai'i with a focus on special education.

Kanoelani Gibson said she was relieved that Miss Florida, Ericka Dunlap, took the crown.
Gibson said she was happy to have made contacts with the Learning Disabilities Association of America, which will help her pursue an interest in helping children with learning disabilities. It's a passion she developed while caring for her nephew, Tyler, who was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

Her father, Peter Gibson, spoke with her by phone from his home in Jefferson City, Mo. Her mother, Avon Rivera, was at the pageant, bursting into tears at several points, as mothers will do.

"I was already bawling at top 15," said Rivera, who lives on Kaua'i.

Gibson said she got a lot of media attention in Atlantic City (the surfing episode didn't hurt), which set some of her rivals on edge at first. But the tension eased up by the end.

Now life returns to normal, and so, said Gibson, so does the surfing. Ocean City waves will do in a pinch, she said, but it's not Waikiki.

"They told me I brought the good surf," she said. "Actually it was junk — all mushy and gray — but they thought it was good."

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.