Congeniality Vanishes Along With Her Crown

After spending six years on the Miss America pageant circuit, April Lynch thought that her shot at the big time had finally arrived.

Lynch, who had been named first runner-up in five other local pageants, finally came home with a crown in February when she won the title of Miss Buena Park. The Miss California Pageant in June was to have been her last shot at becoming Miss America, because Lynch, 26, would have been too old to compete in the pageant next year.

“This was my dream,” Lynch said about the state and national competitions.

But on Monday, Lynch was stripped of her crown because she does not live, work or attend school in the Buena Park area. And Lynch is angry because, she said, pageant Executive Director Merlyn Lans suggested that she temporarily enroll in classes at a local community college to qualify for the Buena Park pageant. It was those classes that resulted in the loss of her crown.

“Merlyn was completely aware of my situation,” a tearful Lynch said. “She told me I could enroll at Cypress College and then drop the classes. . . . If I had known that I wasn’t eligible for Miss Buena Park, I would have gone to another pageant.”

Lans said Lynch’s allegations are “not true.”

“All of the girls were completely aware of the requirements,” Lans said, adding that she never encouraged the contestants to circumvent pageant rules.

To qualify for the Miss Buena Park pageant, each contestant must sign a notarized application verifying that her residence or place of employment is in Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton or La Palma. A contestant can also be eligible if she attends a school in these cities.

Lynch, a Huntington Beach resident who already has a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego, enrolled in two Cypress College classes. She then won the contest and was also voted Miss Congeniality by her eight fellow contestants.

But then those very contestants became suspicious and prompted an inquiry that led to Lynch losing her crown.

State pageant officials agreed with Lans’ decision. “She did not qualify for their pageant based on her enrollment and attendance,” Miss California Pageant President Robert Arnhym said.

First runner-up Deborah Donnelly, 25, of La Palma will represent Buena Park in the Miss California pageant in June.

The dethroning of Lynch follows two years of controversy in the Miss Buena Park Pageant. Last year, two contestants sued then-Executive Director Maria Sorensen after scholarship awards were not delivered. First runner-up Lisa Hassinger and second runner-up Gina Desmond have since received their scholarships, Sorensen said.

Lynch said she plans to begin graduate study in radio and TV broadcasting at UCLA this fall.