Local sisters coach beauty and brains
Beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive. That ‘s what Tina Veon and Linda Andreassi are hoping will be projected Tuesday night at the Miss Teen USA pageant as the contestants they’ve coached take the stage.
The two sisters, members of the Chiaraluna family, were born in Uniontown Hospital and spent many summer days with their aunt in Perryopolis. They both are former pageant contestants and winners and now run Pageant Management, as well as having full-time careers in the media and public relations. They also work closely with Randy Sanders of Low Hill in Washington County who produces the Miss Pennsylvania USA and Miss Teen Pennsylvania contests, as well as contests in Indiana and West Virginia.
“I always tell people that beauty and brains are not exclusive. They are accomplished young women who have a lot to share. The boys have their football, and the girls, some of the girls, have their pageants. The national pageants are considered the Super Bowl,” said Andreassi, who is the communications director for the Seneca Valley School District.
“I’m into promoting intelligent women. It’s all about empowerment,” said Veon, who is the creative services director at KDKA-TV.
The sisters work primarily with teens and young adults. They were involved with one contest for young children and vowed never to do it again because of the pressures put on the youngsters. Although their own mother had been a pageant winner, the sisters were never pressured to participate, Andreassi said.
“She never pushed us into it. Tina is taller than me. She’s 5-foot-10. She dabbled with modeling and my mother asked her if she would be interested in pageants,” Andreassi said.
Veon won the Miss Western Pennsylvania Teen All-American contest and was a finalist twice in the Miss Pennsylvania USA pageant.
“I was the typical little sister and followed her around like a puppy dog,” Andreassi said.
When Andreassi was 16 and her sister was 22, Andreassi received her first pageant flyer and decided to participate
“It was Miss Pennsylvania Perfect Teen. I always thought that was an awful title-no pressure there,” Andreassi said. “Then Tina helped me out.”
Andreassi clearly remembers the blizzard of 1993 when even major roads in Pennsylvania was closed down. She was in Monroeville competing in, and winning, the Miss Pennsylvania USA contest.
“The contestants registered Friday night before the snow. Saturday it started,” Andreassi recalls.
Andreassi said her mother was one of the last motorists allowed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, insisting that the state troopers let her through because her daughter was in the pageant.
“There actually were more girls on the stage than there were people in the audience. The applause sounded like golf clapping,” Andreassi said. “I was fortunate enough to have my parents there.”
That type of support is what Veon and Andreassi provide to the young women they coach. Andreassi said they will be in Palm Springs to provide support to their three contestants: Miss Teen Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana.
“There are so many pageants out there, from baton twirling to local festivals. Our main business is one-on-one customized training. Some girls will want us to work on hair and make-up, others on wardrobe or stage presence,” Andreassi said. “We give them tricks on how to keep their posture up and how to turn, especially if they are wearing a train.”
Andreassi said she and her sister also coach the girls on how to handle themselves during contest interviews, whether it is on stage or before a panel of judges.
“This helps them get ready for job interviews,” Andreassi said. “It’s fun for us, especially if it’s a 14 or 15 year-old girl who doesn’t know much about doing her hair and make-up. It’s great to see them grow from it.”