Paul Ossmann is the embodiment of "TV cool" -- brainy, handsome, genial, unflappable. He's not only one of the leading television personalities in Atlanta, he's probably the best-known pageant emcee in Georgia. He spent seven years hosting
Miss Georgia, the state's preliminary to Miss America.
Tiffany Fallon is the embodiment of "TV hot." She's a former NFL cheerleader who was second runner-up to Miss USA 2001. Now she's one of country music's best-known "video babes." The sight of her in a Daisy Duke outfit could make a whole generation of Americans move back to the farm.
Who would think to bring these two together on one pageant stage? None other than Kim Greenwood, director of the Miss Georgia USA Pageant. Ossmann and Ms. Fallon will be the hosts for Miss Georgia USA 2004 on the second weekend of November 2003 in historic Rome, Ga.
Ossmann, who is not one to exaggerate, told PNB that this assignment takes him to a new level in the pageant business.
He's particularly impressed with the professionalism of the women he will be working with. Ms. Greenwood, a former beauty queen who also directs Miss Tennessee USA, is "new, exciting, driven," he says. And his assessment of Ms. Fallon's stage presence is equally insightful. "She's very energizing. I love it when the girls can look up to her and say, 'That's what I want to be.' "
And what about the contestants? "It's really all about them," Ossmann says. "It's their show. I always try to keep that in mind."
Countless hours on the pageant stage have given this guy a definite empathy with the women who compete. (And being married to a former Miss Atlanta may help, too.) At any rate, he's on their side.
"A lot of people don't realize that the contestants are pretty tired when they get to the end of a pageant," he explains. "It's not just one evening for them. They've been working on this for months. So a little humor from the emcee helps them relax and enjoy their big moment. It's not just fun for the audience, it's for the girls."
Well spoken. Paul Ossmann is what we call a gentleman. But to paraphrase a great pageant emcee: "It's really all about the ladies."
