Legal Scuffle Over Local ‘Miss’ Pageants Decided

What’s in a name? When it comes to Miss Lake Elsinore, Miss Wildomar and Miss Menifee, quite a lot.

Two local pageant operators – Tri-Valley Pageants owned by Lowona Crawford, and Southwest California Pageants owned by Anne Bowman -- having been battling it out in court to decide who owns the rights to the three “Miss” names.

Today, Riverside Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia sided with Crawford. Over the last three years, Bowman has been using the monikers for her pageants, but the judge ruled Crawford is the rightful owner of the three names.

Crawford said she took over the Miss Menifee, Miss Lake Elsinore and Miss Wildomar designations from a previous operator who had filed fictitious business names and DBAs with the county several years ago.

But three years ago, when Bowman began her combined Miss Lake Elsinore, Miss Wildomar and Miss Menifee pageant, she began using the names because no one else was, she said.

“They weren’t being used,” Bowman said of the names.

When Crawford decided to hold a Miss Menifee pageant, Bowman said she tried to stop the naming through legal means.

“I saw the 2012 Miss Menifee pageant, and future Miss Lake Elsinore and Miss Wildomar pageants, so I filed a cease-and-desist,” Bowman said.

With today’s ruling, Bowman said she will change her titles to Miss City of Lake Elsinore, Miss City of Wildomar and Miss City of Menifee.

“Having two queens per city is confusing for the girls and the community. It’s disappointing, but the pageants will move on,” said Bowman, who has scheduled her 3rd Annual City Pageant for April 14 at Canyon Lake Middle School in Lake Elsinore, which will see queens crowned for Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Menifee.

“I hope this is the end,” Crawford said of today's court ruling.

On April 1 at Menifee Lakes Country Club, Crawford will hold her first Miss Menifee Pageant and is planning future Miss Lake Elsinore and Miss Wildomar pageants. She is not new to pageantry, however. She currently operates a Miss Temecula and Miss Murrieta pageant under the Tri-Valley umbrella.

Both Bowman and Crawford say they got started in pageantry with their daughters, and then decided to form their own companies.

According to Bowman, her pageants offer modest scholarships but emphasize community service above all else.

“I have worked very hard with the cities and Chambers of Commerce to gain their support,” Bowman said. “The girls serve as goodwill ambassadors throughout the year.”

Bowman’s queens are often spotted at groundbreaking ceremonies for development projects, ribbon cuttings for new businesses, and city-sponsored events.

Crawford said her pageants are designed to help girls get to college, but also focus on community service.

“People think pageants are all about glamour, they’re not,” said Crawford, who claims she has handed out nearly $25,000 in scholarships through her various pageants.

“It’s about the girls,” Crawford continued.