August 4, 2025 • 15 mins
The new Miss Ohio, Olivia Fosson, made a visit to Mansfield iHeart Radio in early August. She was crowned back on June 21st at the Renaissance Theatre and will compete at Miss America in early September. Olivia spoke with Aaron Hines on WMAN's Local Talk program.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, so we are excited this morning. As back
a little after the middle of June, the new Miss
Ohio was crowned at the Renaissance Theater and downtown Mansfield
and she has just talking with her off the air.
An extremely busy schedule and she has put us on
the calendar this morning. Olivia Fawson, good morning and congratulations.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning, Thank you so much. I'm so happy to
be here.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, I know, you know I've interviewed you know, several
Miss Ohios over the years. I mean, it has to
be just an incredible honor. I remember seeing a photo
of your face and your face told the story, emotion
and everything. Take us back to that night when you
were crowned.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You know it's so fast, Like I'm sure I say
to the audience it probably doesn't feel very fast, but
to us backstage finals, I mean we're constantly running around
that it really doesn't sink in what's really going on
until I say, it didn't hit me until top two.
You know, whenever they like try to make it a
little more suspenseful and drag it out, and that's never
you have finally have some time to be.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Like, oh, gosh, I could.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Win this, I mean, and then they called my number,
which was twenty eight, and I don't remember much after that,
Like I watched the video back a couple of weeks
ago and I was like, oh, that's what happened.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, it was just so surreal.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And to share that moment with Caitlin, who was first
runner up, was so special. She was one of my
very first friends in the program. And I didn't even
feel nervous in the top two because I knew that
even if I didn't win and she had won, the
program would have been in fantastic hands. So I feel
so honored to get to carry on this legacy and tradition.
(01:38):
But truly, any one of those other twenty seven women
could have won, and they're all incredible and it is
such an honor and responsibility to get to represent them.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
You're hearing the voice this morning of the new Miss Ohio,
Olivia Fosson, who was joining us in studio. I want
to get some of your background, but it was your
you mentioned experience your third time running that had to
I don't want to say I'll calm the nerves a little,
but you had been on the stage a couple of
times that had to help, right.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Sure, I mean, you know, you know, the flow of
the show a little bit kind of sort of what
to expect, how to manage your nerves or excitement.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So I had a few times under our belts.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So okay, well let's learn about you. I know from
southern Ohio, so give us a little bit of you know,
where you grew up and all of that. Because you
were telling me, or actually I was reading, you're the
first ever Miss Ohio from Lawrence County.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Correct, Yes, I am the first ever Miss Ohio from
Lawrence County. So I grew up on my family's Christmas
tree farm down in southern Ohio, right outside of Ironton.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So it really is like Christmas all year round.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, if they've never been to Ironton, give them where
that is, and may we say southern Ohio. What's kind
of close to you?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So if you're in Portsmouth, just keep driving south about
fifty more minutes and you'll be in Ironton. And then
you keep driving about twenty more minutes and you'll be
at my house. So really really the bottom of the
state down there. But it's so special. We have such
a wonderful community there. Who has supported me and invested
so much in my Miss Ohio journey that it's really
(03:05):
special to get to share this.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Year with them, Miss Ohio with us this morning. Olivia
fosson growing up, was this something like, when did you
think I want to run for Missio? I want to
be Miss Ohio. When did that kind of happen?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Oh? My goodness, pageantry had never really crossed my radar.
Is something to participate in until I was a teenager, Like,
I grew up watching Miss America with my mom, but
we had no idea how to even get involved in that.
I grew up on the farm, like that wasn't something
really that I had pictured in my trajectory. So but
(03:39):
we had a dear family friend of ours who came
over for dinner. I was sixteen.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
We were Olive Garden I'll never forget, and she was Miss.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Ohio two thousand and two, and I knew I wanted
to go to college for music and dance and theater,
and I was looking for ways to get scholarships to
fund my higher education. And she's like, Olivia, you should
really consider the teen program for Miss Ohio. And I
didn't even know they had a teen program so I
was like, okay. I went home that night and I
signed up the next day. I had no idea what
(04:08):
I was getting myself into, and I won my first
local competition, went to States. I did not win Team,
I was fourth runner up, but I had such a
great time that it made me want to come back
and do Miss Ohio.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So that's kind of how I got the bug.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I competed on and off for a couple of years
because I was getting my undergraduate education out in Oklahoma.
So I would compete and then be gone for a
couple of years and then come back and do it again.
And then when I came back to Ohio full time
for law school at Ohio State, I decided to dive
head first right back into it.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
All right, learning about the new Miss Ohio this morning again,
you're hearing from Bolivia Fosson. So you were talking there
a moment ago about school. You know, theater graduate, you're
working on a law degree. So give us a little
bit of your background in terms of you know, education,
theater and law.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Now. Yes, So I grew up dancing. My dream was
as a to be on Broadway, So I did theater.
That's what I wanted to study in college. So I
went out to Oklahoma City University, where I got my
Bachelor of Music a musical theater and a minor in French.
And a fun fact about OCU is that there's only
(05:15):
fifteen hundred students there. But we have a really, really
rich history in Miss America. So we have three Miss
Americas from OCU, which is really cool. And if you
walk into the building, there is an entire hallway. It's
called the Hall of Honor, and any state titleholder who's
ever attended OCU gets their official portrait in the Hall
of Honor. So that's something I'm looking forward to this year.
(05:37):
I'm the first Miss Ohio from OCU, so that was
sort of my undergraduate education. And then I decided to
go to law school and I have the opportunity to
come back to Ohio and go to Ohio State, which
was my dream, and I'm going into my third year
and I absolutely love it. I love being a law student.
Law school is not as scary as it sounds. It
(05:59):
can be fun.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
We have a lot of fun and I'm so.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Grateful to have gotten the opportunity to come back to
Ohio full time.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
What side of the law are you going into.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
You know, you would think, because my theater background, would
be a litigator, and that's what I That's what I
thought it was gonna be too. But after my first year,
I quickly realized that was not really for me. So
much respect for those who do it. It is truly
a skill set that I don't have. So I'm more
on the transactional sides. I work in corporate law, specifically
with startup companies. We work on their incorporation documents, We
(06:30):
work on venture capital financing for them, so really exciting stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
We had to work with young entrepreneurs all day.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And you just wrapped up an internship down in Texas.
Tell us apot that too.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yes, I worked at a big firm down in Austin, Texas.
So the past four weeks have been kind of crazy.
So I would work down there during the week and
I'd fly back to Ohio on the weekends to do
my duties as Miss Ohio just until I finished that internship.
And now I'm back full time, happy, very happy to
be back in Ohio.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's kind of funny. I was listening again in the
new Miss Ohio Olivia Fosson with us the college football
season is not too far away. Oh you mention you're
in Austin where the Longhorns are. They're in Columbus to
battle the buck Eys August thirtieth big game, you go
to Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
So, oh yeah, I have full faith in our buck Eyes.
They're going to take down the long Horns for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Just came off a national title run again. Terrific to
hear from the new Miss Ohio, Olivia Foston. All right,
so crown Miss Ohio. They always say it's a whirlwind.
I mean, I'm sure you've You've been a lot of
places already, and I know over the years, you know,
you know Steven who brought you in this morning, talking
with Terry and those involved with Miss Ohio, you are everywhere,
(07:37):
zigzag across the state. I'm sure that schedule's piling up right.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yes, it is very full, but you know, you only
get to be Miss Ohio for a year, so you
want to do as much as you can, impact as
many people as you can, and see as much of
the state as possible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
My goal is to visit all.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Eighty eight counties by the end of my year as
Miss Ohio. So we're trying to get them marked off.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, I know, they can go to miss Ohio dot
org if they want to try to get that event,
and they want to get as early as they can
because you have a lot of events. And let's talk
about what people need to know, and that is Miss
America is coming soon. It's going to be the first
week of September. Stephen, what's telling us it's going to
be in Orlando. So preparation well underway to get you
(08:17):
ready to go for that absolutely.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Like I said, it's been a whirlwind since June, trying
to get acclimated to the role of Miss Ohio but
also preparing for Miss America to represent you know, the
Buckeye State, the best state in the country as best
as I can.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
So now when you talk about Miss America, is a
preparation somewhat similar to preparing for Miss Ohio. Kind of
walk us through that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah. So, actually, for the past five years they've held
the Miss America competition in December, and traditionally it has
been held in September, and so this year they decided
to move it back to September. So we found out
a little bit before the state competition that it was
moving back to September. So my approach for Miss Ohio
was that I would prepare for Miss Ohio as if
I were going to win and go to Miss America.
(09:00):
So and I'm so grateful I did that now, So
it's just kind of a continuation of this Ohio preparation,
making sure my talent stays in tip top shape and
really taking care of myself mentally and physically. But my
favorite part of preparation. I think that maybe people don't
think of this as preparation, but for me, it is
is doing all the community events and going out and
meeting as many people as possible. It you know, makes
(09:22):
me want to work harder and to you know, really
put in the time and effort to represent Ohio as
best as I can.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Miss Ohio is with us this morning. We'll keep her
for a couple more minutes. O Levia, Foss and Crown
back on June twenty. First, have you you talk with
Stephanie Finoti, who you know, was last year's Miss Ohio
and she did very well chet top five I think
or something.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Like fourth runner up term Miss America and a preliminary
fitness winner.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Shout out Stephanie.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
She did really well. I'm sure you've talked with her, right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
You know, I had the honor of being her first
runner up at Miss Ohio last year, so I got
to kind of watch her journey and then it was,
funnily enough, like steven Ers this year.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
So she's been great.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
It's awesome to follow her and she did such a
phenomenal job as Miss Ohio and I'm excited to get
to continue her work.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Now before I let you go, I mentioned a couple
more things. Stephen was telling me. There's going to be
a Miss Ohio five k run walk on September thirteenth
at the Mansfield Cemetery. Yes, first time this is ever happening.
Can you what all can you share here? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
This is the first Like, it's our inaugural Miss Ohio
five k Run Walk. It's going to be really fun.
I'm going to be there all all morning, so come
on out. It's going to be a great time, great
way to fundraise and promote scholarships and higher education for women.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Awesome. I'll make sure I get the details from Steve
and if people want to, you know, sign up an
advance register and all of that. So put that on
the calendar. September thirteenth, and it's going to take place
at the Mansfield Cemetery. All right, very cool? Now before
I let you go, as you know, we're talking about
you being the new miss Ohio and all of that.
You brought up grew up on a Christmas tree forma.
I just want to you know, people think what's the
(11:04):
best tree at Christmas? All those what all can you
share with us about growing up on the farm and
Christmas tree?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
How much time do you have?
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I think people, Christmas is not too far away.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Not Christmas is a year round thing, I promise. The
best tree, in my opinion is a Colorado blue spruce.
That's my go to. But unfortunately they're not really in
our area anymore. I won't get into the science behind it,
but Fraser furs are pretty common.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
People like that.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
White pines are great if you want like a Douglas fir.
It's a pretty sturdy one if you got heavy ornaments.
I always work the gift shop black Friday weekend, help
out my family. It really is family business. My grandpa
started it in nineteen seventy six. So it's my favorite
place on earth.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Fasinay, so Christmas extra special? Oh yes, at the fosson Household.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Oh oh absolutely, I've already started playing Christmas music.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Okay, great, Well, our iHeart stations we usually start in November,
so we all think we get it going. Earth can
listen on the iHeart app before it lets you go.
Let's talk about community service, and I know that's something
very important. Again. We're talking with the new Miss Ohio,
Olivia Foss and Crown at the Renaissance back on June twenty. First,
tell us a little bit about your initiative.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Then, yes, So my community service initiative is called Body Neutral,
Connect to Create, Celebrate, and it's inspired by my own
story and it helps teach people of all ages how
to reclaim power over their bodies and redefine how they
approach body image. It's, like I said, inspired by my story.
It's kind of the reason I pivoted from performing to
go to law school. I had a career ending injury
(12:30):
my junior year of college. You know, I grew up
as a dancer, but with that oftentimes comes a lot
body image issues and eating disorders, which I suffered from
as well. And it kind of all came to a
head my junior year and I had a really bad
hip injury totally took me out of dance and performing
for about eighteen months, and I had some pretty intensive
(12:50):
rehabilitation how to learn how to like sit and stand
out of a chair. Again, I was in Oklahoma at
the time, so my mom had to come out and
just help me with daily living because I couldn't do it.
And of course mine is a little bit of an
extreme case, but it just goes to show what can
happen if you let social media and online personalities dictate
(13:11):
what you think your body should look like. And so
we're working really hard to sort of dismantle that concept
of body image. And so I wrote a children's book
called Rockies Race, and I travel the state and I
get to teach kids about the fundamentals of healthy living
from a young age. So we learn about nutrition, movement,
and rest. And I also do my body Empowerment workshops,
(13:32):
which are tailored to whatever age audience I have, because
you know, your relationship with your body and food is
ever growing and ever changing, just like your body is.
So I work with preschoolers all the way up to
participants in assisted living facilities because, like I said, body
neutrals for everyone, there's always something to be worked on,
and I serve as a national ambassador for a couple
(13:52):
organizations both providing prevention and intervention strategies for those struggling
with body image or eating disorders. So that's a little
bit about what I do, and there's a lot more,
but that's just a high level overview. And I think
it's so powerful to have women and pageantry leading the
charge to sort of change this narrative because I think
a lot of people think that that can be kind
of contradictory of how that. People ask me, Okay, how
(14:13):
are you, Miss Ohio? But also you are you know,
changing how you address body image because isn't pageantry about
how you look? And I go, no, it is not
about how you look. It's about how confident you are,
and it's about all these other amazing facets, your academics,
the way you connect with people. And so by reframing
the body image narrative as Miss Ohio, I hope I
(14:36):
can kind of break down that barrier between people and
their concepts of pageantry.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
If somebody wants to learn more about your community service
impact on all of that, can they Can they follow
you somewhere online?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Yes? So I'm on Instagram at Miss America. Oh I'm
on Facebook at Miss Ohio and I do have a
website as well. It's oliviagfosson dot com for more information
if you want to learn more about my body power,
mint courses or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
All right, terrific this morning to have in the new
Miss Ohio Olivia Fawson. Remember she'll be competing in Miss
America first week of September down in Orlando and put
it on the calendar and we'll give you the information
to get registered for the first ever Miss Ohio five
k run walk September thirteenth at the Mansfield Cemetery. Well, Olivia,
it was great to have you in. Congratulations on Miss Ohio,
(15:24):
good luck at Miss America. Thanks for being with us today.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Thank you so much for having me
All right, so we are excited this morning. As back
a little after the middle of June, the new Miss
Ohio was crowned at the Renaissance Theater and downtown Mansfield
and she has just talking with her off the air.
An extremely busy schedule and she has put us on
the calendar this morning. Olivia Fawson, good morning and congratulations.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning, Thank you so much. I'm so happy to
be here.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, I know, you know I've interviewed you know, several
Miss Ohios over the years. I mean, it has to
be just an incredible honor. I remember seeing a photo
of your face and your face told the story, emotion
and everything. Take us back to that night when you
were crowned.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You know it's so fast, Like I'm sure I say
to the audience it probably doesn't feel very fast, but
to us backstage finals, I mean we're constantly running around
that it really doesn't sink in what's really going on
until I say, it didn't hit me until top two.
You know, whenever they like try to make it a
little more suspenseful and drag it out, and that's never
you have finally have some time to be.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Like, oh, gosh, I could.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Win this, I mean, and then they called my number,
which was twenty eight, and I don't remember much after that,
Like I watched the video back a couple of weeks
ago and I was like, oh, that's what happened.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, it was just so surreal.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And to share that moment with Caitlin, who was first
runner up, was so special. She was one of my
very first friends in the program. And I didn't even
feel nervous in the top two because I knew that
even if I didn't win and she had won, the
program would have been in fantastic hands. So I feel
so honored to get to carry on this legacy and tradition.
(01:38):
But truly, any one of those other twenty seven women
could have won, and they're all incredible and it is
such an honor and responsibility to get to represent them.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
You're hearing the voice this morning of the new Miss Ohio,
Olivia Fosson, who was joining us in studio. I want
to get some of your background, but it was your
you mentioned experience your third time running that had to
I don't want to say I'll calm the nerves a little,
but you had been on the stage a couple of
times that had to help, right.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Sure, I mean, you know, you know, the flow of
the show a little bit kind of sort of what
to expect, how to manage your nerves or excitement.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So I had a few times under our belts.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So okay, well let's learn about you. I know from
southern Ohio, so give us a little bit of you know,
where you grew up and all of that. Because you
were telling me, or actually I was reading, you're the
first ever Miss Ohio from Lawrence County.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Correct, Yes, I am the first ever Miss Ohio from
Lawrence County. So I grew up on my family's Christmas
tree farm down in southern Ohio, right outside of Ironton.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So it really is like Christmas all year round.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, if they've never been to Ironton, give them where
that is, and may we say southern Ohio. What's kind
of close to you?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So if you're in Portsmouth, just keep driving south about
fifty more minutes and you'll be in Ironton. And then
you keep driving about twenty more minutes and you'll be
at my house. So really really the bottom of the
state down there. But it's so special. We have such
a wonderful community there. Who has supported me and invested
so much in my Miss Ohio journey that it's really
(03:05):
special to get to share this.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Year with them, Miss Ohio with us this morning. Olivia
fosson growing up, was this something like, when did you
think I want to run for Missio? I want to
be Miss Ohio. When did that kind of happen?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Oh? My goodness, pageantry had never really crossed my radar.
Is something to participate in until I was a teenager, Like,
I grew up watching Miss America with my mom, but
we had no idea how to even get involved in that.
I grew up on the farm, like that wasn't something
really that I had pictured in my trajectory. So but
(03:39):
we had a dear family friend of ours who came
over for dinner. I was sixteen.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
We were Olive Garden I'll never forget, and she was Miss.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Ohio two thousand and two, and I knew I wanted
to go to college for music and dance and theater,
and I was looking for ways to get scholarships to
fund my higher education. And she's like, Olivia, you should
really consider the teen program for Miss Ohio. And I
didn't even know they had a teen program so I
was like, okay. I went home that night and I
signed up the next day. I had no idea what
(04:08):
I was getting myself into, and I won my first
local competition, went to States. I did not win Team,
I was fourth runner up, but I had such a
great time that it made me want to come back
and do Miss Ohio.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So that's kind of how I got the bug.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I competed on and off for a couple of years
because I was getting my undergraduate education out in Oklahoma.
So I would compete and then be gone for a
couple of years and then come back and do it again.
And then when I came back to Ohio full time
for law school at Ohio State, I decided to dive
head first right back into it.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
All right, learning about the new Miss Ohio this morning again,
you're hearing from Bolivia Fosson. So you were talking there
a moment ago about school. You know, theater graduate, you're
working on a law degree. So give us a little
bit of your background in terms of you know, education,
theater and law.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Now. Yes, So I grew up dancing. My dream was
as a to be on Broadway, So I did theater.
That's what I wanted to study in college. So I
went out to Oklahoma City University, where I got my
Bachelor of Music a musical theater and a minor in French.
And a fun fact about OCU is that there's only
(05:15):
fifteen hundred students there. But we have a really, really
rich history in Miss America. So we have three Miss
Americas from OCU, which is really cool. And if you
walk into the building, there is an entire hallway. It's
called the Hall of Honor, and any state titleholder who's
ever attended OCU gets their official portrait in the Hall
of Honor. So that's something I'm looking forward to this year.
(05:37):
I'm the first Miss Ohio from OCU, so that was
sort of my undergraduate education. And then I decided to
go to law school and I have the opportunity to
come back to Ohio and go to Ohio State, which
was my dream, and I'm going into my third year
and I absolutely love it. I love being a law student.
Law school is not as scary as it sounds. It
(05:59):
can be fun.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
We have a lot of fun and I'm so.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Grateful to have gotten the opportunity to come back to
Ohio full time.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
What side of the law are you going into.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
You know, you would think, because my theater background, would
be a litigator, and that's what I That's what I
thought it was gonna be too. But after my first year,
I quickly realized that was not really for me. So
much respect for those who do it. It is truly
a skill set that I don't have. So I'm more
on the transactional sides. I work in corporate law, specifically
with startup companies. We work on their incorporation documents, We
(06:30):
work on venture capital financing for them, so really exciting stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
We had to work with young entrepreneurs all day.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And you just wrapped up an internship down in Texas.
Tell us apot that too.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yes, I worked at a big firm down in Austin, Texas.
So the past four weeks have been kind of crazy.
So I would work down there during the week and
I'd fly back to Ohio on the weekends to do
my duties as Miss Ohio just until I finished that internship.
And now I'm back full time, happy, very happy to
be back in Ohio.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's kind of funny. I was listening again in the
new Miss Ohio Olivia Fosson with us the college football
season is not too far away. Oh you mention you're
in Austin where the Longhorns are. They're in Columbus to
battle the buck Eys August thirtieth big game, you go
to Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
So, oh yeah, I have full faith in our buck Eyes.
They're going to take down the long Horns for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Just came off a national title run again. Terrific to
hear from the new Miss Ohio, Olivia Foston. All right,
so crown Miss Ohio. They always say it's a whirlwind.
I mean, I'm sure you've You've been a lot of
places already, and I know over the years, you know,
you know Steven who brought you in this morning, talking
with Terry and those involved with Miss Ohio, you are everywhere,
(07:37):
zigzag across the state. I'm sure that schedule's piling up right.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yes, it is very full, but you know, you only
get to be Miss Ohio for a year, so you
want to do as much as you can, impact as
many people as you can, and see as much of
the state as possible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
My goal is to visit all.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Eighty eight counties by the end of my year as
Miss Ohio. So we're trying to get them marked off.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, I know, they can go to miss Ohio dot
org if they want to try to get that event,
and they want to get as early as they can
because you have a lot of events. And let's talk
about what people need to know, and that is Miss
America is coming soon. It's going to be the first
week of September. Stephen, what's telling us it's going to
be in Orlando. So preparation well underway to get you
(08:17):
ready to go for that absolutely.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Like I said, it's been a whirlwind since June, trying
to get acclimated to the role of Miss Ohio but
also preparing for Miss America to represent you know, the
Buckeye State, the best state in the country as best
as I can.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
So now when you talk about Miss America, is a
preparation somewhat similar to preparing for Miss Ohio. Kind of
walk us through that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah. So, actually, for the past five years they've held
the Miss America competition in December, and traditionally it has
been held in September, and so this year they decided
to move it back to September. So we found out
a little bit before the state competition that it was
moving back to September. So my approach for Miss Ohio
was that I would prepare for Miss Ohio as if
I were going to win and go to Miss America.
(09:00):
So and I'm so grateful I did that now, So
it's just kind of a continuation of this Ohio preparation,
making sure my talent stays in tip top shape and
really taking care of myself mentally and physically. But my
favorite part of preparation. I think that maybe people don't
think of this as preparation, but for me, it is
is doing all the community events and going out and
meeting as many people as possible. It you know, makes
(09:22):
me want to work harder and to you know, really
put in the time and effort to represent Ohio as
best as I can.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Miss Ohio is with us this morning. We'll keep her
for a couple more minutes. O Levia, Foss and Crown
back on June twenty. First, have you you talk with
Stephanie Finoti, who you know, was last year's Miss Ohio
and she did very well chet top five I think
or something.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Like fourth runner up term Miss America and a preliminary
fitness winner.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Shout out Stephanie.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
She did really well. I'm sure you've talked with her, right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
You know, I had the honor of being her first
runner up at Miss Ohio last year, so I got
to kind of watch her journey and then it was,
funnily enough, like steven Ers this year.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
So she's been great.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
It's awesome to follow her and she did such a
phenomenal job as Miss Ohio and I'm excited to get
to continue her work.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Now before I let you go, I mentioned a couple
more things. Stephen was telling me. There's going to be
a Miss Ohio five k run walk on September thirteenth
at the Mansfield Cemetery. Yes, first time this is ever happening.
Can you what all can you share here? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
This is the first Like, it's our inaugural Miss Ohio
five k Run Walk. It's going to be really fun.
I'm going to be there all all morning, so come
on out. It's going to be a great time, great
way to fundraise and promote scholarships and higher education for women.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Awesome. I'll make sure I get the details from Steve
and if people want to, you know, sign up an
advance register and all of that. So put that on
the calendar. September thirteenth, and it's going to take place
at the Mansfield Cemetery. All right, very cool? Now before
I let you go, as you know, we're talking about
you being the new miss Ohio and all of that.
You brought up grew up on a Christmas tree forma.
I just want to you know, people think what's the
(11:04):
best tree at Christmas? All those what all can you
share with us about growing up on the farm and
Christmas tree?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
How much time do you have?
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I think people, Christmas is not too far away.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Not Christmas is a year round thing, I promise. The
best tree, in my opinion is a Colorado blue spruce.
That's my go to. But unfortunately they're not really in
our area anymore. I won't get into the science behind it,
but Fraser furs are pretty common.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
People like that.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
White pines are great if you want like a Douglas fir.
It's a pretty sturdy one if you got heavy ornaments.
I always work the gift shop black Friday weekend, help
out my family. It really is family business. My grandpa
started it in nineteen seventy six. So it's my favorite
place on earth.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Fasinay, so Christmas extra special? Oh yes, at the fosson Household.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Oh oh absolutely, I've already started playing Christmas music.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Okay, great, Well, our iHeart stations we usually start in November,
so we all think we get it going. Earth can
listen on the iHeart app before it lets you go.
Let's talk about community service, and I know that's something
very important. Again. We're talking with the new Miss Ohio,
Olivia Foss and Crown at the Renaissance back on June twenty. First,
tell us a little bit about your initiative.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Then, yes, So my community service initiative is called Body Neutral,
Connect to Create, Celebrate, and it's inspired by my own
story and it helps teach people of all ages how
to reclaim power over their bodies and redefine how they
approach body image. It's, like I said, inspired by my story.
It's kind of the reason I pivoted from performing to
go to law school. I had a career ending injury
(12:30):
my junior year of college. You know, I grew up
as a dancer, but with that oftentimes comes a lot
body image issues and eating disorders, which I suffered from
as well. And it kind of all came to a
head my junior year and I had a really bad
hip injury totally took me out of dance and performing
for about eighteen months, and I had some pretty intensive
(12:50):
rehabilitation how to learn how to like sit and stand
out of a chair. Again, I was in Oklahoma at
the time, so my mom had to come out and
just help me with daily living because I couldn't do it.
And of course mine is a little bit of an
extreme case, but it just goes to show what can
happen if you let social media and online personalities dictate
(13:11):
what you think your body should look like. And so
we're working really hard to sort of dismantle that concept
of body image. And so I wrote a children's book
called Rockies Race, and I travel the state and I
get to teach kids about the fundamentals of healthy living
from a young age. So we learn about nutrition, movement,
and rest. And I also do my body Empowerment workshops,
(13:32):
which are tailored to whatever age audience I have, because
you know, your relationship with your body and food is
ever growing and ever changing, just like your body is.
So I work with preschoolers all the way up to
participants in assisted living facilities because, like I said, body
neutrals for everyone, there's always something to be worked on,
and I serve as a national ambassador for a couple
(13:52):
organizations both providing prevention and intervention strategies for those struggling
with body image or eating disorders. So that's a little
bit about what I do, and there's a lot more,
but that's just a high level overview. And I think
it's so powerful to have women and pageantry leading the
charge to sort of change this narrative because I think
a lot of people think that that can be kind
of contradictory of how that. People ask me, Okay, how
(14:13):
are you, Miss Ohio? But also you are you know,
changing how you address body image because isn't pageantry about
how you look? And I go, no, it is not
about how you look. It's about how confident you are,
and it's about all these other amazing facets, your academics,
the way you connect with people. And so by reframing
the body image narrative as Miss Ohio, I hope I
(14:36):
can kind of break down that barrier between people and
their concepts of pageantry.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
If somebody wants to learn more about your community service
impact on all of that, can they Can they follow
you somewhere online?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Yes? So I'm on Instagram at Miss America. Oh I'm
on Facebook at Miss Ohio and I do have a
website as well. It's oliviagfosson dot com for more information
if you want to learn more about my body power,
mint courses or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
All right, terrific this morning to have in the new
Miss Ohio Olivia Fawson. Remember she'll be competing in Miss
America first week of September down in Orlando and put
it on the calendar and we'll give you the information
to get registered for the first ever Miss Ohio five
k run walk September thirteenth at the Mansfield Cemetery. Well, Olivia,
it was great to have you in. Congratulations on Miss Ohio,
(15:24):
good luck at Miss America. Thanks for being with us today.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Thank you so much for having me
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