Miss America has announced that Jennifer Hale and Billy Gilman will be the pageant's celebrity hosts this year.
Hale is a NFL and college football sideline reporter for Fox entering her 16th season. She was also a former moderator of FS1's "Undisputed" with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.
Before the start of her professional career, she graduated with honors from Louisiana State University and got her master's from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
The Emmy-winning journalist also is a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. She is a survivor of dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease where part of the heart stretches itself thin, making it harder to pump blood.
Gilman debuted his country single "One Voice" when he was 11 years old.
It became a hit, making him the youngest artist to ever have a Top 40 single on the country chart for the Billboard Hot 100.
Since then, he has gone on to be nominated for a Grammy award and make multiple appearances on the U.S. edition of NBC's "The Voice" television show.
Gilman was the national youth chairman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association from 2003 to 2008. He still acts as a celebrity ambassador for the organization and performs for its charity drives.
Meet the Miss America preliminary judges
Preliminary judges evaluate the contestants and help determine who moves on to the semifinals and finals. Those judges for Miss America are:
- Nicole Sexton, CEO, Entertainment Inudstry Foundation.
- Jennifer Whalig, Director, Equipage Etiquette & Protocol.
- Stevan Jackson, Senior External Affairs Officer, World Bank Group.
- Tim Carter, Emmy Award-nominated director.
- Charles Harbison, Founder and Creative Director, Harbison Studio.
- Monica Rowe, Chief Marketing Officer, CARE.
- Shannon Watkins, Founder, Watkins Brand Advisors.
Those judges for Miss America's Teen are:
- Crystal Foote, Founder, Digital Culture Group.
- Albert Thompson, Founder, Transient Identiti.
- Andres Rincon, Head of Sales and Revenue, Canela Media.
- Courtney Harris, marketing executive, McDonald's.
- Jennifer Lynch, Senior Vice President, Paramount.
- Rachel Coxton, Co-Founder, Barry's.
- Kendall Minnaman, entrepreneur.
This week's Miss America pageant calendar in West Palm Beach
- Wednesday, Sept. 2: Miss America Preliminary Competition, Kravis Center, 7 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 3: Miss America's Got Talent Competition, Kravis Center, 5 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 4: Pre-Gala Red Carpet, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 5: Miss America's Teen Final, Kravis Center, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 6: Miss America Final, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 7 p.m.
The pageant called Atlantic City its home for decades before moving to locations such as Las Vegas and Florida. Last year, it took place at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando.
Its events will be livestreamed on pageantvision.tv.
Brian Olmo is a reporter and a digital producer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him by email at bolmo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miss America 2027 announces celebrity hosts in West Palm Beach
