By Paul Honda
Editor
September 13, 2003

Right on schedule, Kanoelani Gibson returned from Atlantic City (via Philadelphia and Dallas) at 2:55 p.m. Sunday to a throng of supporters and media.

Kanoe, formerly a regular part of the New Hope Frontlines Ministry as a vocalist, could not have known how her life would change in 2003. The former Kaua’i resident went from being furloughed by Hawaiian Airlines, where she was a flight attendant, to winning the Miss Hawaii title. And on Saturday, she nearly won the Miss America Pageant, finishing second to Miss Florida Ericka Dunlap.

Through it all, she’s remained the same Kanoe, and it showed heartily during the televised broadcast of the event. Cracking up at jokes, reacting to everything in sight with her Kanoe-ish expressions—viewers were treated to plenty of reaction shots by Kanoe-friendly cameras—she charmed her way into the top 15, then the top 10, and then the top 5.

And as she stood there alone with Miss Florida as one of the two finalists, who could’ve really known that Kanoe—deep down inside—was perfectly content to not win the crown. Seriously.

As odd as that may sound, it was vintage Kanoe. This was her first year of trying pageants. She worked extremely hard, losing 20 pounds along the way with early-morning workouts and a strict diet. “Getting the runner-up is big scholarship money,” said Kanoe, who will apply for graduate school after earning her education degree at the University of Hawaii.

Upon her arrival at Honolulu International Airport Sunday, TV cameras and newspaper reporters were prepared for Miss Hawaii, and she was more than ready for them. Then, as she waited for her ride—which was late, allowing her to see her mom and sister Maila on a late-arriving flight—she sat on one of her four suitcases to talk story about bling-bling, Tootsie Rolls and praying for second.

HondaReport.com: You’ve had an amazing three weeks, and now another long trip. How do you feel right now?

Kanoe: I’m not tired yet. It’ll hit me later. I just feel weak. I’m kind of spinning. People were talking with me on the plane and asking for autographs.

HondaReport.com: Really? You’ve been practicing? Sign it here, and sign me the one you had before you became Miss Hawaii.

Kanoe: It’s the same one. I’m still the same, that’s why!

HondaReport.com: Everyone in Hawaii couldn’t help noticing that the announcers at the pageant struggled with your name. That was funny.

Kanoe: You know how many times I wrote it out for them? I even wrote it phonetically. I think they were nervous. (laughs)

HondaReport.com: Is there anything about your experience that surprised you?

Kanoe: You know, I was actually surprised at how much those girls ate. They can really eat! I was supposed to be on a diet, but during the four days of competition, I ate. I figured it would be better to be happy.

HondaReport.com: Talk about the “quiz show” segment of the pageant.

Kanoe: Can I please clarify something? The only answer I knew was ‘bling-bling.’ And then I hit the wrong button!

HondaReport.com: Our source tells us that you actually were very un-Kanoeish as the pageant neared. You really started to have some doubts.

Kanoe: Two days before, I freaked out. I told two of my friends that I don’t think I really want to win. Here’s what I thought: If it’s God’s plan for me to win, then fine. I’ll accept it. But I was really praying hard that I don’t win. I prayed to finish in the top 15.

HondaReport.com: Did you get a chance to see familiar faces?

Kanoe: I saw Tiff (Thurston) for, like, two minutes! It was like that every night. My sister and her family (from Missouri) were there, too, but I hardly got to see them. When I finally got the spend time with them Saturday night, it was like, ‘WAAAAAH! I have to go back to Hawaii already!’

HondaReport.com: You were definitely a media favorite on the East Coast.

Kanoe: The first day I got there (to New York), I surfed at Ocean City. It was a 12-foot board so the small waves kept knocking me down. The newspaper said, ‘Waves have been good ever since she surfed here.’

HondaReport.com: Your platform centered on A.D.D. How did you get interested in that?

Kanoe: My nephew Tyler had it from a young age and I helped him, but back then we didn’t know he had it.

HondaReport.com: What was the routine like? And the actual preliminaries?

Kanoe: I ate lots of Tootsie Rolls. Tootsie Rolls and granola bars. I was craving a lot of local food. And I started to pick up a Southern accent. ‘Hey y’all.’

HondaReport.com: You were so confident and so comfortable, it didn’t seem like anything could distract you.

Kanoe: I really thought my interview went bad. I was so intimidated. A lot of the other girls had big resumes. One was a doctor! Everyone else had so many accomplishments, but it was good because I was humble because of that. I can’t do anything but just be me.

HondaReport.com: I’m sure more than a few viewers couldn’t help but notice that you laughed at a lot of things during the pageant. The cameras and monitors picked everything up.

Kanoe: You could hear me laughing? No way! Oh my gosh.

HondaReport.com: How did you feel when the field was whittled down from 51 to 15, then 10 …

Kanoe: My knees wanted to fall out. Is there a bigger word than exciting? I was choke excited.

HondaReport.com: Did you get to make friends with any of the other contestants?

Kanoe: Yeah. Miss New Hampshire was my best friend there. She’s half-Filipino and we really bonded.

At this point, Kanoelani Gibson has been a walking media event for not just hours and days, but weeks and months. Ever since winning the Miss Hawaii pageant, her life has not been the same. Yet, her faith is stronger than ever, and her family is as tight-knit as ever.

“We were hoping for top 10. That would’ve been okay,” her mother Avon said. “Whatever happens, happens.”

Kanoe was extremely concerned at that point—when the final 10 contestants were announced—because her mom wasn’t exactly in great shape. “I think she was breathing so hard, she had an asthma attack,” Kanoe said.

“No, it wasn’t an attack. When they called the top 10, we had to run, and it was a long way to get there,” her mom said. “I was a wreck.”

Once she got there, she escorted her daughter onstage for the evening gown competition, wondering how close her youngest child would get to winning it all.

“The night before, we had dinner. She was all homesick,” said Avon, who still resides on Kaua’i. “But she knew in her heart, ‘God has a plan for me back home.’”

Kanoe’s older sister, Frontlines vocalist and recording artist Maila Gibson, traveled with their mother to the East Coast to be with her sibling. Whatever God had planned was fine with Maila. “I knew it was out of our hands. Selfishly, I wanted her to come home,” said Maila, 26, four years older than Kanoe.

“I knew she’d do well and doors would open. God is still gonna use her. If she was Miss America, she’d be tied to the duties,” Maila added. “Now she has freedom.”

It has been quite a time for the family; Maila’s CD, “More,” comes out Thursday in local record stores.

It’s an apt title. No doubt, there is more in store for the faithful Gibson family in the very near future.

This story also appears at eNewHope.org

Previous Article: Film Review: Riding in triumph, ‘Whale Rider’ commands every element of great storytelling
Next Article: Film Review: School of Rock delivers a big hit

Comments