Miss New Jersey USA was thiiiis close to snagging the crown, as first-runner up in the Miss USA pageant (winner, Kara McCullough is from Washington D.C.).  Chhavi Verg is from Edison, where she graduated from J.P. Stevens High School. She's a student at Rutgers University, studying Marketing and Spanish.

Verg is the second Indian-American to have won Miss NJ USA. She's in good company as runner-up, it's the same spot Halle Berry came in as Miss Ohio USA back in the 80's.

Judging by hashtag use on Twitter, there's still lots of confusion about this pageant and its relationship to Miss America. Miss America came first in the 1920s, with firm Atlantic City roots. The Miss America Organization is a non-profit organization with its national headquarters at Boardwalk Hall.

The Miss USA/Miss Universe pageants were created in the 1950's, founded by Catalina Swimsuits. The company touts itself as "run by women for women." Nearly ten-thousand young women participate in Miss Universe pageant events each year.


Proud Jersey Girl Erin Vogt’s first reporting gig involved her Fisher Price tape recorder. As a wife and momma of two kiddies, she firmly believes that life’s too short to drink bad coffee.  A fan of the beach, Dave Grohl and karma, in no particular order.

Follow her on Twitter and on Facebook as ProudJersey.

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