By Julia Train
On Saturday, June 8, a new Miss New Jersey was crowned.
Elizabeth Mendel, 22, from Cape May Court House competed and won the title of Miss New Jersey 2024.
The annual pageant, which is a preliminary for Miss America 2025, was held at Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City this past weekend.
Before winning the title, Mendel, whose Community Service Initiative is “Image is Everywhere- Eating Disorder Awareness,” was Miss South Jersey. Before that, she was Miss Avalon.
This year’s pageant was her second time competing for the title. Her first was in 2023, where she won third runner-up.
Mendel is the third contestant from Cape May Court House to receive the crown. She is a student at Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia.
According to its website, the title of Miss New Jersey means the holder is the most visible external representative of the state and the mission of the Miss New Jersey Education Foundation (“MNJ”) program.
Miss New Jersey is responsible for positively advancing the goals and objectives of MNJ as well as her own Community Service Initiative. Mendel will do that through attending public appearances with high energy, positivity and professionalism.
The first Miss New Jersey Pageant was in 1933, with the first Miss New Jersey, Gertrude Christman receiving the title.
Miss New Jersey 1937, Bette Cooper, was the first from the Garden State to win the national title of Miss America. Since then, dozens of Miss New Jerseys have won the title.
The pageant was first run by the Jaycees and Kiwanis Clubs of New Jersey and held in Wildwood, but eventually relocated to Cherry Hill East High School.
In 1990, the pageant moved back to Wildwood and stayed there until 1996, when the pageant moved to the Ocean City Music Pier in Ocean City.
Julia is a student at Rider University, majoring in multiplatform journalism with a minor in social media strategies. At school, she writes and is news editor for The Rider News and is the News Director for the radio station, producing news updates. She’ll be graduating in the spring. Connect with her on Instagram @juliatrain
