Difference between revisions 440092231 and 447232991 on enwiki

{{Orphan|date=January 2011}}

'''Sylvia Stark''' is a [[Canada|Canadian]] businesswoman who was President and CEO of the Miss Canada International 1996 and Miss Teen Canada International 1998 competitions.<ref name=CTV>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20030802/miss_canada_lawsuit_030801/
 |title=Former beauty queens sue Miss Canada Int'l
 |work= CTV News|date= August 2, 2003
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref> During her time with the organization, three winners of Miss Canada International pageant were stripped of their crowns by Stark, for reasons that allegedly included brawling and breach of contract.<ref name=os>{{Cite web
 |url= http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/02/04/20325.html
 |title=Pageant boss misses out
 |work= Ottawa Sun|date= February 4, 2003|author=Kathleen Harris
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
 |url= http://news.pageantsearch.net/printer_26.shtml
 |title=Refusing move may have cost Bennett her title
 |work=Pageant News|date=23 January 2003|author= Daniel Leblanc
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref> Stark subsequently founded the [[Miss Teen Canada International]] pageants. Her organization has been largely reproached within the Canadian pageant community. <ref name=guardian>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Hockey/2007-02-03/article-1299492/Pageant-Plight/1
 |title=Pageant Plight
 |work= The Guardian (PEI)|date= 3 February 2007|author=Jim Day
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref><ref name= ab/>
Many former contestants have criticized the organization and Sylvia Stark, and some titleholders have disassociated themselves from the organization.<ref name="pageant plight">[http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Hockey/2007-02-03/article-1299492/Pageant-Plight/1]</ref>

Inspired by the devastation of the [[2004 Tsunami]], Stark founded the ''Teddy Bears of Hope'' campaign which sends new and used teddy bears to children in areas affected by war and turmoil. Though Stark claims the organization is a charity, allegations persist that the business is not registered as a not-for-profit under the Canada Corporations Act. <ref name="CBC News Article">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLaavD6hC2w]</ref> <ref name=myk>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.mykawartha.com/article/8660
 |title=Teddy Bears bring hope to children in need
 |work=mykawartha.com
 |accessdate=22 December 2010|date=17 November 2007|author=Debbie Bruce
}}</ref> Stark explained "We wanted to create something that didn’t cost money, that everyone could be involved in. Something to fill that emotional void in the children."<ref name=myk/> Pageant contestants collect teddy bears to be sent to given away.<ref name= ab>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.canada.com/abbotsfordtimes/news/story.html?id=8f266627-4be4-464f-8011-0408741c38f9
 |title=Hoping for the best
 |work=Abbotsford Times|date= 13 June 2008
}}</ref>Since then, thousands of bears have been collected and sent to countries such as  Thailand, Cambodia, Guatemala, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Uganda.<ref name=myk/><ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.teddybearsofhope.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=5 |title=Testimonials |publisher=Teddybearsofhope |accessdate=3 February 2011}}</ref>

Several pageant contestants and winners have complained about Stark and the pageant organizations she has headed. Stark was successfully sued by former Miss Huronia beauty queen and [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] Member of Parliament [[Helena Guergis]] for overbilling on a national beauty pageant's entry fee.<ref name=CTV/><ref name=cbc>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/1233408557/ID=1636462300
 |title=Beauty pageant fraud alleged
 |work= CBC News|date=7 November 2010
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref><ref name=cbc/><ref name=maclean>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/03/12/a-power-couple-unplugged/2/
 |title=Jaffer & Guergis: a power couple, unplugged
 |work=Macleans|author= Colby Cosh with Chris Sorensen and Aaron Wherry|  date=March 12, 2010
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/political-career-goes-astray-for-guergis/article1530162/
 |title=Political career goes astray for Guergis
 |work=The Globe and Mail|date=April 10, 2010|author=Anthony Reinhart and Gloria Galloway
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
 |location=Toronto
}}</ref>  In 1998 Stark pled guilty to attempting to obstruct justice when she faked a signature on a beauty contest document to avoid paying a fee.<ref name=CTV/><ref name=cbc/><ref>{{Cite news
 |url= http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=84616&page=4
 |title=Married Beauty Queens Challenge Rules| author= Leela Jacinto| date= May 24, 2004
 |work=ABC News
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
}}</ref>  In 2003, [[Julia Morley]], CEO of the [[Miss World]] organization said that she would not renew Stark's licence to provide contestants to international competitions because Stark had required her winners to pay for their expenses when competing.<ref name=os/> Later the same year, Stark resigned her position as CEO of Miss Canada International a few days before the organization was sued by former winners and contestants for fraud and deception.<ref name=CTV/><ref name=cbc2003>{{Cite news
 |url= http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2003/08/01/misscanmada030801.html
 |title=Contestants suing Miss Canada organizers
 |work=CBC News
 |accessdate=22 December 2010
 |date=1 August 2003
}}</ref>  Stark denied any wrongdoing by the organization.<ref name=cbc2003/>
==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              =Stark, Sylvia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH     =
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
| DATE OF DEATH     =
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Sylvia}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian businesspeople]]⏎
⏎
'''Sylvia Stark''' is a [[Canada|Canadian]] businesswoman who was President and CEO of the Miss Canada International 1996 and Miss Teen Canada International 1998 competitions. Stark works with many charities through out Canada and other countries. In 2003 launched a petition across Canada, to save a women life in Nigeria that was sentenced to death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock after being rapped. This was delievered to the government in Nigeria.Sylvia worked with the office of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador of Nigeria in Ottawa at the time.
Founder of The Teddy Bears of Hope
Teddy Bears of Hope www.teddybearsofhope.com ( not a registered charity and has never been promoted as such)
Inspired by the devastation of the [[2004 Tsunami]], Stark founded the ''Teddy Bears of Hope'' campaign which sends new and used teddy bears to children in areas affected by war and turmoil.
|title=Teddy Bears bring hope to children in need Stark explained "We wanted to create something that didn’t cost money, that everyone could be involved in. Something to fill that emotional void in the children.Pageant contestants collect teddy bears to be sent to given away
Since then, thousands of bears have been collected and sent to countries such as  Thailand, Cambodia, Guatemala, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Uganda. In 2010 74,000 teddy bears were dleivered to Afghnaistan. In 2011 90,000 will be on their way to Africa.


{{Canada-business-bio-stub}}