Twin sisters Amber and Holly Diaz of Kissimmee will compete for the title of Miss Hooters International this August at a competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Representing Central Florida, they will be among 30 women vying for the title. If they win they will get to travel and be the face of the company for the next year.
“They’re looking for someone who stands for the company, but also has strong individual characteristics and good leadership skills to be Miss Hooters International, and basically be the face of the company for the year that they reign,” says Amber.
To reach the finals, the twins first had to compete in the regional pageant, where they both placed in the top 5. After that they submitted videos telling about themselves, their personal strengths and stories, and their community work. Based on the pageant and the videos, both twins were then selected to make it to the national competition.
“We’ve done our best in everything we can to represent the company as well as we can and stand for what they stand for,” Amber says. “Individually speaking, we’re college graduates. We went to UCF for Commerce and Communications. We also like to give back to the community, so we do volunteering at the Give Kids the World Village (in Kissimmee) where we’ve volunteered multiple times.”
The twins are also active with the V Foundation for Cancer Research (named for famed college basketball coach Jim Valvano), which Hooters regularly partners with. The twins
“They’re looking for someone who stands for the company, but also has strong individual characteristics and good leadership skills.”
AMBER DIAZ Competitor of Miss Hooters have taken part in many company fundraisers such as the Pink Pageants as well as being featured in the Hooters calendar, where part of the sales proceeds go to the foundation.
The cancer awareness work is very personal for the twins. “Our grandmother, Berta, was a Cuban American woman. She was a two-time breast cancer survivor,” Amber explains. “She always instilled in us that beyond whatever she had to go through having breast cancer, it never took her away from being the woman that she was. She was always strong and beautiful. And I feel like Hooters supports almost that exact message that my grandmother had instilled in us the entire time.”
The experience of being in the competition is “absolutely fantastic,” says Amber. “Not only is it so much fun, but it also is something that helps you build your own character. One thing for sure I think we can give back to Hooters is - it’s built an immense amount of confidence. Starting at Hooters, me and Holly were probably the shyest people you had ever met. We did not open our mouths or talk or anything.”
“And then,” Holly chimed in, “Through working here the whole time and getting to meet the other girls, whether working here or in the competition themselves, we’ve become open.” This welcoming friendliness is abundant throughout their whole interview.
The 24 year-old twins graduated from UCF in 2023, after doing their first two years at Valencia College. They were born into a military family, so they moved around a lot when young. But they settled in Kissimmee when they were about 10 years old, eventually graduating from Liberty High School. Their father Michael set the tone early for their volunteer work by running the local Marines Toys for Tots program in Central Florida, and the girls helped out each year. They remember that Hooters girls would always come by and help give out toys.
“And now we are those girls,” says Holly.
