Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you are in the world. It is Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman with Relationship Matters TV. I hope everyone is having a beautiful and blessed morning, afternoon, or evening. Well, as you all know, I’m usually on my soapbox and I’m going to get on it. I keep saying I’m not going to get on my soapbox, but I am. But the only thing I’m going to say is please continue to wear your mask. COVID is not gone and people are getting these rebound infections even after having the shots and the two boosters. But I think it’s really because we, I know we are all very, very, at least I am very tired of wearing the mask. But still in all, when you’re around a lot of people, you can bet somebody’s got it and you just might get it. So just to keep from being ill and giving it to anyone else, wear your mask. All right, I have stepped down off of my soapbox. Today is really different. Today is, it’s a, I guess you could say we’re flipping the script because instead of me interviewing a guest, I am the guest. I am going to be interviewed by a world-renowned interviewer and her name is Loisteen Woods Walker and I am going to bring her on right now.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Hello, hello Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman. How are you?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I am great. How are you?

Loisteen Woods Walker
I’m doing wonderful. I’m doing wonderful. Hello to you and your audience and who have joined us today. I just consider it really an honor and a privilege for you to give me this opportunity to be the guest interviewer today on your show.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Okay, so we get going now?

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, yes we do. Let’s go.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Alrighty.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So let me first say hello to our Alt-Gail Gardens family out there who have joined in to see us and hear this historic interview. And hello to all of your audience who has been following you for the last two years. I love it. Your show is always informational and wonderful and is a lot of knowledge that you give us as well. So just a little historical update to our audience that who don’t know me and those who do know me, both of us, Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman, formerly Travis, and myself, formerly Loisteen Woods, both hail from the historical housing projects still located on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois. We both come from Block Two in Chicago, Illinois. That’s us, Block Two. So I am a retired City of Chicago administrator who relocated to Goodyear, Arizona three years ago. And Dr. Jan is my big sister friend, and we’ve served on a couple of organizations together, one being the Chicago Housing Authority Alumni Association, which we helped to formulate in 1980, and then the Carver Class Alumni Association, which was comprised of various alumni from different classes at our almighty Carver High School. So again, I’m here tonight flipping the script, as Jan says, and interviewing her on her quest to become Mrs. Senior America. So we’re going to start just a little bit. Give him that wave and how you’re going to walk down the runway, Dr. Jan. We’re going to have a little bit of fun tonight. And so Dr. Jan, as I affectionately call her, is a Chicago Public School graduate, a proud public school graduate, a former Chicago Public School teacher and administrator. She’s an accomplished award-winning author, and she is the producer and host of two TV shows, one Relationship Matters TV and the Mother/Daughter Relationship Show. She’s doing very well at both. And she’s also an adult daughter aging mother relationship coach. She’s a corporate trainer, a life coach, and now as she sits in her seat today and wearing this crown, she is Mrs. Illinois Senior Illinois of 2022. Okay, let’s give her that little clap. And this is an astounding accomplishment. And today on Jan’s show, it’s all about her. So she’s managed through all of those titles that I just gave you to accomplish yet another historical feat. And on April 30 of this year, she was crowned Mrs. Senior Illinois. I never heard of Miss Senior Illinois, never knew about Mrs. Senior Illinois, but lo and behold, Dr. Jan is our Senior Miss Illinois. And if I’m not mistaken, I think she’s the first African-American to its title.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Actually, actually, I’m the first one who was involved in a pageant. After I kind of, you know, researched stuff, there was a woman who crowned herself. There was no pageant or anything. She filled out the papers, I guess, and did whatever and crowned herself.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Wow.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
But I’m the first real one who had to actually participate.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Wow, so that’s just a wonderful accomplishment right there. So as we look at her and her beautiful sash and her beautiful crown, you know, this is such a tremendous honor and such a tremendous honor for us to even know her, you know, to know and then know what you’re going through. So now I’m going to put on your hat for the evening and interview you so that you can tell us how all of this came about. Okay, so give us an opening, Dr. Jan, and tell us how you’re feeling about all of this going on in your life right now.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
To tell you the truth, Loisteen, I’m excited and overwhelmed at times. And to me, it’s really an honor actually to be with Senior Illinois. But I can tell you how it all started. A very good friend of mine, her name is Brenda Tucker Jeffries, put it out there that she was going to be involved in the Miss Senior Illinois contest and said, you know, why don’t you do it? And I said, no, I got so much going on, no, no, no. And I think I waited maybe about two months and then I thought, oh, what the heck. And so I got in it. And by the way, she is Miss Senior Madison. And so we competed and I won. What I had to do was be interviewed by five judges and they shot questions at me, boom, boom, a few minutes. I had to answer like 20 something questions and I didn’t know what the questions were going to be. But, you know, you just, and then I was told that as soon as I walked into the room, they judge you as soon as you walk into the room. So the way you stand, you know, whether or not you’re smiling, whether you’re looking at each, all of them, you have to look at all of them, you know, so things that I learned to do as a Toastmaster, learning how to speak and stuff. And then I had to have, do a talent competition. And with the talent competition, I sang. And because, you know, in high school, I used to sing. I used to be a part of the Sweet Tones. I think, wait a minute, I got it screwed up. One of them might be on watching, I don’t know. No, she’s not. Jeffrey, Miss Madison is on. But anyway, so I used to be a party singer called Sweethearts.

Loisteen Woods Walker
I had no idea you were a singer. Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, my goodness. We sang with all the assemblies. As a matter of fact, we were so good that Jerry Butler came to one of the shows and heard us sing and wanted us to be backgrounds.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, wow.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, my mama said no and the other mama said no, no going to college. And so anyway, so then after that, then we had to learn how to walk on the stage, you know, walking forward with your head to the side, smiling, not looking down at your feet. And then we had to, then they shot one question at us at the very end. And then that’s how I became Miss Senior Illinois America.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, my God, you make this sound so simple, Janice. And I know that it wasn’t all, I mean, and especially since you hadn’t been in this arena before, you make it sound like it was so simple, like, you know, all that just happened in five minutes. And, you know, you had to answer these questions, you had to walk a certain way, you had to look a certain way. So what is, and we’re not familiar with this title, but, and it’s, I guess it’s been around for a little while, but like you said, nobody had actually won it. Do you know how many years it’s been in existence?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
It’s been over 20 years. Brenda knows if she can put it in the chat that I can see. I think she knows exactly how many years, but it’s never been in Illinois. No one was ever, no one from Illinois ever represented Illinois.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So when I looked on it, I saw a lot of past queens, you know, so it’s been around for quite some time.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Wow, that’s very interesting.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And the woman who was over in Illinois used to be a part of the Miss America pageant, you know, for I don’t know how many years, you know, but very, very long time.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay, okay. Well, so in this, so this is not just some run-of-the-mill type of event. This is a legitimate pageant and she’s going all the way and we’re gonna cheer on all the way. And so you told us how you decided to compete. What made you made up your mind? You said, I can do this. And so you went and got, went there, but never in your dreams did you think you were going to win.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, I didn’t. I didn’t. I really didn’t think I was going to win. I really was, I really was surprised. I really was shocked.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Right. Well, we just love it. And we see one of our AG people just typed in, that’s Miss Hanette. We were with her earlier today. Congrats. She’s congratulating you.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So tell us, Dr. Jan, what’s the average age of the competitors? Do you know?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, you have to be 65. And so I really don’t know the average age, but I would imagine more than likely in their 70s.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Well, if the average, if you have to be 65, that’s considered as a legitimate senior citizen these days. And then if you think that the average age is 70, here we go with another feat because I want you to tell your audience how old you are today.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I am an octogenarian. I am 80 years old.

Loisteen Woods Walker
80 years old. Look at you.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
In December.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Look at you, almost 81. I want to be like my big sister when you grow up. Look at that. And the average, and so from 65 years old to the average age in your thoughts might be seven years old. It’s just astonishing, first of all, to look at you that you don’t look like you’re 80 years old, even though I always tell people, well, how are you supposed to look? But you don’t look like the people, the normal people that we see at 80 years old. And then to go to a competition with people ranging from age 65 and up and you won. How wonderful. How wonderful.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Thank you. Thank you. It’s hereditary. It’s okay because your mom said, well, you knew my mama.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, she looked good. She looked good until the day that she left. And so now this competition, where did you have to go? Where was it held in Illinois?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
It was held in Bourbonnais.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, the Bourbonnais, about 50 miles west of Chicago.

Loisteen Woods Walker
That’s actually where the Bears train.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Right, exactly.

Loisteen Woods Walker
That’s their training camp. I used to take my grandkids out there on their first weekend of training.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, so that’s where you were in. Was it an overnight or a weekend event?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, it was kind of like a, well, yeah, a couple of days, I would say, or yeah, a good day because, well, we had to drive in and so we did have to stay overnight because our interviews started early one morning. And so everything was kind of like all in one day, all of the, I would say, the competitions and the interviews and all of that.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, okay. Wow. Well, that was a whole weekend of meeting and seeing different people and different personalities and everything was new because you know the average person that we know of that’s going into a pageant or a competition, they’ve been doing this for a lifetime.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, as a matter of fact, there was one woman there who, this is what she did. She was in a lot of projects and I think, well, I know when I do go to Pennsylvania and after reading a lot of the bios, a lot of ladies, that’s what they do. A lot of them have been in pageants since they were kids.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Right, right. Well, that’s really interesting. And then here you beat all that out. You beat that again. That’s because you are bad sister Jan, Dr. Jan, you are bad. Now tell us what exactly did you win?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, you know, I should have, I had it here in front of me, but anyway, I won a $2,000 gift certificate to York’s Warriors.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yes, ma’am.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, ma’am. And I won a big huge assortment of cosmetics from Mary Kay, huge. Then I also got a garment bag, a big long garment bag that holds gowns and a lot of things. And then also I have a journal. I got a journal that I write in and then I use my, your queen pen with my queen pen to write in my journal. Then this is up here. This is if I get thirsty, then yes, I drink out of my queen, my Miss Illinois employee.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And so just a lot of different things.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, okay. Well, that $2,000 fur gift certificate, that was good. And you like furs and you’re in Chicago where it’s cold.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, yes. So in the fall when it gets a little cool, then I’ll be going and choosing a fur or whatever I see that I like.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s amazing. Okay, so is, well, we already know, well, so is this an annual event that happens every year or is this like every other year? How did, how often does it happen?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
It happens every year. And what will happen here in Illinois is that at the end of my reign, then I will host the 2022 pageant. So ladies who are in Illinois, who are in wherever, Southern Illinois, Chicago, surrounding suburbs, I will be, I will get all of the information and I’ll put it out there for women to decide to compete to be Miss Senior Illinois. Now what happens is that now first I was Miss Calumet City.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Right. And so depending on where the ladies are from, there will be a pageant there. So let’s say there’ll be a pageant in Bourbonnais, I just use that. And then that woman from Bourbonnais will compete with other women in Illinois to become Miss Senior Illinois.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And I’m not sure, you know, like right now when the past, when that would take place more than likely around at the same time, not, you know, in April or, you know.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So it’s like an application process. So you as the hostess or host for the state of Illinois would then know where it would be held and then you would know what the process is and what you have to do. So is it, did you have to fill out an application or did you have to answer questions?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, yes. I had to fill out an application. I think it was four or five pages and, and then, you know, my age, my platform, my philosophy of life, what my talent would be. And just about, it’s really like a bio or like a biography, you know, my education, you know, yeah, like a bio.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. And so that, and then I’m sure once they saw your age, they didn’t think that, you know, okay, here comes granny, but granny got it.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And that’s the truth, you know. Yeah. I’m very, very blessed in that I still feel good.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, that’s good. That’s good. Well, okay. So, you know, and you’re at this point now, you’re almost to the finish line, even though it’s, we’re saying 2023, April is really around the corner. I’m sorry, 2023 for the next pageant, but your big to-do is less than a month away, right? So we’re going to get into that in a little bit, but how does your husband and your son feel about you being in the pageant competition? How are they taking this?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, I can ask him next to you in the pageant.

Keith (Dr. Janice’s Husband)
Well, you’re always my queen, but now this is another level.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Look at that. He got the right answer. See, he’s got the right answer. He said you’re always his queen, but now they take me to another level. That’s, hey, Keith, that’s why I love you. That was wonderful. And my son, you know, he’s excited, you know. Oh, mama, my mama, she’s a queen. He tells everybody, you know, whenever we go anywhere together, oh, she’s, you know, she’s a celebrity. My mother’s a celebrity.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
You are, you are his celebrity. And like Keith said, you’re his queen. And then for us and all Gail, you’re our queen. And, but I just feel like more, you need to have that, there should be more notoriety about this whole Mrs. Illinois, Senior Mrs. Illinois, especially since you’re the first African American to win this crown and that it should be more notoriety about it. So maybe it’ll all come out when you win Mrs. Senior America. You’re going to win Mrs. Senior America. So I’ve been watching you on Facebook with your personal body trainer. So is this something that the pageant requires or is this something that you decided to do on your own?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
This is what I’ve been doing now for a very, very, very long time. I believe in moving your body. I believe in activity. So I’ve been, I’ve been training, well, I’ve been working with a trainer, gee, before I even met my husband because my trainer tells me, oh, I’ve been doing you longer than you’ve been knowing your husband. So I’ve been training with Mike, I would say maybe over 20 years, over 20 years. And we work out, we call it the house of pain. And every now and then I try and get him to like give me a discount. And when I say discount, I mean less count in the workout. Like, wow, I have to do that. I’m older than they are, you know, but yeah, I do 45 minutes on the stationary bike or the treadmill depending. And then I do free weight training. I do the machines. I do rubber bands. I do cardio. I even do planks.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Wow.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I hate planks. You know, and actually I know that I’m not going to have my girlish figure anymore, you know, but to me it’s all about being healthy. You know, and I try to eat right, you know, so no, the pageant, you know, didn’t, they didn’t require it. It’s just something that I knew that I had to do.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Now I’m looking at this Brenda Tucker Jeffrey, Miss Madison. She said you can view the video of the 2022 pageant on YouTube under Polk Entertainment. Is that, that’s the pageant that you were in that you won?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. Because I have, I do have a question. One of my questions at the end is how do we watch the one and thank you, but thank you Brent for that information. Yes. Well, so in actuality, your training really is your pre-training is a plus to you, to you in the competition because it’s, it is something that you were not accustomed to doing it. Like you saying the walking and the stance and this and the that, and you were prepared, your body is prepared. And so you got a plus.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah. You know, see that was totally different, you know, when they were telling us how to walk, you had to stand at us, you know, walk a certain way and then for certain angles and then stop at a certain point and it, and you never turn your back. And then when the stage, you know, there were steps and then they were saying, you don’t look down when you go up on the steps. I’m like, I don’t think so. And then, because we had on heels and, and, you know, long gowns and all, but that walking forward while turning your face to the side. So yeah, that was something that we really had to practice. So it’s, it’s a lot, a lot of little nuances and things that, that I didn’t know that I found out by being in the pageant. And I’m sure I’ll find, find out a lot more when.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Just tell us another small nuance that you found out.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
The smile thing, you know, I mean, you had to keep a smile on your face and it, and it, it had to look authentic. But another, what I found out is that when we were being interviewed and asked, you know, when they were asking us questions, they would tell us, well, the coach beforehand, because we did have a coach that came in and helped us a little bit. If when they asked you a question, you answered specifically that question. You don’t, you don’t prolong it. You know, you don’t explain your answer. You just be specific and, and, and you don’t, which is different from Toastmasters. When they ask you a question in Toastmasters, you repeat the question, right? Answer, not repeat the question. You just go straight in and ask that question. And that was kind of, I had to keep that in mind because I’m used to you asking me a question. I repeat the question and then answer it. But that was something.

Loisteen Woods Walker
And, and you said that you have to keep the smile on your face. So I can imagine me, if they ask me a question that first of all, that I don’t understand, then I’m like, your, your facial expression changes. You, that’s just natural. And so, yeah. So I’m glad to hear that you said, so at once you went to the pageant, they gave each person a coach or did everybody have once the same?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
It was like one, it was just one coach who, you know, helped us. Now, when we were at the pageant, we had a lady who would put your makeup on if you wanted to, you know, and they had dressers there that would help you zip up and stuff like that because we had to change right quick, you know, so from what we were having on as our talent and then for our gowns.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. But Loisteen, we have to have our half an hour and I do have to do a little commercial.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. But we’ll be right back. I know you have some more questions. I hope they’re not right. And no hope I can answer it.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Nope. Yeah, that you can answer them. Okay. All right. So we’ll be right back.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Well, this is different. I am in the hot seat. I’m the one that’s answering the questions. Huh? Now I kind of know how, you know, it’s kind of a little difficult, but anyway, we will be right back.

[Music]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, we’re back with Loisteen Woods Walker who is interviewing me. We are flipping the script this evening and you saw two commercials for books that are available on Amazon.com. But here is my book. My book is entitled “The Secrets to How Not to Throw Mama from the Train.” It’s all about how to navigate the challenges in the adult daughter aging mother relationship. This book is available on Amazon.com and just go there and purchase it. It’s in hardback and ebook. So let’s bring Loisteen back and I can answer some more questions.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. As we talked about your personal training, we talked about how you got into this. We talked about how you’re feeling. We talked about how you won and how you’re the first African-American to win this feat. A few more questions that, you know, we may have, we have. And one thing I want to say is one of our ladies, our lunch ladies, Cristela Bell Woods, she says she doesn’t know how to do the chat, but she’s saying to tell you congratulations and that you look beautiful. And you do.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Thank you.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yes. Thank you for all of you people here from Allgale Gardens. If you are a retired senior, just so you know, we meet every month, even through COVID. We started doing Zoom. We meet once a month and we have lunch and we update each other on whatever is going on in our lives. And Dr. Jan came on last month and told us about the competition, the pageant. And then she told us also that they’re going to have an ad book and our group, the Allgale Garden Retired Ladies, that’s what we call ourselves, and we purchased a full-page ad and a couple of other people from Allgale, they purchased an ad to go in the book. So it’s on the book. Now, will the pageant have a publication? We purchased the ad, so will we be able to purchase the book or how will we see the book?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, I just, I got a text today and they will have books available. I will purchase the books. Well, I’ll put a book, of course, for free, but then the books are $10 a piece, but I will purchase the book, a few books actually, and so that way you all will see your ad. And so what I was, what the reason for the ads, of course, is to promote Miss Senior America 2022, 2023, and so on. But also I am running for Miss Senior Ambassador.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, what’s that?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So in other words, it depends on how many ads you put in because you put in the advert because then what you’re doing is really you’re promoting yourself, but you’re also promoting the pageant itself. So hopefully, and quite a few actually, Loisteen, quite a few people from the AG, Allgale Gardens, purchased ads. And I really, really, really very, very, very thankful for the retired ladies, our lunch group.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Mm-hmm. We can meet, you know, face to face.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Face to face.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Face to face again.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, that would be good.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Right, that would be good. Well, as far as I’m, like I said earlier about the notoriety that I think that you should have, does the governor of Illinois, is the governor a participant in this or do they know anything about them in Miss Illinois?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I know they know about it in Springfield because I did get, every contestant has to bring a small gift representing your state. And so that’s 45 gifts. And so I did get something from Springfield. So the woman who is over the pageant here, Dr. Polk, he befriended someone in Springfield and they sent me some nice little pins with Illinois on it. And she also said that after the pageant, she would like me to come to Springfield so that you can introduce me.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Yeah, well, that ain’t nothing but a word. So we’re going to take care, we’ll get taken care of. Okay, so we’ll be in Springfield with the governor.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, you know, I know right there.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So let’s see, do you have a sponsor? Do you have to have a sponsor or do you have a sponsor?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, I don’t have a sponsor. It is me.

Loisteen Woods Walker
And so even though you don’t have one, do people who participate in the pageant, do they have sponsors?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I have no idea. I did see some things on the Facebook page and it says sponsors, but actually they’re not sponsors. They’re the people who place ads calling their sponsors.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Sponsors. Okay. Okay. So since you don’t have a sponsor and it’s all you, how many gowns are required for the competition? Do you have to purchase your gowns? How many do you have to have?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, so far I know two at least. And one I purchased and another one, which is beautiful. One of the ladies who has been in pageants just told me there was this gown that she had and that it would just be perfect for me. And so she has loaned me her gown. It’s beautiful. When she showed it to me, I’m like, whoa. And there is a chocolate ball and I’m not sure if I’m going to wear a third gown or something just really, really dressy. But for the most part, my wardrobe I have to pay for, but my airfare, hotel, meals is paid for and me and my guests for the pageant.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, for the pageant right there. Yeah, the hotel meals. So when you’re there and then there are different tours and stuff like that and all that’s paid for. So how long will you be? Well, first of all, let’s talk about when is the pageant in September?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I’ll be there from the 5th through the 9th, but the 8th and the 9th, those are the pageants, you know, except the 9th, the final pageant when they choose Miss Senior America. But before then, when we first get there, there are all kinds of functions that we have to go to and rehearsals. And from what I understand, just like Miss America, there, you know, opening number where we’ll be singing and dancing and we’ll have interviews. And there will be 10 finalists. And so on that last day on the 9th, we’ll all be on stage like you see Miss America, but then there’ll be 10 finalists and I guess they’ll ask them, ask us, ask us, yes, because you read it, different questions and then they’re choosing that.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. And so do you have a makeup artist as well? Is that on your own, a hairstylist?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, you know what? Yeah, they have, let’s see, they have makeup artists and they have people who can do your hair, but I prefer to do my own makeup and my own hair, you know, but there’ll be someone there because there’s only been one person that I was in a fashion show and the makeup that she put on me, I loved it. But I mean, I can’t pay for her to travel, you know, so no.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, we should, instead of the ad, but we should have had some barrels and put them on every corner in Chicago and then put a dollar in the barrel for Jan so that Jan has this makeup artist and his stylist and everything.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Right, right, traveling with my own hairstylist.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, and your own entourage. So yeah, so now, and I know that you said you got to be there early and I’m sure you know, I know those different kind of events that you have, the interviews and different people from different places and different events. And so in all of that, I’m assuming that there’s a time for you to practice or do they have certain pageant etiquette that you have to learn or that you have to do or practice?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, we have to wear our crown and our sash no matter where we are for that whole week from the 5th through the 10th. And you know, they’re just telling you to be professional. Remember, you know, that you’re representing your state and you’re also representing the pageant. So that’s about it. You know, they want you to always dress professionally, you know, look nice, you know, so they didn’t say no jeans, but I believe that, you know, they don’t want to have any jeans or so it’s the public look like. So that’s just a party and be friendly. But one thing I forgot to tell you, you have to have your platform and you get 34 seconds to say what your platform is. If you go over, you are disqualified. Now you can be under, but you cannot go over.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, I’m sure that you with your all of the training and all the coaching and everything that you do with what is the speakers group that you’re with?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Toastmasters.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Those Toastmasters that you got that down pat now. And I’m not going to ask you what your platform is tonight, but I know you have your platform. What is the, okay, what’s the subject?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I can tell you what it is and I’m going to expound a little bit over because this is only like three seconds, but aging is not about getting old. Aging is about grabbing this opportunity to be daring and bold.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Go girl. Look at, look at, look at Dr. Jan. All right, Dr. Jan, look at that girl. That is wonderful. That is your platform. And what, what it couldn’t be any more appropriate for the occasion and for what you’re representing and how you see life because you couldn’t get this far looking like you look, acting like you act, thinking like you think without having that type of a platform. And you know, age is, is, is really, it is, it is just a number, you know, like your body can always, you know, which my body does tell me every night that you are 80. But, but still in all, I think it’s a, it’s a frame of mind. You have to number one, I think be a lifelong learner because there’s so much to learn out here. So, and, and my husband’s got to say it is what it is. So it is what it is.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So I know we only have a few more minutes. I got a couple more questions. Do you have an agent?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Well, you don’t need, I don’t have a coach.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, I do have a coach that they give you.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Go ahead. I said, do they provide you with a coach? Is this someone else?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
This is my own coach that I’ve had for a number of years.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Yeah. Who helps me, you know, helps me in my, can I say my career?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Your career.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah. And so, well, and then we’ll say that Keith is your agent. So then I’ve been asking him to be my agent.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Nobody else gonna be there but your agent. He’s your agent. So do you have any appearance obligations as in your role right now?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, I do. First of all, I’ve been in a couple of parades, which here and I also add a breast cancer awareness function. I will have to appear. And in October, there is another breast cancer awareness function. It’s a fashion show and a dinner, well, lunch, and I’ll be in the fashion show. And so that’s, I think it’s October 14th.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So you’ll be, you will, even though the competition will be over in September, up until next possibly April when it’s time for the 2023, you’ll still be making appearances and different events and of that nature.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I had one question when I had, I forgot I had breakfast with my mayor. That was an appearance and well, twice actually.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, you need to pay for your many words.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Uh-huh.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
[Laughter]

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
To go with you to whoever you want to go with, you need to pay for it. One, this question, one from one of our people, do you take vitamins and which ones?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Girl, please, if my friend Maxine is on here, I’ll see her. But anyway, we work out together and after we work out, we go and we have a very light breakfast. We have a half of a biscuit, one egg, and maybe a couple of tablespoons of grits and coffee. When we finish, it’s like, okay, you got your drugs.

Loisteen Woods Walker
[Laughter]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Because we have a nice little baby. So now I take, girl, please, I take vitamin D, a multiple vitamins, you know, and sometimes I might also take a bite, an extra vitamin B12. I taste E, D, A, actually, Omega XL, girl, it’s good. Anyway, I mean, it helps. And then I take elderberry. I take something called glutathione, which is an intro.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, yeah, here she said, yeah, yeah, there’s Maxine. Wait, when they put on here, yes, I am here. Well, we got, I think we’re full of drugs or vitamins that I, okay, which is like a vitamin supplement. Okay, girl, I take a whole lot. I can’t even, I can’t even, it’s a handful.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, we’ll get you a list. We’ll get your list and maybe you can post them on your Facebook page. But some people are interested and they want to, they want to take what you take. But, and like I said, yes, you’re glowing and guessing what it is, that big box Mary Kay you got.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I’ve been using Mary Kay for the last 20 years since, yeah, at my, you know, for year, for seven, eight years, I was at Johnson Products Company. And so we had everything that lasted, everything that I had from them lasted years and years. And then I switched over to Mary Kay because one of my folks from Mary Kay, I mean, from Johnson Products Company is a Mary Kay sales person. So I just got my new supply. I am a Mary Kay person, moisturizer, cleanser, the whole bit, the four-step process, got to go.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah. So two more questions I got because I know we got to go. We know that the pageant is going to be in September. Where exactly is the pageant going to be and how will we be able to watch it?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chocolate City. And you know, I can’t eat chocolate because I’m lactose intolerant, but I’ll just be smelling it, I guess. And I’m not sure yet, but I did see something they were trying to work something out so that we could see it live. But I will let you know so that you can put it out there. I’m not sure yet.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. Because I’m probably on YouTube.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, something like that.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Well, one thing that COVID has done for all of us, it’s got its bad side, it’s got its good side, it’s got its technology side. So everything that we want to know, do, see, hear, feel, or whatever, we can go to some form of technology to be able to get the information. So we’ll look forward to you giving that to us. Do you know of any other notable women who have won this award or who have been a part of the pageant?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Just me.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Just you. And that’s good enough for us.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yes, you. And we say, I forgot Maxine, who is my workout and drug buddy.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So she’s been in the pageant as well.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
She’s Miss Midlothian.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, Miss Midlothian. Okay. Okay. So you and I’m sure, right, she’s probably the first African American too.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah. Yeah. And that’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful news to know. So well, Jan, from here in closing, tell us your feelings about where you would like to end this 2022 tour of a lifetime because it is actually a tour of a lifetime.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s a very good question, Loisteen. You know, I just want to end it being healthy, still in my right mind. Forgot about that. I do take for granted. My husband healthy and, you know, just still pursuing my passions, pursuing my goals. 2022 will just be the end of 2022, but still and all, I’m on a journey and I just want to complete my journey. I want to be here until at least I’m 120. They made the Lord say, okay, dancing, but yeah.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah. Yeah. But right now the Lord has blessed you with ten plus more years. And so we’re going to continue to ask him for many, many more for each and every one of us. But well, this has really been a journey for you. And it’s been, I mean, I think that we can live vicariously with you at this point because for most of us, we don’t know anybody in a pageant, in the pageant, but Cristela. So we, but we’re gonna, you say you don’t have an agent and you don’t have a, but you have a coach and you don’t have a sponsor, but Cristela said that she was at the state fair last week and Miss Little Miss Teen Illinois was walking around with a photographer at the fair. So I don’t know why they didn’t have you at the state fair walking around with a photographer.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I’m sure that is her photographer.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah, I’m sure it is too.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s how you have it. Do you have one?

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh yes, I got two.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay.

Loisteen Woods Walker
So I don’t have to use my cell phone.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
[Laughter]

Loisteen Woods Walker
So now, but will your photographer actually go with you to the pageant?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, because that’s my son.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Oh, okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And the other one, she’s having some, has had some health issues. So, and I would have to pay both of their ways. So my agent will be with me. He will take some, you know, candid photos and then they will have photographers there, you know.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Right.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So that’s why, you know, they tell us, you know, always be smiling and always, you know, be wonderful and kind and you’ll be asked for autographs and, you know, I will have my pen and I will be signing autographs.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, actually.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Okay. Okay. Well, I, again, I started out with saying for those of you all who weren’t on the line, Janice and I come a long way back. She is my big sister, sister friend, and she, I have nothing but respect and admiration for her because I know we all came from the same background and it is what you make of it. And she’s come this far. We got Yvette Wilson on here from Block Seven. She says congratulations. And Yvette, my little sister, she just moved here from Maryland and built a house. And so I got a little sister here in Arizona with me now, another little sister. But Jan, it’s been a blast. We want you to win and we’re all cheering you on and we’re going to keep building this up. And you know, you might not have a sponsor, but we all Gail Gardens got your back. Some people, when I sent the email out yesterday and told them that we were going to interview tonight, they said in their mind, you’ve already won. So whatever comes out of this, you are, you are fantastic. We love you. Got another friend on here, Antoinette Burke Springs. She says great interview. That’s another friend of mine, John Products Company Days, and she’s in Las Vegas. So we got folks from all over on this line looking at this interview.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Loisteen, thank you so much. I really appreciate, you know, you interviewing me. This is really different because I usually, I’m the one, but I do want to, my shameless plug, I am on Relationship Matters TV every Thursday, 7 p.m. Central Standard Time, where I interview, where really I have a conversation with myriads, a myriad of different kinds of people. But you can go to YouTube, Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman, click on the videos, and you can see all of my past shows. And if you would like to be on my show as a guest, then just get in contact with Loisteen and she will be able to get you to my show. Or you can do this, and I’m running over, you can submit a headshot and a brief bio to relationshipmatterstv@gmail.com. And I want to thank all of you all really for tuning in. Oh, I forgot about my other show, my other show, the Mother-Daughter Relationship Show. And that’s when I give tools and techniques on how to navigate the challenges in that relationship. That’s on every Tuesday, 1 p.m. Central Standard Time. Alrighty, so thank you, dear. I appreciate it.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you all, everyone, for tuning in. I, or watching my channel, Girl Radio, watching, I really, really appreciate it. So for the next two weeks, they will be on course week of my shows because I’ll be getting ready to go. Okay, so good night, everyone, and good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are in the world. Remember, there are all kinds of relationships and relationships do matter because there are all kinds of relationships. See you all when I get back.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, with the Miss Senior, you know, America green.

Loisteen Woods Walker
Yeah. All right. Bye-bye.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Bye.

[Music]