Maria Fletcher
This past Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of Maria Fletcher’s Miss America crowning. For those of you who don’t recognize the name or weren’t around in 1962, Maria Fletcher is the only North Carolina representative to have won the Miss America title in the pageant’s 91-year history. She entered the local Miss Ashville pageant in hopes of winning scholarship money because her father had told her she must fund her college education. She walked away with $250 at that pageant and was able to win enough money at the state and national level to pay for her four years at Vanderbilt University. Fletcher also served as a Radio City Rockette, visited over 31 Army hospitals overseas and was a positive role model to girls all over the country. Maria Fletcher is a shining example of the positive effects pageants can have on young girls.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, 53 young women stood on the Miss America stage in the same position as Maria Fletcher 50 years prior. They were all prepared, after a year of nonstop appearances and practices, and eager to take home the crown. More importantly, they were all positive examples proving that pageantry is still a relevant and important part of our culture. Miss South Carolina, Bree Boyce, weighed 234 pounds five years ago when she was a 17-year-old high school student. After feeling miserable in her own skin and enduring endless taunts about her weight from peers, she vowed to lose weight.
Now after losing 112 lbs, Boyce promotes eating healthy and fighting obesity. She is helping to combat America’s ever-present obesity problem in children, showing that pageant contestants aren’t solely concerned about world peace and focus on issues that are important to them and our nation.
Laura Kaeppeler, Miss Wisconsin and winner of the 2012 Miss America title, is focused on her education. Having won approximately $62,000 in scholarships, Kaeppeler plans to use that money to fund her Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology. The Miss America Organization has provided over $45 million in scholarship money since its founding. This money has helped countless young women continue their education without going into debt. Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, used her scholarship money to attend Harvard Law School while Gretchen Carlson, Miss America 1989 and current Fox & Friends anchor, was able to pay for her Stanford education thanks to the Miss America organization.
All of the women who have competed in Miss America, whether at the state or national level, are proof that pageant contestants do not fit the common pageant stereotype. These young women are dedicated to charities and causes important to our society and are interested in furthering their educations at academically acclaimed universities. Although not every contestant can win the coveted Miss America title, each woman is an outstanding role model to her community. That’s why Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, prepared a special gift for each of the contestants this year. She removed 53 jewels from her crown and had them made into pendants for each of the contestants so they would each have a part of the crown. Scanlan said, “I am so impressed by them, I’m looking up to them as role models.”
