Platform Criteria
The Miss Maine/Miss America platform was officially instituted in 1989 in order to showcase the social activism and intelligence of the women who compete for the title of Miss Maine/Miss America. Since that time, it has contributed to a positive shift in the public’s perception of the Miss Maine/Miss America Organizations and elevated the job of Miss Maine/Miss America to that of a state/national role model, spokesperson, and advocate. To ensure that your platform is effective, consider the following guidelines.
The platform should reflect an issue of concern to the American people. Make sure that your platform reflects an issue that a majority of citizens in the country would agree is important and significant to the public at large. Selecting a platform that is too narrow or esoteric can limit your impact and effectiveness as a Miss Maine/Miss America titleholder. And remember issues that are important on a local level are not always considered important on a national level.
Your personal connection to the platform issue should be clearly understood. With increasing frequency, Miss Maine/Miss America titleholders are asked why they chose their platform issue – by media, government leaders, legislators, and many others. Therefore, it is critical that you provide a credible reason and sincere explanation for why you area committing your year of service to your issue. Be sure you select an issue not because it is popular or trendy, but because it reflects who you are, what you’ve accomplished and where your heart lies.
Choose a platform you have been personally involved with prior to the pageant. Because contestants must demonstrate they have achieved significant accomplishments in their platform issue, you should choose one that reflects your volunteer work, professional experience and hours of service and personal involvement – prior to the Miss Maine/Miss America competitions. You should have a passion for the issue and that passion should be evident in all you say and do.
The platform issue should be one that is supported by national organizations. As a titleholder, you are only as effective as your booking enables you to be. Therefore, make sure there is plenty of support for our platform issue form organizations that advocate its volunteer or research aspects (i.e. American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation, etc.). This does not mean, however, that you should always select the most obvious issues. Sometimes national organizations have lesser known or emerging issues that are no less important, but just haven’t received the visibility they need or deserve.
The platform should be of interest to corporations, the news media, and other audiences. Other important segments of our society can be very helpful in making your year of service successful. For instance, corporations which have an interest in your issue will likely partner with you to create new, exciting initiatives. The news media will help you spread the word by writing in-depth articles about your work. Consider whether your platform issue reflects the support of such audiences.
It should be clear that you have researched, thought about, and understood the platform and its impact on the national level. Immediately following the national competition, the new Miss America must kick off her platform in a nationwide setting and immediately begin her role as a full-time advocate. As a result, you should have thoroughly researched your platform and be able to operate as a knowledgeable advocate for it. This preparation will not only help you compete in the Miss America system, but it will give you the credibility you need when speaking about the issue before, during, and after the competition.
Be prepared to articulate your own position on the issue. To be successful with your platform, make sure you have taken a position on the issues related to it, have considered solutions to platform-related problems, and have a clear, but unique point of view about the issue and related matters. Consider what others are saying and thinking, but then make it your own.
