MMSP Fast Facts
- Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant is the official state preliminary to Miss America, one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the largest source of scholarships for women in the world.
- Developed by the Miss America Organization, the Miss America and Miss Maine programs provide professional and personal opportunities to young women and help promote a voice in politics, culture, and the community. The program provides a forum for today’s young women to express their viewpoints, talents, and accomplishments.
- A not-for-profit organization that maintains a tradition of empowering American women to achieve professional and personal goals
- Miss Maine receives thousands of dollars in college scholarships and an all-expense paid trip to compete for Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.
- Each contestant regardless of placement earns valuable college assistance.
- Currently the Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant is one of the lowest funded programs in the United States.
- The Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant is comprised entirely of volunteers (100%).
- Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant mission statement – “As a not-for-profit organization, whose primary responsibilities are to raise and award scholarships, the Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant also provides the young women of Maine opportunities for growth and achievement.”
- Miss America crowned its first winner in 1921. Miss Maine crowned its first winner in 1935.
- Miss Maine contestants compete in the following categories: Private Interview (25%), Talent (35%), Lifestyle and Fitness (15%), Evening Wear (20%), On-stage Question (5%).
- Miss America crowned its first winner in 1921. Miss Maine crowned its first winner in 1935.
- Miss Maine 1970 Karen Johanna Johnson was named Second Runner-up to Miss America.
- Miss Maine 1971 Allyn Warner was named Fourth Runner-up to Miss America. She also won a Preliminary Talent Award.
- Miss Maine 1980, Valerie Crooker, became the first contestant in the country to hold both a Miss America State title (1980) and the Miss Maine USA (1979) title in the country.
- Miss Maines who have received Non-finalist talent awards are Marilyn Lash (1972), Laurie Wathen (1987), Elizabeth Edgecomb (2003), and Ami Vice (2004).
- Miss Maine 1961, Dawn Frances Christie won Most Talented Musician Award (Non-finalist talent award) at the Miss America Pageant. She was a pianist.
- Prior to the 1990’s, Miss America organized a USO Troupe. Among the Miss Maine participants were Miss Maine 1964 Ellen Warren, Miss Maine 1971 Allyn Warner, and Miss Maine 1975 Patricia Cyr.
- Miss Maine 2004 Ami Vice is the first Miss Maine to win the Bernie Wayne Award for the Performing Arts. Miss Maine 1975 Patricia Cyr won a Dr. & Mrs. David B. Allman Scholarship (for women pursuing a career in the medical field).
- Valerie Crooker Clemens, Miss Maine 1980 and President of the Miss Maine Scholarship Pageant, Inc., was President of the National Association of Miss America State Pageants in 2005. She was the first to hold that position from the State of Maine and held that position for 16 months, making her the person to hold that position the longest.
- Miss Maine 2004 Ami Vice won $17,000 in scholarships from the Miss Maine and Miss America Pageants and over a total of $30,000 in scholarships, awards, and prizes.
- Web address is www.missmaine.org.
