Miss America: Making a difference since 1921

Back in 1988, newly crowned Miss America Kaye Lani Rae Rafko was scheduled to sign autographs at an event in Portland, Ore., when there was a delay in the entertainment program. So Rafko was asked to help fill 15 minutes of time. A registered nurse, Rafko started speaking to the crowd about issues close to her heart — health care and her dream of opening a hospice in her hometown.

"The media just loved it and the hospital loved it. They said, 'You need to be out there speaking on behalf of nursing,'" said Rafko. "Everywhere I went, I requested a visit to a local hospital or a visit to a high school to encourage them to look at nursing as a career. The timing was perfect. It was my year to make a difference for nursing."

Rafko is credited as the first Miss America to have a platform — a social issue championed by the contestants — which she continued to work on well after her reign. But she is just one of the many motivated Miss America titleholders who have gone on to make a major impact. And while the pageant itself has evolved over the last 88 years, one thing has remained constant since 1921: Miss America is a smart, tenacious woman who continues to push boundaries well after her reign.

What makes a queen
Take Miss America 1999, Nicole Johnson, who has worked diligently to increase awareness of diabetes and to raise funds for treatment. Johnson suffers from Type 1 diabetes herself and is the first contestant with a chronic disease to win the crown.

"I was told that because of diabetes that I would never graduate from college, would never be a journalist or a professional woman, that I would never become a mother and that I should never participate in something like Miss America," Johnson said. "It was perfect timing to bring this public health issue into the forefront and the spotlight."

Because of Miss America, Johnson was able to gain entrée with government officials, including legislators, the surgeon general and the secretary of health and human services. To increase her knowledge of the field, she earned a master's degree in public health and is planning to pursue a PhD.

"It helps a great deal to have such a respected and well-known title that gets you in the door — but it only gets you so far," said Johnson, who worked to secure $150 million in federal funding every year for diabetes research. "The title of Miss America can work for and against you at the same time. It can get you the political meeting, but it's up to the woman to fight for credibility. It's why women who hold the position are so strong and vociferous. You learn by fire how to be."

Kate Shindle, 1998's winner, used the wholesome image of Miss America to break down the taboos surrounding some controversial issues. Her platform was HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention, and she spoke in schools about condom distribution and needle exchanges, but drew criticism that she was encouraging teen sex and drug use.

"Miss America gives you an international forum for your service that is really hard to come by for people in their 20s," said Shindle, who was able to raise an estimated $20 to $30 million for AIDS organizations during her reign. "Miss America taught me to have a voice. And when you speak up and are passionate, people respect that."

Jane Jayroe, Miss America 1967, was able to push gender barriers because of her title. Growing up, there were no female news anchors except for Barbara Walters, and Jayroe thought the possibility of becoming one was remote.

Miss America 1988, Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, is credited as the first Miss America to have a platform — a social issue championed by the contestants.

"I could not have gotten started in my career if it hadn't been for Miss America," said Jayroe, who was a news anchor in Oklahoma City and Dallas for 17 years. "The name recognition allowed me to get a job. I was in that first class of women that were hired as TV news anchors."

Jayroe went on to work in the Oklahoma cabinet as the secretary of tourism, and has written an autobiography, "More Grace than Glamour: My Life as Miss America and Beyond."

What makes a pageant
But although the criteria for what makes a good beauty queen has remained unchanged since 1921, the format of the show itself is evolving. In a bid to compete in a community-focused era of reality TV, the pageant is putting voting power in the hands of the viewers.

For the second year in a row, the road to pageantry was documented via a TLC reality show, "Countdown to the Crown." This year, the series followed 52 state title holders as they lived together on an ocean liner and participated in individual and team competitions to help them prepare for the pageant.

Special feature Miss America: Where are they now? Find out what happened to these lovely ladies after they passed on the crown.

And in a new twist, viewers will get to select four contestants to be among top 15 candidates in Las Vegas on Saturday. Voting takes place via text messaging and online the night before the show.

The latest change is just another step in how the pageant has changed to stay relevant, said Vicki Gold Levi, who has served as a Miss America judge.

The pageant originally started in 1921 as an Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce initiative to extend the tourist season, said Levi, who is an author and Atlantic City historian The first big change came in 1945, when Bess Myerson was the first Miss America to receive a scholarship; now the pageant is the largest provider of scholarships for young women in the country. The addition of social issues has helped keep the pageant culturally significant, Levi said.

But no matter how the pageant changes, Miss America 1967 Jane Jayroe still thinks that winners share common characteristics.

"You don't end up at that level of competition in a pageant unless you are disciplined and pretty focused," she said. "You have certain values about what you want to achieve in life. There's an inner sense of wanting to be the best you can be and wanting to contribute to a better world."

The Miss America 2009 pageant airs on TLC at 8/7 central on Saturday, Jan. 24.

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