Senior Reporter
BELFAST (May 5): So impressed was Katee Stearns by her live appearance on the Miss USA beauty pageant last month that the UMaine sophomore has changed her major.
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| Katee Stearns in the gown she wore to the Miss USA coronation ball. (Karen Stearns) |
Stearns became the first Miss Maine in 30 years to finish in the top 15 during the annual pageant watched by millions. The 5-foot, 10-inch beauty, who has majored in dance and kinesiology, said her 20 days in Baltimore preparing for the pageant were a lesson in discipline
"We rehearsed on the stage where the pageant was held for 11 hours a day for a week," she said. Some of the footage that accompanied the pageant on NBC was filmed before the live broadcast, but Stearns said friends told her she was on-camera frequently.
"I had no idea I would make the top 15," she said, a distinction that qualified her for the swimsuit part of the live competition. Though she felt confident as she walked before the cameras, "I was flipping out inside," she said.
Stearns lived in a small hotel room in Baltimore and got along well with the other contestants. They were sometimes awakened at 5 or 5:30 a.m. to begin long days that included rehearsals, attendance at an Orioles game and a governor's ball. "We were always going somewhere," she said.
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| Katee Stearns is in the second row from the back, third from right, in this photo taken with host Donald Trump, front and center, of course. (Karen Stearns) |
Before her appearance, Stearns spent several days in Waldo County raising money to defray her expenses and making appearances on behalf of the pageant. Her local sponsors included Ducktrap Fish Farm, Murphy's Coffee House, Holmes' Florist, Bay Area Fitness, WERU, Belfast Harbor Inn, the Purple Baboon, Minuteman Sign Centers, Casco Bay Brewing, the Lookout Pub, Rockland Ford, Bennett's Gems and Jacobs' Art Gallery.
She found strong support for the pageant in Maine, she said, and will spend time encouraging other Maine women to apply to be contestants. She will also do a few more fundraisers after school ends at Orono. She is also thinking about entering other beauty pageants, she said.
Stearns' mother, Karen, lives in Belfast and works for Seaport Family Practice. She attended the preliminary pageant a week before the show at which all 51 contestants answered a question and appeared in ball gowns and swimsuits.
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| Katee Stearns as she appeared on NBC during the Miss USA pageant April 21. |
She praised Katee for being "self-made. Everyone in Maine should be proud" she did as well as she did, Stearns said.
She noted that Miss Texas won $10,000 and a new car for taking the state title; Katee received $1,000 and several gift packages.
The Miss USA contest is a co-production of Donald Trump and NBC. Stearns said she met the wealthy businessman and TV star at a pageant-related party, along with other celebrities, including singer Barry Manilow.
The winner of the 2006 edition was Tara Elizabeth Conner, a 20-year-old woman from Kentucky. The pageant was co-hosted by TV stars Nancy O'Dell and Drew Lachey.
Based in Belfast, Senior Reporter Jay Davis can be reached at 207-338-0484 or by e-mail at jdavis@villagesoup.com.
Source: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/AandE/story.cfm?storyID=71783
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