Merry Christmas everyone! I know I'm a few days early, but merry Christmas anyway:) I love this time of year because it reminds me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family when so many others are left alone during the holidays. My thoughts are especially with all of our military personnel who are away from their families this year. I know what it is like to be away from home during the holidays and it is not easy to call home and here your family partaking in Christmas traditions without you! But if anything, it makes you appreciate the love and happiness family can give.

I was thinking back the other day to June when I first won the crown of Miss Maine and I remember thinking that I had plenty of time to prepare for Miss America, but now, it's almost January and I have just under a month before I have to leave for Vegas! Time flies but I do feel like I am ready for the challenge! The dress shop Moda Bella has been extremely helpful in my preparations. The owner, Diane Tucker, was so amazing and gave me two dresses for free to help complete my wardrobe. I am completely indebted to her and her kindness, talk about the Christmas spirit! The two cocktail dresses are fabulous and I highly recommend heading up to Moda Bella in Gardiner for all your fashion needs! Another shop called Simply You Too in Saco donated four outfits to me for Vegas! One in particular is great, I walked out of the dressing room wondering where my motorcycle was! I looked like a biker chick. Ha! But it will be a fun outfit to wear in Vegas. Thanks to Simply You Too!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I wish all of you the peace and love and a wondeful new year!
God Bless,

Susie

hey everyone! We're so close to raising the minimum amount of money for the Children's Miracle Network! Every dollar helps! Please consider donating to such a good cause especially during the Christmas season. Go to missamerica4kids.org to donate under my name:) Thanks everone!

Christmas in Harrison

Christmas has officially started and what better way to get things going than a parade! On Dec. 5th I was invited to be a part of the annual Christmas in Harrison. I've never been in a parade at this time of year and let me tell you...it's cold! But a very nice lady named "Muffett", the editor of Harrison's local paper The Village Voice, let me borrow her beautiful white fur coat! It kept me very warm, thank you Muffett! After the parade, all of the local businesses opened their doors to the public for fun activities like gingerbread man decorating, swag making, pony rides, horse draw carriage rides, hot chocolate, and visits with Santa! Local B&B's also allowed people in to check out their hospitable rooms and great service. Greenwood Manor Inn is my favorite by far. It could be because my parents are running the house! But it is still a gorgeous place and I'm sure if you stayed there, you would have a blast:) Check it out on the web! Later in the day they had a huge tree lighting and another parade with every float decorated with thousands of lights! It was snowing as well which made everything even more beautiful. I love this time of year and highly recommend going to Christmas in Harrison next year, it's a ton of fun!

Hey everyone! I have a challenge I need help with! I need to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and was wondering if you all could help me out! The Children's Miracle Network provides care for millions of kids each year. It is a non-profit organization that raises funds for 170 children's hospitals so that every child will be able to get treatment no matter the illness or whether they can afford care. Donations to the Children's Miracle Network create miracles by funding medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million kids each year. This is such a worthy cause, even a dollar will help! Your donation will be considered a tax write-off. Please consider donating and helping to make a differance! Go to www.missamerica4kids.org to donate! Click on "search for a contestant" on the left and type in my name, susanna stauble, to get to my page. We all have the ability to change lives.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely, Susie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day and eat lots of food! I think my Miss America diet can stand one day of gorging before I get back to the gym:) I don't think I would be able to pass up my mom's famous Sweet Potato Casserole, it's to die for, yum! I'm spending this Thanksgiving with my family up in Harrison, ME. My parents just bought a bed and breakfast so this will be the first holiday to christen it the new Stauble abode!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, not only because of all the good food but also because it helps me to take a step back and remember everything I have been blessed with so far this year. Sometimes with the rush of the holiday season and trying to get everything done that we all have to do each day, we forget just to stop and remember how good we have it. Today is a perfect day to forget all of that and enjoy each other's company and have a good time! Happy Thanksgiving to you all, now I have to get back to eating!!!!!


Susie

some more pictures from my fundraiser!

Hey everyone!What a great fundraiser! I could not have asked for a better turnout, everything was so successful! I have to thank all those that helped me with this huge endeavor. Thank you so much to the whole cast and crew who made this possible, also to Nikki Gribbin (director), Bill Ellis (musical director/emcee), Barb (aka Bip) Stauble (producer), and of course all of you who came to see the show! I had so much fun, I'm sad that we can't perform together one more time, or many times for that matter! One last thank you to the board of Windham Center Stage Theater. You all have been so kind and generous to me and truly appreciate everything! Here are some pics of the show!

Me and my sisters

Miss Teen Maine Shelbi Wassick and my sister Jill

ready to go on:)

Jill and Mo ready to go on before the show!

Ali getting ready backstage

WHERE IS MY CROWN! That has been the question that has been on my mind for the past week and all over the news as well! I am so shocked and saddened that someone would deliberately go into my car and steal, I feel incredibly violated. This crown represents so much more than just something each titleholder wears, it is a symbol of the Miss Maine/Miss America Organization. The design is extremely specific to the Miss Maine/Miss America Program donning four points standing for style, scholarship, success, and service. The crown also symbolizes the lengths at which the Miss Maine/Miss America Programs value the furthering of each titleholder's education, poise, interview and speaking skills, and many other necessary traits that are key to fulfilling the duties of Miss Maine. Not only does the crown stand for these ideals, but it is the outward symbol of our pageant, recognized by all. It is more than just a shiny piece of jewelry and I am devastated that someone would take it.

Having said all of that, I have been so touched by the tremendous out pour of support and good wishes that have been coming my way this past week! In fact, many people have offered to help pay or help fundraise the 300 dollars I need to buy a new crown! I want to sincerely thank all of you who have been so helpful in this time of stress. A new crown will be ordered on Monday and order will be restored! I am also grateful to Adrienne Watkinson, Miss Maine 2008 and her family for allowing me to borrow her crown until a new one can be restored to me. Thank you everyone!

My mom has always told me that everything happens for a reason and I have come to believe this quite strongly. Maybe this fiasco has happened to help me realize that although I am proud to wear the crown and represent all the wonderful things this program stands for, I am still Miss Maine without it! Even though I do not have a crown (at the moment) I still represent our beautiful state and all of the ideals our program stands for and instills in young women of today. I am still Miss Maine with or without a crown and will continue to do my job to the best of my abilities. This is a great lesson to learn. It is not what we wear on the outside that makes us who we are, we are who we choose to be. I do not need a crown to know who I am and what I stand for and I hope none of you need a prop to solidify who you are, even if it is really shiny! hahah

Talk to you soon!

Hey everyone! Once again, it's been a while, but boy has life been busy! First off, congratulations Kristin Korda for doing such a fantastic job at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant! She did such a wonderful job and awed the audience with her beautiful rendition of "The Prayer." Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen took the crown, but we all know that Kristin did a fabulous, fun time! I too was thrilled to be there cheering Kristin on. There were three nights of prelims and then the finals. I couldn't believe the talent these teens had! I was almost glad not to be competing with them because they were all phenomenal. Although, if the girls were that good at their age, I'm sure the Miss America contestants are going to be great as well. Speaking of the Miss America contestants, I met them all! This was the first time that ALL 53 contestants were able to cheer their teens on. What amazing young women. I truly felt honored to be put in the same group as these girls who have achieved so much. Although we were together for five days, it was almost impossible to meet every contestant, but the ones I have met so far have been lovely. Not only are they involved in their communities and all in the process of acquiring their degrees, they are poised, well-spoken, and gracious as well. It was a great time. I can't wait for January!

Since then, most of my time has been focused on getting some fundraising together! Because of my busy schedule I am not able to work as much as I would like to, so fundraising is extremely important right now. I have a good core group of people that have been helping me plan a big variety show fundraiser called, (get ready) Miss Maine's Marvelous Money-raising Musical Review. hahah I know. But you all should make plans to attend. It is going to be a awesome night full of Broadway tunes and great dancing, a silent auction, raffles, and a chance to hear me perform my song for Miss America! Save the date for Oct. 23 and 24!!! So needless to say, I have been busy planning for that.

But life has been good to me so far. Although summer is over, I was able to have one last adventure before buckling down for this coming fall. I recently returned from New Jersey and was able to go to a Yankees game!! Yes, I am a Yankees fan. My dad is from New York and I was brainwashed from an early age. But we happened to go to the game where Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for most hits by a Yankee! Wow did the crowd go wild, I love it! The new stadium is awesome as well. The Yankees have a legacy like no other. It was so cool to be there for a history making game!

Now it's back to the grind:) This upcoming weekend is the New England States' Conference! It is going to take place in Framingham, MA and all of the New England states will be there. The weekend will be full of workshops on how to better yourself and get ready for Miss America. All of the contestants will be able to perform our talents in front of Miss America, Katie Stam herself! It should be an exciting weekend.

I hope you all are doing well and having a good first few days of school, if you are still in school that is. I'll keep you posted!

Here are a few events coming up that I am involved with if you have some free time to participate or support!
----The Dempsey Challenge---- dempseychallenge.org
----Operation Tribute------OperationTribute.com

Hey everyone!

Sorry it has taken me so long to give an update, things have been absolutely crazy! I just returned from Philadelphia where I was visiting the president of the Miss Maine Scholarship Program, Valerie Clemens. Every year, Valerie brings the winner of Miss Maine to her BEAUTIFUL home in Radnor, PA to teach the new Miss Maine alllll about Miss America and how to be a better speaker, performer, dresser, and everything else that comes along with being a good Miss Maine and hopefully Miss America! The first few days were full of shopping in Philadelphia and NYC which was amazing. Although it was tiring, we managed to get all of my wardrobe for Miss America which was a huge weight off of my shoulders. I probably will not post pics of all the clothes because they are not totally finished yet and I want them to be a surprise! The rest of the week was fully of appearances and speech giving including Benchmark Summer Camp, Melmark School for the developmentally disabled, Rotary Club, Calcutta House, ESF Summer Camp, and many many more! Valerie's friend Lisa, the president of the Miss Kansas Scholarship Program was also visiting that week and gave me soooo many tips on being interviewed and giving speeches. I thought I was an ok speaker, but after having Lisa record me while I gave speeches, I now realize the amount of work that needs to be done! A very humbling experience, I assure you:) I actually stayed up until 130am one night while Lisa drilled me on different speech strategies. Overall a sometimes frustrating but incredible worthwhile experience. I could not have asked for two people that know as much about pageants as Valerie and Lisa, their insight is priceless and I am so appreciative of their help! I already feel more prepared for what is ahead. I will hopefully be keeping in contact with Lisa until Miss America so that I can receive even more advice. The last two days of my Philly trip was FULL of appearances. I was also able to meet a couple other Miss America contestants! I was able to be play hostess to Miss Connecticut, Miss Rhode Island, Miss Delaware, Miss New Hampshire, Miss Virgin Islands, Miss D.C., and Miss New Jersey. I am happy to report that all of the girls were great. I have to say that being involved with the pageant and being a part of this kind of competition has been pleasantly surprising. I have not witnesses any acts of unkindness or ill will towards anyone. Everyone is very supportive of each other which is something I am not that used to in other competitions! I am very excited to get to know them even more! As if the beginning of the week was not full enough, Valerie planned to have a mock interview for all of us girls! She had 5 professional judges come to evaluate us and invited some local press to ask us questions as well. After everyone was there, we ended up being interviewed, one at a time, in front of about 25 people! Very nerve racking! But again, extremely good for us. I would rather get all of the nerves out now and be confident for what it really counts, Miss America. After the interviews, each of us did our talents and a beautiful dinner followed. It was a great way to end the week! Needless to say, I was a very tired girl when I got home the following Sunday, but am so happy that I went. I don't know how Valerie does it! She's an amazing lady.

My next adventure will be in Orlando, FL on Aug. 12-16! That is when the Miss Outstanding Teen Pageant is taking place. I will be there supporting Maine's Outstanding Teen this year, Kristen Korda, wish her luck! Thanks for reading everyone! Talk to you later:)

This is so crazy! I never thought that I would be writing a blog to talk about my year as Miss Maine, but I am so excited to start! I have already met with some amazing people who are willing to help me through all of the paperwork and keep me down to earth in these first few overwhelming weeks. So far, I have had my hair color change, a complete change in my wardrobe, nails done, personal trainer called (she's got some work to do:), and more paperwork than I ever wanted to see in my life. I can tell that this is going to be a busy year, but one that I hope will teach me lessons that will help me for the rest of my life. That is one of the great assets of the Miss Maine Scholarship Program. No matter who wins, every contestent is changed, for the better. You learn invaluable skills in interviewing, public speaking abilities, how to walk (that was a big one for me), and even to face your fears of being in a swimsuit, to name a few. I am unbelievably pround to be apart of this program.
I have only been Miss Maine for a few weeks now, but have had so much fun already. I've done a few appearances at the Greek Festival in Portland, the Freeport Parade for July 4th, and was lucky enough to be able to go to the Miss Connecticut Pageant. I have to say that wearing my crown out in public was kinda crazy at first. I forgot that I had it on a lot of the time until a little girl or boy started staring and pointing!
Robert Towle has been working on my hair, trying to control the beast that is my hair. He is incredible and I highly recommend him to any of you, just go to Amore' Salon in the Old Port, you won't be disappointed! Anyway, I am now proud to say that I now have auburn hair. A change I did not think I would like so much! I can't wait to see what changes the rest of the year brings. Anyway, I will make sure to keep all of you posted throughout the year! Hopefully I can update the blog about every two weeks or so with new pictures! Thank you for all of the support so far, it really means a lot to know that so many people are there to help.

Till next time!!!

The Miss Maine Contestants