Young though she may be, 17 when she won this past January, she is wise beyond her years. Following a meeting with the Nebraska (her home state) delegation on Capitol Hill, Teresa had a substantive discussion with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, did an interview with The Hill newspaper, and then met with Rep. John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) who is the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

She rounded out the Congressional visits by attending the Congressional Correspondents Dinner, which honors journalists who cover Capitol Hill, where she was the guest of The Hill newspaper. Seated with Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), she received a round of applause after a shout out from the podium.

She spoke with Jenny Yeager Kaplan, Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, about the historical significance of the Miss America Organization as the largest provider of college scholarships and Miss America’s advocacy to encourage all young women to pursue college education, specifically those interested in science, technology, engineering and math.

Tuesday, Miss America took her message directly to the children in a visit with students from Washington’s Martin Luther King Elementary School. As Teresa concluded her events on Capitol Hill, she emphasized that the Miss America Organization is eager to work with Congress and the Obama Administration to help promote education initiatives nationally. Teresa believes that being Miss America means being a role model to young women across America, and advancing affordable and high-quality education for young women is a priority for her.

Me with Gretchen Carlson, MA 1989, Lee Meriwether, MA 1955 & Jean Bartel, MA 1943

I first met her in Los Angeles, when she invited me to her home. She was tall and very slender.  Dressed all in black, a refined string of pearls around her neck, she had wrapped her hair in a leopard print turban.  The first thing she did after greeting me was to apologize for her appearance.  But she looked elegant and cool, so no apologies were accepted. 

I felt like I was in the presence of a true lady.  She told me stories and made me laugh.  I found myself impressed with her forthrightness and warmth.   I saw her three more times at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, January 2008 – 2010.  She always showed up in her high heels and strapless dress, even well into her 80’s.

 Here’s a little history about this grand dame – Jean Bartel, Miss America 1943

Jean entered the Miss America pageant to satisfy her burning hunger to appear on Broadway. She was notable during her reign for raising more money in war bonds than anyone else ever before. As the first college girl to win the crown, she encouraged the Miss America Organization to start awarding scholarships, which it did in 1945. She was the first Miss America to refuse to model swimsuits during her reign. Jean was always an independent woman.

Jean as Miss America 1943

The entertainment industry recognized her talent and professionalism at an early age. With an actor’s equity card in her pocket as a precocious fourteen year old, she joined the Civic Light Opera of Los Angeles. The pageant then opened doors to a world she had been pursuing for several years. She took her exceptional voice and trademark smile around the world on tours to the Middle East, Europe, Canada, South American and every state of the Union except Maine. Ultimately, her Broadway dream became a reality when she became the first Miss America to star in a musical, “Of Thee I Sing.” Through the next several decades she continued to appear on television, stage and in film, performing well into her seventies. Every year she still dons an evening gown, puts on her lipstick and heads to the Miss America pageant.

Jean was a single professional woman at a time when most women were homemakers. Her love for travel was sparked by her globe-trotting touring schedule when she was performing. She took that passion and started her own travel agency, Jean Bartel & Associates, which she ran well into her seventies. Jean didn’t marry until twenty years after she was crowned. She met the man who would become her husband on one of her trips to Japan. Married for thirty-one years until he passed away in 2001, this grand dame, with her trusty dog Teddy, followed her dream all the way to the finish line.

Jean and her faithful companion, Teddy

From the KTNV-TV website….

Award-Winning Author Penny Pearlman drops by!

Posted: Jan 29, 2010 01:44 PM EST

Award-Winning author Penny Pearlman stopped by the Action News studios to chat about her book “Pretty Smart: Lessons from Our Miss Americas”

Pearlman has interviewed dozens of Miss Americas and reveals how women everywhere can implement powerful success strategies to blow up the “beauty but no brains” stereotype.

Pearlman says, “The Miss America Pageant, held in Las Vegas on January 30, 2010 at Planet Hollywood, will show that these women have shattered the stereotypes of Miss America contestants. At their core, they are goal-achieving and multi-talented women who know it takes more than just being pretty to be successful.”

“The former Miss Americas have passion, commitment, resilience and a firm belief in achieving their dreams,” says Success Coach Penny Pearlman.”  Within this group of women is a pioneer in female sportscaster (Phyllis George, Miss America 1971, was the first female pre-game NFL reporter allowed in the men’s locker rooms and confronted by dropped towels), the first disabled Miss America, Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995, who became deaf as a toddler, one was abused for years as a child, Marilyn Van Debur, Miss America 1958 and another former Miss America (Lynda Mead, 1960) grew up with an alcoholic mother.

 Penny Pearlman MBA has interviewed Gretchen Carlson, Miss America 1989, Co-Anchor of FOX & FRIENDS (FOX NEWS Channel), Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955, award winning actresss and Phyllis George, former TV host & sportscaster on CBS’s ‘The NFL Today’ among many others to find out their secrets of success.

Find her book at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble & at her website PennyPearlman.com.

The women who become Miss America are so much more than the stereotype. They have a dream and the drive to achieve it. Disciplined about doing what it takes to reach their goals, their passion, persistence and resilience push them past obstacles and help them deal with adversity.   These women turn out to be not just pretty, but pretty smart!

For my award-winning book, Pretty Smart: Lessons from our Miss Americas, I met with twenty-two of them in their homes, at their offices or over lunch, in places like Memphis, Denver, Louisville, Los Angeles, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Santa Fe, St. Petersburg and New York. 

In person, they shatter the “it’s only a beauty contest” perception with their intelligence, thoughtfulness, poise and eloquence. As Frank Deford, the award-winning Sports Illustrated writer and four-time Miss America judge, says in his book, There She Is: The Life and Times of Miss America, “No matter how many times it happens, the press finds itself surprised every time a beauty pageant winner is something other than a classic dumb blond.”

The Pageant, started in 1921, evolved from just a beauty contest into one that strives to provide opportunities for young women to stretch themselves in many directions. In 1945, Bess Meyerson was the first Miss America to receive a scholarship. As today’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women in the world through both the national, state and local chapters – over $45 million of in-kind scholarships in 2009 – it requires that the contestants be competent, curvaceous and directed, even though others may disparage the role.

Many people don’t see beyond the swimsuit competition. They think you can’t be beautiful and smart. This complicated mix of beauty and brains has always been a contradiction in American society, which often dismisses the possibility of being both. It takes guts, creativity, endurance, lots of plain hard work and a fire in the belly to achieve that pinnacle of femaleness.  Contrary to popular opinion, the Miss America Organization had a liberal feminist agenda years before Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963. The Miss America Organization promoted higher education for women starting in the 1940s when women in aprons were more the norm than women in business suits. Tens of thousands of young women, who participated in the pageant system at the local, state and national level, have acquired the means to get a college education and have enhanced their skills.

Mostly small town girls with big hearts and big dreams, they see the Pageant as an opportunity to actualize a larger vision for themselves. Being Miss America provides them with a platform to achieve their dreams of a higher education, access to a broad audience to promote a social cause and exposure to people who could help them get where they wanted to go. Rarely is the crown an end in itself. And, as for smart, most of them were or become graduates of the finest colleges and universities in the United States, including Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, Skidmore and Virginia Polytechnic University. Their ranks include magna cum laude graduates and Rhodes Scholar finalists. In 1974, a law student crowned a Ph.D. candidate. And then, they go on to make a difference.   They serve as role models for all of us.

A special report in Fourpoints Magazine aimed at contestants in the upcoming 2010 Miss America Pageant  stresses the importance of understanding who you are and of always being true to yourself, regardless of the advice and opinions of others. 

Sometimes we make assumptions about the expectations of others and try  to mold ourself to those expectations.  Then we discover that our assumtions were wrong.  When you follow your heart and trust your instincts you will usually come out ahead.  At the very least your sense of self will be strengthened.  When you are true to yourself, you feel validated and whole, not torn apart by the conflicting advice of others.

Though many misconstrue the intent of the Miss America Pageant, believing that if focuses predominantly on physical attractiveness, in truth, the judges are looking for that young woman who exemplifies a broad range of skills and personality traits.  As the FourPoints article explains, the job description for Miss America describes a woman charged with the responsibility of representing the best of contemporary womanhood – one who is comfortable in all kinds of settings with all kinds of people, who is someone worth looking up to and that has the ability to make a difference in people’s lives.  That’s a daunting task for anyone, let alone a young woman between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four.

A lot of beautiful women vie for the crown each year.  So why not crown them all?  So the judges look for those inner qualities of poise, confidence, intelligence and heart-based charm, all of which override mere physical attractiveness.  When they spot a contestant who shines with integrity and honors who she is, she could be wearing a flour sack and they will add her to their list of finalists.

Authenticity is the most effective cosmetic you can wear.  When you are true to yourself you honor everyone who you make contact with.  Remember that there is more than one right answer about how to achieve your dreams and you are the most important opinion maker when deciding which one is the best one for you.

 If you are looking for some inspiration, tips and techniques on The 7 “Must Knows” for Women in Business check out this video clip on Good Morning Connecticut and the accompanying article.   

My triple award winning book, Pretty Smart: Lessons from our Miss Americas, takes cues from former Miss Americas and explains how they succeeded in life before and after being in the world of beauty pageants.  They share their inspiring philosophies, attitudes and actions about what it takes to be a winner in any field.  These remarkable women turn out to be not just pretty, but pretty smart!

 Pretty Smart makes a great gift.  Get it for yourself, give it to the special women in your life who desires to follow their dreams all the way to success.

Me and Phyllis George at the Miss America Pageant

No lesson is ever lost – Phyllis George, Miss America 1971

Phyllis has never been satisfied with the status quo. Her mantra has always been that if you lose, don’t lose the lesson. She believes that you have to put yourself out there to gain higher ground. Throughout her life she has broken barriers and been a trailblazer.

As a newly minted former Miss America, she appeared in numerous commercials and was tapped to be the first female co-host on Candid Camera. She became the first female pre-game football sportscaster on national television, showcasing her signature style on CBS’s NFL Today for ten years. She co-hosted three Superbowls and six Rose Bowl parades. She later created two of her own prime-time shows on TNN, wrote five books, including two on the creative work of the hand, a cookbook and a self-help book, Never Say Never: Ten lessons to turn You Can’t into Yes I Can. She is in demand as an award-winning motivational speaker.

When she served as Kentucky’s First Lady during the 1980s, as the wife of Governor John Y. Brown, Phyllis took her boundless energy, restored the Governor’s mansion and wrote a book about the process. She went on to found the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft and support Kentucky craftspeople by selling their work through major retail outlets such as Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.

Looking for her next project she started her own prepared food company in her kitchen. Chicken by George revolutionized the fresh prepared food industry and proved wrong those who said it couldn’t be done. It was so successful that Hormel Foods bought the company several years later. She has had a successful line of beauty products featured on a home shopping network. At fifty she made her movie debut in Meet the Parents.

Phyllis never says no when a good cause calls. Through Save the Children, Phyllis has sponsored children in Appalachia since 1980 and now serves on the board of three non-profit organizations including the Miss America Organization. Phyllis is listed in the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World, and the 50 Greatest Women in Radio & Television by American Women in Radio & Television. “In the 1970s I was on the cover of People Magazine as the ‘First Lady of the Locker Room.’ In the 1980s, I was again on the cover of People as the ‘First Lady of Kentucky.’ In the 1990s my best one yet: Poultry Processing Magazine put me on their cover as the ‘First Lady of Chicken.’ Now I can die a happy woman!”

But she’s not done yet. She was awarded the prestigious Rita Hayworth award for her work as an advocate and spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Association, a task she took on after her mother and best friend passed away from the disease. Phyllis’s most difficult role ever was as her mother’s primary long-distance caregiver for ten years. She is now writing a book on caregiving to help others dealing with this heartbreaking disease. When she talks about her television reporter daughter and her entrepreneur son, Phyllis glows with pride. The word “never” is not in this woman’s vocabulary.

As I walked into the lobby of the Loew’s Hotel, a tall gleaming glass tower, 15 miles south of downtown Denver, I saw Marilyn, sitting erect, poised on the edge of a sofa just inside the revolving doors.
 
Her silver white hair was cut short and swept up off her face.  She was tall and slimmer than I had expected, her body, dressed in dark slacks and a light blue oxford well-starched button down shirt, was trim. I followed her into the hotel dining room.

Me and Marilyn Van Derbur, Miss America 1958

As we sat and talked, her light blue eyes were focused on me. All she ordered for lunch was a large bowl of blueberries that she dressed in a shower of Splenda.  I guessed that’s how she maintains her slim figure in addition to regular hikes in the mountains. 

As in other recent interviews with Phyllis George, Miss America 1971 and Rebecca King, Miss America 1974, I didn’t try to steer the conversation too much with direct questions.  Marilyn wanted to talk about her experiences as a child of incest and the people she had helped.  I was mesmerized by her intensity and passion.  I could see how she was a sought after motivational speaker, and how people felt comfortable turning to her in their pain. 

Her story is quite extraordinary, having been sexually abused for years as a child by her father.  Her family had been picture perfect to others, but behind closed doors, it was a torture chamber for Marilyn.  It took her decades to come to terms with what had happened to her.  By day she was the perfect child, by night a terrified creature in the dark.  To this day she has trouble sleeping and sleeps in a locked bedroom.  She is fortunate that her husband of many years, Larry, has supported her through all of her trauma.
 
Once she was willing to go public (that’s a whole other story) about her experiences, she found, rather than shame, support and gratitude from others who had similar experiences.
 
I knew from reading her book, Miss America by Day, that for a long time she didn’t like people to touch her, so I didn’t know whether she would want a hug at the end.  But she turned to me when we walked out and hugged me.  She had moved past her trauma and into embracing life.

“Miss America 1985 Sharlene Wells, Miss America 1948  class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”">BeBe Shopp, Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1981 Susan Powell, Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap and Miss America Organization Chairman of the Board, Sam Haskell, III are returning home from Afghanistan where they met thousands of U.S. and coalition troops.  Traveling along with our Miss Americas and Board Chairman was Miss Utah 2007 Jill Stevens Sheperd, a former combat medic deployed to Afghanistan in 2004-2005, and a Miss America finalist in 2007.

 Our six wonderful Miss Americas, Sam and Jill just spent the most amazing four days in Afghanistan after two days in Kuwait at Ali Al Salem Air Force Base where they met Wing Commander John R. Gordy and his staff.  They flew into Bagram Air Force Base last Thursday on an impressive C17 Cargo plane along with 150 soldiers and crew!

To begin their journey, they were fitted with bullet proof armor vests and helmets weighing 50 pounds each.  All of the Miss Americas, including 80 years young BeBe Shopp, carried their own armor.  Then they flew off via helicopters all over Afghanistan and other forward operating bases (FOBs), camps, including Command Central in New Kabul where they met personally with Major General John MacDonald and Lieutenant General Daniel Rodriguez. 

While in Afghanistan, Sam gave out over 500 copies of his book, Promises I Made My Mother to the soldiers, and one to each of the Generals.  The soldiers welcomed Sam and were thrilled to receive his book as their special gift that touched so many as a reminder of home. 

 Our Miss Americas brought cheers, laughter and even tears to our brave soldiers serving abroad. 

We are so proud to have had our Miss Americas, Sam and Jill travel to Afghanistan on such an important mission and so proudly represent America. We pray for their safe return to the U.S. and we send our thoughts and prayers for those serving our country so proudly, we salute our soldiers!”

Me and Gretchen at the 2009 Miss America Gala

People say that because the women who become Miss America are beautiful, doors open for them. The former Miss Americas interviewed for my award winning book, Pretty Smart: Lessons from our Miss Americas, admit to that. But what they will also tell you is that the door closes with a bang if there is no substance behind the beauty.

As a 23 year old graduate of Stanford University and a child violin prodigy, Gretchen who became Miss America in 1989, pursued the crown because of the opportunity that pageant participation afforded her to perform as a violin virtuoso and for the scholarship money she could win.

Though Gretchen now shops in the petite department, she will tell you that she packed a few extra pounds when she was younger. “I was a tomboy, not into my looks at all. I struggled with my weight my whole life, especially as a child. I was a chubby kid who faced a tremendous amount of ridicule. When I overheard a guy I wanted to go out with say, ‘She’s a really nice girl, but she’s too fat,’ I got my act together and lost thirty pounds.

“The morning after I became Miss America I shared that story at my first press conference. I thought it would be inspirational to young girls to know that you don’t have to fit into this perfect mold to end up becoming Miss America. I told the press that my brother used to call me nicknames like Blimpo. The next day the headline in the National Enquirer read ‘Blimpo Wins Miss America Pageant.’ That’s how they spun it. I thought I was giving a positive message.”

Though the National Enquirer chose to spin Gretchen’s comments to create controversy, in fact, she has continued to live a life worth emulating.