Behind the Headlines

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

When I was working on a feature story this summer about the Miss Monroe County Scholarship Pageant (See The Road to the Crown and Private Interview Tough on Contestants at monroenews.com), I found it interesting that, despite the age difference, today’s contestants still look up to Monroe’s Miss America 1988, Kaye Lani Rafko, as a role model and example of what to do when you get the crown.

In the meantime, one of my co-workers, Jeff Meade, was working on a 20th anniversary piece about the legacy of Kaye Lani. You can see Jeff’s story, printed today Sept. 16, and the special section from 20 years ago about Monroe’s Miss America at monroenews.com.