Susan Ewing-Rathfon
Susan Ewing-Rathfon was terrified as she walked out on stage.
She reached into a bowl full of slips of paper, each with a question. She had listened to the women before her, each competing for the state title. They drew cards one-by-one and answered challenging questions with eloquence and clarity. She thought: What would she do if she didn’t know how to answer or let stage fright get the best of her? But then came her turn.
Ewing-Rathfon pulled out a card that read, “Tell us about something that was difficult in your life and how it has changed you.” She knew just how to answer. It was the whole reason she was doing this, putting on the heels and sash, spending hours on hair and makeup and dedicating so much time to community service and speaking events. She has a platform, a passion to share and, through the Mrs. American pageant, she is doing just that.
Ewing-Rathfon is one of two Harrisburg women representing Pennsylvania in national pageants. Both Mrs. Pennsylvania American and Miss Pennsylvania are from the Harrisburg area. Other local women and girls are taking to the stage as well, as TheBurg has heard from other pageant contestants and wrote a story about two young Harrisburg pageant queens in last month’s issue.
Through it all, Harrisburg-area residents are bringing national attention to the city.
Both Ewing-Rathfon and Miss Pennsylvania, Miranda Moore, are stepping out on some of the most prominent pageant stages in the nation to make their region and state proud. With their new platforms, they each have messages to share, bringing to light issues like substance abuse disorder and sustainability.
“For me, pageantry is really about getting my voice out there,” Ewing-Rathfon said. “I just want to be remembered for my platform.”
A Mic and A Message
After Ewing-Rathfon answered the fishbowl question during the competition for the title of Mrs. Pennsylvania American, and shared her story on the stage, she posted the video to social media. Not long after, she saw a comment on the post.
“This woman said, ‘I want you to know, your message touched me so much,” Ewing-Rathfon said. “It’s a good reminder to me to keep going and that people are hearing my message.”
Ewing-Rathfon told her story of witnessing both her father and sister overdose and die from substance abuse and how she quickly became a mother to her 3-year-old niece.
At that time in her life, the thought of pageantry wouldn’t have crossed her mind. She was working full time and raising a child.
But competing in pageants was a part of Ewing-Rathfon’s past. Growing up, she was in love with the idea of becoming like the poised, elegant women she saw on TV. She competed in several competitions as a teenager and grew from lessons on public speaking and confidence.
About 18 years later, a friend introduced her to the Mrs. American pageant. Now that her daughter was a teenager and life had calmed down slightly, she decided to jump back in.
“Getting back into pageantry, the greatest shift was the focus was back on me and that is something I hadn’t had since I was much younger,” she said. “Like so many women, we lose sight of ourselves. It was a total mindset change for me—this idea that I’m going to focus on myself, but more importantly, that it’s OK.”
First as Mrs. Harrisburg and now Mrs. Pennsylvania American, Ewing-Rathfon has traveled around the area participating in community service and speaking events. Her main mission is to bring awareness to the issue of substance abuse.
She is especially passionate about sharing her story with high school and college groups and letting them know that they are not defined by the choices their family members have made.
She knows what it’s like to have feelings of shame and judgment associated with having a father in prison and two family members with addictions. But, with time, she learned that only she could decide who she would be.
“People are often shocked to learn what my life was like,” she said. “But I realized I wanted something better for myself.”
While competition season is busy, Ewing-Rathfon is also the founder and president of Crescent Strategy, a Harrisburg-based brand management firm. Juggling everything can be overwhelming, but she’s happy to add a crown to the list of hats she wears.
She will compete for the title of Mrs. American in late August.
“I’m proud of myself,” she said. “If all I’m remembered for is my platform and my message, that is success to me.”
Miranda Moore
Forever Better
For Miranda Moore of Susquehanna Township, pageantry first presented itself as an opportunity to earn a scholarship. She was a student at the University of Georgia, taking an additional year of classes and in need of some extra finances.
But pageantry quickly became much more.
“I always joke that I started for the scholarships but stayed for everything else,” she said. “I realized I got a lot better at public speaking, I was making a lot of friends, and I felt like I was getting out of my shell.”
Moore became Miss Central Pennsylvania in January and was crowned Miss Pennsylvania in June. Through the process, she has realized how much effort, service and hard work goes into pageants.
Moore is also an environmental engineer, working for UGI Utilities, which plays a big role in her platform as Miss Pa. She has participated in several STEM-focused events and is a major advocate for sustainability.
Only 11% of certified engineers are women, Moore said, which is why it’s important to her to serve as an example for younger girls and a way to envision themselves in the career.
“It’s cool to be able to break very old stereotypes because, of course, women can do anything and be anything,” she said. “I like to go into schools and show young people that you can wear the crown and the sash and be an engineer and get your hands dirty.”
For as long as she can remember, Moore has been interested in sustainability and environmental activism and, through her platform, advocates for conserving resources and creating a greener world.
In January, Moore will compete in the nationally televised Miss America competition wearing a sustainable wardrobe—thrifted, rented and upcycled pieces. In a society where fast fashion runs rampant, Moore hopes to model how to still dress fashionably, while still being ethically and environmentally minded.
While much of her work as Miss Pennsylvania has been focused on serving and educating others, the values, experiences and professional networking opportunities Moore has gained have been just as significant.
“I will be forever a Miss Pennsylvania. This will be something that I get to share and reflect on for the rest of my life,” she said. “I will be forever a better public speaker, forever a more well-rounded person, and better at communicating. These are all things that I’ll take away.”
Both Moore and Ewing-Rathfon, of course, hope to win the national titles. But, overall, they’re just proud to have made it this far, to represent Harrisburg and the commonwealth and to share their passions on a national stage.
“Harrisburg has really taken the world by storm,” Moore said.
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