Q+A: KATIE HARMAN, FORMER MISS AMERICA

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

What: Miss America Pageant

When: 4:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Aladdin

Tickets: $95.24; 785-5555 , ticketmaster.com

CD signing: Former Miss America Katie Harman; 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday; Aladdin's Grand Ballroom A, at the Miss America Tradeshow & Sales Mart; $3; 785-5555

Excitement always surrounds a Miss America Pageant, an American tradition since 1921, when it began in Atlantic City as a bathing suit competition.

But the excitement that dominated the event in 2001 was one of terror - on the day that the 51 contestants were to begin rehearsing, terrorists attacked New York City and Washington, D.C.

Katie Harman won that year, and her 2002 reign encompassed the months of uncertainty that followed the attacks.

The former Miss Oregon will be among those at the Aladdin on Monday night, attending the pageant that moved to Las Vegas last year.

On Saturday, Harman will be at the Miss America Tradeshow & Sales Mart to sign copies of her debut album, "Soul of Love."

She recently talked to the Sun about being the 9/11 Miss America.

Q: Tell us about the pageant, leading up to the fateful day.

We first met in Philadelphia to get to know each other, and then we were shuttled to Atlantic City on Sept. 10. We were starting our first day of rehearsal on the 11th. Police officers who were guarding us came into our dressing room and advised us of what had happened and then shuttled us into a secure facility. No one knew what was happening. They wanted to get us to a secure location because of the nature of who we were and the very American tradition we were involved in.

How did the competitors react?

You have 51 young women between the ages of 17 and 24, so our first inclination was, "Where are my parents? Are my friends OK? Are my family members OK? Are the people that I know in New York OK?" All of us had a personal connection.

And second, of course, we wondered, "Are we in danger?" We were about to go into competition for a once-in-a-lifetime thing, which of course at that moment it didn't matter. To be honest, nobody cared about being Miss America at that time. We were, "What is going to happen to our nation and our way of life?"

What did the contestants do differently from past years' events?

I liken it to a masquerade party in which everyone takes off their masks. These pageant girls - who had worked, some of them their whole lives, to get there - you have your mask on; you have your competition face on; you're ready to go and claim the title of Miss America. But on Sept. 11 those masks were removed. We became more comfortable with each other in showing each other our true selves. We became very, very bonded. The Miss America Organization has said - and having experienced it I now see it - we were the closest group to ever go through the Miss America Pageant and the only group since to remain as close. There was no cattiness, no infighting.

Was there a move to cancel the pageant?

We were given the chance to decide whether the pageant was relevant or not that year, given the circumstances, and whether it should continue. ABC television and the Miss America Organization gave that decision to us.

In a closed-room session, the 51 of us gathered in a circle and discussed probably for an hour and a half whether we felt the pageant was something that needed to continue that year; whether it was relevant; whether we could tell the nation what our mission was in going on, or what it would be if it didn't continue. We discussed it and took a private vote and voted in favor, 2 to 1, of going ahead with the pageant.

How did you vote?

I voted in favor. I'm still thankful we did, but I didn't expect to be Miss America. I was very touched.

What was your background in beauty pageants before then?

I had only been competing for two years. I had started the year prior to that, competing in the Miss Oregon Pageant because I needed scholarship money for college. I was in my sophomore year of college and needed money to continue, so, on a whim, I said, "OK, I need money, I really need scholarship money and that's what they provide, scholarship money."

How important was the scholarship money?

I would not have been able to go on.

I won Miss Oregon, first runner-up, the first year, and then I won the title outright the following year, and then I became Miss America. All together I won over $75,000. After my reign ended I finished my education - getting my degree in communication and vocal performance in 2005.

I understand you met your husband, Tim, while you were touring.

Yes. He was a pilot with the Oregon National Guard. Because of Sept. 11, I did a lot of USO things. I was asked to put in an appearance at my hometown, at the Portland Air National Guard base. Tim was the only single pilot there at the time. He was an outdoorsman and knew nothing about Miss America. He was asked to be my host while I was there and the rest is history.

Do you have children?

Yes. I gave birth to our son, Tyler, about a week after I finished work on my degrees.

What was it like to reign during the year after 9/11?

I had a dual-purpose year. I had a strong commitment to the breast cancer community - I traveled 20,000 miles a month on a national speaking tour for breast cancer - and I did a lot of national rallying events, Ground Zero, the Pentagon, USOs and other places.

I thought of it as a year of being an ambassador to the nation and to the breast cancer community. I was an Ambassador of Hope, encouraging people on both ends. It was both a heart-wrenching and a heartwarming firsthand look at America. I saw acts of heroism and courage a 21-year-old doesn't often get to see.

It truly changed my life.