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When Dreams Take Flight Miss Vermont Flies Herself To Miss America

photo by provided Active in several sports , Erin loves to referee and can be seen at many different sites around the state.

photo by provided Earning her pilot's license before her state driver's license, Connor can't wait to be the first Miss America contestant ever to fly herself to Atlantic City and the incredible two weeks leading up to the Miss America competition.

photo by provided The youngest of seven raised on a Bridport farm, Erin Connor is as at home in barn boots and doing chores as she is at the controls of an airplane.

photo by provided Vermonters are excited to cheer on Miss Vermont Erin Connor as she takes the stage in Atlantic City and is even setting a new standard by flying her self to the contest.

Tuesday August 29, 2017

By Cookie Steponaitis

Erin Marie Connor was born the youngest of seven on a family farm in Bridport, Vermont and spent her youth trying to do everything her older siblings did. Whether it was hockey, softball, football, basketball, or driving the farm equipment, Erin would not be left behind. She could climb the silo faster and was tractor safe at the youngest age. She followed her sisters into national speech/oratorical contests and spoke to a crowd of 5,000 when she was eight years old. Undaunted by the size of the crowd, Erin grabbed the microphone and spoke about her family, her farm, and lessons about life she had learned there. When she turned ten she sat squeezed between siblings on the couch when two future dreams emerged. The family was watching Miss America as it did each year and was trying to guess the winner. “Mama,” piped in Erin. “I’m going to walk on the stage someday and I’m going to fly planes like Amelia Earhart.” The family chuckled and filed it away with memories of the youngest sibling.
    On August 27th, 2017 dreams will take flight. Already a private pilot at the age of 22, Erin will taxi down the runway of Burlington International Airport in her sponsored single engine plane and will fly herself to Miss America’s home base in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There Erin will take the walk she dreamed of when she was ten.
    Crowned Miss Vermont 2017 on April 21, 2017 at the Vergennes Opera House, Connor is a recent graduate of UVM and earned her private pilot’s license before she had her Vermont Driver’s license. Promoting a platform of involving children with careers in STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Connor travels the state bringing aviation games and experiments to students from grades K-12. While her own passion involves young people learning more about the over 300 different careers in aviation, Connor feels it is more about dreaming outside the box. “ I was always encouraged to try everything, no matter the game, sport or project,’ explained Miss Vermont. “ I was raised to succeed and not to really see labels of for boys or girls only.”
    As Connor soars above the Green Mountains on her way to compete for the job of Miss America, there are no glass ceilings and no limits. Connor acknowledges her walk on the Miss America stage would not be possible without the time, love and supports of friends, family, sponsors and the Miss Vermont Scholarship Organization. “I am literally surrounded by love,” grinned Connor. “How can you beat that?”
    Ready at all times for what Miss Vermont appearances bring, Connor’s car (sponsored by Denecker Chevrolet) has a back seat containing barn boots, rain boots, flats, sneakers, cleats and high heels. With 68 appearances under her belt since April, Connor works a 40 hour a week job and travels the state from one end to another. One day might include goat races, public school classrooms, a farm stop and a visit with a city official. Connor laughingly calls her days from barn to boardroom.
    No longer chasing after her siblings, Miss Vermont is not realizing her own dream. As the plane lifts off and Connor’s trademark pink headset fades from view- a little girl’s dreams are becoming a reality. “I just want children to dream without limits and labels. I was given that chance and I want that for all children.  The CEO of Miss America Sam Haskell told us all at orientation that a family has greater odds of having a son play in the Super bowl than they have of a daughter standing on the Miss America stage. I want young people to grow up selecting dreams not because of gender or tradition, but because of their own personal passions. I am very proud to represent my state at Boardwalk Hall in front of over 10,000 people.” The best wishes of a state go with Erin to Miss America and celebrate her journey that getting to that stage has taken her. The youngest of seven is on her way and the state sending her could not be more proud.

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