Las Vegas Weekly

May 20, 2009 · 6:57 AM

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam visits U.S. soldiers stationed overseas

By Robin Leach

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam and U.S. soldiers.

Photo: Miss America Organization

Back in January, young Seymour, Ind., resident Katie Stam won the Miss America 2009 title at Planet Hollywood here on the Strip. She admitted at the time that it was her first out-of-state trip. Now our ambassador of America is on a one-year whirlwind journey to every state -- and even, for the first time in 30 years, overseas.

Katie, now 22, traveled to Germany to visit the U.S. troops and their families and met up with Col. Kevin McAleese, who is the executive director of the Miss Philadelphia Pageant when not serving overseas in the military! She also went to elementary and high schools in Stuttgart to talk to students there about the importance of community service and involvement. She told them: “With self-confidence and believing in yourself, dreams can be achieved.”

Katie also visited recovering soldiers at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s intensive care unit. “They’re really amazing people,” Katie said. “They’ve dedicated their lives to upholding the integrity of our nation fighting for our freedom and putting their lives on the line. I wanted to thank them personally for their unwavering commitment and personal sacrifices.”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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