# Miss America 1981

Miss America 1981, the 54th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1980 on NBC Network. It was the first time Ron Ely hosted, replacing Bert Parks who had hosted for 25 years. It was also historic as two black women, Lencola Sullivan of Arkansas and Doris Hayes of Washington, made the finals for the first time.
The winner, Susan Powell of Oklahoma, later became co-host of the series Home Matters on the Discovery Channel.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss America 1981 | Oklahoma – Susan Powell |
| 1st Runner-Up | Alabama – Paige Phillips |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Mississippi – Donna Pope  New Jersey – Therese Hanley |
| 4th Runner-Up | Arkansas – Lencola Sullivan |
| Top 10 | Connecticut – Jeanne Caruso  New York – Cheryl Flanagan  Ohio – Kathy Vernon  Texas – Terri Eoff  Washington – Doris Hayes |

### Preliminary awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Lifestyle and Fitness | Arkansas - Lencola Sullivan Minnesota - Debra Goodwin Mississippi - Donna Pope |
| Talent | Alabama - Paige Phillips New York - Cheryl Flanagan Oklahoma - Susan Powell (tie) Washington - Doris Hayes (tie) |

### Other awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Non-finalist Talent | Colorado - Kimberly Christiansen Illinois - Blythe Sawyer Maryland - Lisa Marie Daskal Massachusetts - Amy Linder Minnesota - Debra Goodwin Montana - Lilly Cruise Nebraska - Paula Louise Mitchell North Carolina - Janet Black Oregon - Teresa Richardson Vermont - Carole Spolar |

## Delegates

| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Alabama | Paige Phillips | Leeds | 17 | Vocal/Ventriloquism to "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" by Al Jolson | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent | |
| Alaska | Sandra Lashbrook | Eagle River | | | | | |
| Arizona | Brenda Strong | Tempe | | | | | Actress in Desperate Housewives |
| Arkansas | Lencola Sullivan | Morrilton | 21 | Vocal, "St. Louis Blues", composed by W.C. Handy | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit | First African-American contestant to place as a runner-up at Miss America |
| California | Robin Brooks | Elverta | | | | | |
| Colorado | Kimberly Christiansen | Arvada | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Connecticut | Jeanne Caruso | Trumbull | 21 | Vocal/piano, Original song, "A Song for Tomorrow" | Top 10 | | divorced Joe Theismann |
| Delaware | Andra Lee Dickerson | Newark | | | | | |
| Florida | Caroline Dungan | Bradenton | | | | | |
| Georgia | Lynn Smith | Savannah | | | | | |
| Hawaii | Kanoelehua Cook | Aiea | | | | | |
| Idaho | Leslie Taylor | Burley | | | | | |
| Illinois | Blythe Sawyer | Naperville | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Indiana | Teri Kardatzke | Anderson | | | | | |
| Iowa | Jane Patton | Council Bluffs | | | | | |
| Kansas | K. Leann Folsom | Wichita | | | | | |
| Kentucky | Daphne Cochran | Louisville | | | | | |
| Louisiana | Martha "Missy" Crews | Baton Rouge | | | | | |
| Maine | Valerie Crooker | Brunswick | | | | | Miss Maine USA 1979 |
| Maryland | Lisa Marie Daskal | Cumberland | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Massachusetts | Amy Linder | Lowell | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Michigan | Heidi Hepler | Livonia | | | | | |
| Minnesota | Debra Goodwin | Austin | | | | Preliminary Swimsuit, Non-finalist Talent | |
| Mississippi | Donna Pope | McNeil | 24 | Ballet on pointe to Overture from "Oklahoma!" | 2nd runner-up (tie) | Preliminary Swimsuit | |
| Missouri | Carla LaFevre | Harrisonville | | | | | |
| Montana | Lilly Cruise | Miles City | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Nebraska | Paula Louise Mitchell | Norfolk | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Nevada | Phyllis Hamlin | Reno | | | | | |
| New Hampshire | Diane McGarry | Manchester | | | | | |
| New Jersey | Therese Hanley | Jersey City | | "Starting Here, Starting Now" by Barbra Streisand | 2nd runner-up (tie) | | |
| New Mexico | Teresa Elizabeth Anderson | Hobbs | | | | | |
| New York | Cheryl Flanagan | Rochester | 18 | Tap dance to Overture from "That's Entertainment, Part II" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent | |
| North Carolina | Janet Black | Kannapolis | | | | Non-finalist Talent | Top 5 at Maid of Cotton 1980 |
| North Dakota | Karen Moe | Minot | | | | | |
| Ohio | Kathy Vernon | Youngstown | 24 | Vocal, "I Have Dreamed" from The King and I | Top 10 | | |
| Oklahoma | Susan Powell | Elk City | 21 | Operatic vocal, "Lucy's Aria" from Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "The Telephone" | Miss America 1981 | Preliminary Talent (tie) | |
| Oregon | Teresa Richardson | Forest Grove | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Pennsylvania | Anita Ellen Patton | Lebanon | | | | | |
| Rhode Island | Dawn Potter | Pascoag | | | | | |
| South Carolina | Donna Jewell | Columbia | | | | | |
| South Dakota | Carol Barnett | Sioux Falls | | | | | |
| Tennessee | Sarah Leonard | Jonesborough | | | | | |
| Texas | Terri Eoff | Lubbock | 19 | Dramatic Monologue from "A Bad Play for an Old Lady" by Elizabeth Lovett | Top 10 | | |
| Utah | Jean Bullard | Provo | | | | | |
| Vermont | Carole Spolar | St. Albans | | | | Non-finalist Talent | |
| Virginia | Holly Jereme | Roanoke | | | | | |
| Washington | Doris Hayes | Tacoma | 20 | Vocal, "Our Love Is Here to Stay" by George Gershwin | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent (tie) | First African-American preliminary winner |
| West Virginia | Pamela Ellen Paugh | Charleston | | | | | Aunt of JonBenét Ramsey, Sister of Miss West Virginia 1977 |
| Wisconsin | Dana Spychalla | Appleton | | | | | |
| Wyoming | Susan Pennington | Casper | | | | | |