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04/05/2022
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By Allan Brown May 04, 2022
It was a different time, a different era.
The political divide currently facing our country was certainly there, however, the social protests on our nation's campuses and cities were focused on the Vietnam War and equal rights for women.
One constant for the past 100 years, though, has been the Miss America Pageant, with the word pageant now being changed to competition to be more relevant and to eliminate the glitz and pomp the former word supposedly implies.
For Laurel Schaefer-Bozoukoff, it doesn't matter what you call Miss America, she is just proud to have worn that crown and sash.
Even if it was 50 years ago.
After being crowned Miss Ohio in June 1971, the Ohio University graduate was on her way that September to Atlantic City, the site of the Miss America Pageant.
"I wanted to be in the top 10 so my friends and family could see me on TV," she said, adding, that she never really dreamed she would win the ultimate prize.
Schaefer-Bozoukoff said she was content to win the state crown and return home following the national pageant to serve out her reign as Miss Ohio.
"I was excited to be Ohio's representative and to travel as Miss Ohio and attend events and festivals," she said.
The national panel of judges, however, had another destiny in mind for Schafer-Bozoukoff who graduated from OU in May 1971 with a bachelor of fine arts degree. She double majored in theater arts.
After winning the preliminary swimsuit competition in Atlantic City on the night before the finals, Schaefer-Bozoukoff was suddenly catapulted to front-runner status.
And while, even that preliminary win didn't convince her she would win on Saturday night, at least one fellow contestant took notice.
"Miss Alabama came up to me and said 'I think you're going to win tonight," Schaefer-Bozoukoff said. "It struck me profoundly that someone thought I had a chance of winning. It was the first time I thought of it. I never once spoke of a what if you win,"
While pageant contestants often have a perceived reputation for being solely focused on themselves and not interested in being Miss Congeniality, Schaefer-Bozoukoff said she didn't experience anything but positive experiences from her pageant sisters.
"In the dressing room (on Saturday during rehearsal for the finals), a number of contestants patted me on the shoulder to congratulate me on my swimsuit win. it was a wonderful feeling of comradery. We all felt that we were all in this together."
That feeling for that group of contestants never completely went away, either, she said, noting that she helped form a Zoom reunion of that group a few years ago and many still remain in touch.
As for the swimsuit competition that solidified Schaefer-Bozoukoff's chances of winning Miss America, there's an interesting story behind that, too.
While most contestants would buy new swimsuits, Schaefer-Bozoukoff could never find one that she felt comfortable in, so she opted to, instead, wear the same suit she had worn while lifeguarding during her freshman and sophomore years at OU.
"I had the one-piece Jantzen in my closet. I never found another one that I felt comfortable in," she said, adding that the number of reporters covering the pageant took notice of the never-before-seen color of her swimsuit and questioned her about it after her win.
"The press said it was an unusual color. I told them it was sun-faded, coral," she laughed when she recalled wearing that suit that, after years of being exposed to the sun and chlorine in the pool had definitely seen better days.
"There was even a little bit of puckering in the suit," she noted.
That was proof positive to Schaefer-Bozoukoff that the oft-maligned, and now completely dropped area of judging - was more about traits way more important than just showing off your physique in a swimsuit.
"Swimsuit was a matter of being comfortable and confident," she said. "Being in evening gown was something I loved, being in swimsuit was what I needed to do."
As the Bexley native fondly recalls her year of service as America's best-known Miss, she is taken back to a time that seems so far removed and ancient to today's generation, yet it's a time that produced many cultural similarities to those troubled years of the early 1970s.
During her year, Schaefer-Bozoukoff not only traveled this country promoting the pageant, she also led a USO Tour in Vietnam and Thailand.
While the USO Tour remained a constant for many years after Schaefer-Bozoukoff's reign, she was the last Miss America dispatched to Vietnam.
Her love and admiration for those serving in the military did not come from her winning Miss America, rather, she chose to advocate for our troops for many other reasons that were already instilled in her long before winning the crown.
In fact her devotion to the serviceman in this country led to a simple request she made to pageant organizers shortly after winning the title.
"I asked (pageant executives) if I could express some of my opinions and not to hold back on opinions of socially relevant issues," she said.
Pageant officials were understandably nervous, but agreed to her request.
"I did not support the war effort per se, but I did support the military. Those in the military put their lives on the line everyday," said the daughter of a former naval officer.
Her support for those serving even led to her wearing a pewter wristband with the name of a serviceman who was missing in action.
She wanted to encourage others to do the same.
Schaefer-Bozoukoff understood that if she were going to express her views on controversial topics, she must be educated on the other side of the issue. That's something she mastered brilliantly during her reign, even winning the support of the majority of the audience in a televised debate with women's rights advocate Gloria Steinem on a talk show in Canada.
"I had been a debater. I understood that you can't have an opinion without acknowledging the opposite view."
Being allowed to speak her mind proved to be a success and led the pageant to becoming more socially relevant. It ended up impacting the Miss America Organization, just as much as it did Schaefer-Bozoukoff.
In fact, she took the pageant into a whole new stratosphere and that impacted the rest of the Ohio native's life in ways she probably couldn't have imagined at the time.
"It was interesting to me that I already had that degree at the same time that I was involved in a pageant that was being attacked for not being socially relevant," she said.
It also led to many more college graduates winning the national crown. It also helped lead the pageant into many years later implementing a platform issue that each contestant chose to advocate for during her year of service.
Having spent four years at OU, returning to her alma mater as Miss America was an appearance she looked forward to making.
It was, however, also an appearance that was fraught with controversy all it's own.
That's because at the time, the country was recovering from the protests across campuses across the nation and where universities were on high alert following the deadly shootings at Kent State University more than a year prior to Schaefer-Bozoukoff's coronation at Miss America.
Students on college campuses were in protest mode back in the fall of 1971 and Ohio University was no exception.
The unsettling times, coupled with the increasingly-growing women's liberation movement, made a campus visit from a perceived 'beauty queen' a risky proposition for all involved.
"When I came back to OU as Miss America, there weren't just anti-war protesters, there were anti-Miss America ones, too, those who questioned was it relevant," she said.
Schaefer-Bozoukoff added that even before she graduated from OU, when she was a Lieutenant Colonel of Angel Flight, the women's support group for the Air Force ROTC, she had bricks thrown at her on campus.
The possibility of something worse happening during her return to OU as Miss America was certainly weighing on her mind and she admitted there were death threats made against her should she visit her alma mater.
That didn't stop Schaefer-Bozoukoff, though, as she returned for OU's Homecoming in 1971 and presented her $10,000 scholarship she received from winning Miss America to the university.
"It was a nice completion of a circle to come back to Ohio University to present the check," she said, noting that she received a full tuition scholarship to OU, therefore, she wanted to give something back to the place she loved.
And, that gesture turned things around for Schaefer-Bozoukoff during her return visit to Athens.
"There were demonstrations before I got there, but in the end, I received a standing ovation," (that day) she said. "It all turned around to become something powerful, meaningful and significant."
When Schaefer-Bozoukoff was Miss America, the person wearing the crown was considered royalty and winning the title almost assured the titleholder could pursue just about any career she chose.
For Schaefer-Bozoukoff, that meant leaving Ohio for California where she spent many years acting. She turned that passion into a career as a casting director.
And while the most talked-about and famous part of that competition the swimsuit segment, was eliminated in 2018, Schaefer-Bozoukoff thinks that area of judging was empowering to her.
"I'm old school and make no apologies for that," she said, adding that she also feels there is nothing wrong with calling Miss America a pageant, rather than a competition, even though she understands the changes.
"To me, it is a pageant because the word pageant has to do with tradition and great celebration, whereas, the word competition always denotes trying to beat someone else. It's a more sports-related term" she said. "And it's a term that is not as relevant as pageant. Sometimes it's better not to try to reinvent the wheel."
The most relevant part of Miss America that has remained a constant since her days of competing is the scholarships that are awarded to not only the winner of the national contest, but that are made available to all who participate in it at both the local, state and national levels.
"Anything that has to do with higher education and the empowerment of women is always relevant," she said, noting that this year's Miss America, Emma Boyles of Alaska, was awarded a $100,000 scholarship.
So while, much has changed for Athens, the country and, personally, for Schaefer-Bozoukoff, one thing definitely remains as a constant in her mind.
That's the honor she felt representing Ohio as Miss America 1972 and the impact her reign had on her in both her personal life and professional career.
OU and Athens holds special memories for a forever Miss America
By Allan Brown
Fate has intervened in Laurel Schaefer-Bozoukoff’s life at least twice in the past 50 years.
And both of those twists of fate involved Ohio University and Athens.
Flashback to 1970.
Coming off a top-ten finish in her second try for the Miss Ohio crown in 1969, Schaefer-Bozoukoff entered the 1970 Miss Ohio University Pageant.
She finished first runner up.
However, that second-place finish ultimately turned out to be a blessing in disguise for her.
Since she did not qualify, residency wise, for any remaining local competitions, Schaefer-Bozoukoff pretty much figured her pageant days in the Miss America system were done.
However, a phone conversation with the long-time director of the state competition, Denny Keller, proved to be just the twist of fate Schaefer-Bozoukoff would need.
During that phone call, Keller invited Schaefer-Bozoukoff to perform during that year’s Miss Ohio pageant. It was an offer that she eagerly accepted — and learned from.
“It was the best thing that I could have done,” she said, noting that she initially figured it would be a way to “kick start” her entertainment career.
What she didn’t anticipate from performing in that year’s state competition was learning from watching, rather than participating, in the pageant.
“I was cognizant of watching the different contestants go through each area of competition and I felt that the girls needed to relax,” she said.
Following that, Schaefer-Bozoukoff decided she wanted to give the pageant one more try.
“I didn’t want to be 70 years old and watch the pageant and think ‘what could have happened’ if I had competed one last time,” Schaefer-Bozoukoff said.
But, if she was going to compete once again, she was going to do things differently and on her terms.
“I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it my way,” she said, noting that by the time the state competition came around in the summer of 1971, “I was authentic, I was myself and I felt comfortable in my own skin.”
Part of that change included Schaefer-Bozoukoff forgoing singing a pop vocal for talent and switching to her preferred choice of song. She performed ‘And This Is My Beloved,’ on both the state and national stages. It was a song and style of music she felt more comfortable with and that proved to be exactly what the judges were looking for.
After competing at the state level twice previously, the third time was the charm, as she won both Miss Ohio in June and ultimately the Miss America title in September of 1971.
She was graduated in May 1971 from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a double major in theater arts, making her one of the few national winners of that era who had already graduated from college when they won the coveted prize.
While she has spent most of her years post-Miss America in California, she has returned to Ohio many times in the past five decades. Her most recent visit was to Mansfield last June when she served on the judges panel that crowned the 2021 state titleholder, Lora Current. She was also honored at the state competition — and later at the national pageant in Connecticut in December of 2021 — for her 50th anniversary of winning both titles.
She has also donated a scholarship that bears her name to the Miss Ohio Scholarship Competition and the theater department at OU.
The Laurel Schaefer-Bozoukoff scholarship at OU is given annually to an outstanding freshman majoring in the performing arts at the theater school.
She also returned to OU more than 20 years ago to serve with Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as co-chair of the university’s 21st Century fundraising campaign.
As Schaefer-Bozoukoff fondly noted, Athens and OU will both always hold a special place in her heart.
And it’s also where another twist of fate in her life occurred on the same campus that set the course for her year of service as Miss America 1972.
This second twist, though, would take more than 40 years to come full circle and eventually provide her the happy ending she had been seeking in her personal life.
Galbreath Chapel was the place.
Before she won either of her famous crowns, Schaefer-Bozoukoff was a lieutenant colonel of Angel Flight, the women’s support group of the Air Force ROTC. In that role, she met a man who more than 40 years later would re-enter her life in a far more meaningful way than a chance encounter provided.
That man was Michael Bozoukoff, a then ROTC cadet, who later made his career serving for 20 years as an officer in the Air Force and then worked for 20 more years as an aerospace contractor.
While the two actually did not even have a conversation, it was definitely a memorable experience that would later alter the course of their lives.
That significant first awareness of each other or what Schaefer-Bozoukoff affectionately refers to as, “the gaze,” happened in May of their senior year at OU in 1971, just weeks before they graduated.
“Only our eyes met,” she said.
“Michael had turned to a fellow ROTC cadet to ask, ‘Who is that stunning lady?’ The cadet responded, ‘Oh, that’s Laurie Schaefer, but she’s not available.’ Ironically, I was available, but Michael, being respectful and a gentleman, never pursued any conversation or an invitation to go for coffee.”
Flash forward to 2014.
That’s when destiny in the form of a letter sent to the former Miss America would impact both of their lives forever more.
Some 40-plus years after that brief first encounter, Michael attempted to reconnect with people from his college years.
Of course, Schaefer-Bozoukoff was definitely on his list of people he wanted to try to contact.
It took awhile for Schaefer-Bozoukoff to respond to that letter, but the rest is history.
“It was 43 years later, after Michael’s first wife had passed, and he was trying to connect with those he recalled from his past that he remembered that time at the college chapel and that momentary connection. He Googled me and was surprised to see where life had taken me, but was very intrigued that I had left a 40-plus-year career in the entertainment industry to become an educator for the military as a certified brain injury (specialist).”
He was then inspired to write her that letter and sent it to Camp LeJeune, NC, where she was now working, in hopes that he could reconnect with the woman he had only so briefly gazed upon more than four decades earlier.
That was in February 2014 and that letter initiated a friendship, courtship, engagement and, eventually a wedding in 2015.
“It took me a few weeks to respond to the letter as I wanted to make sure this was not simply an autograph seeker,” she said, adding that Michael hadn’t even realized his future wife was a former Miss America until he had Googled her.
“Our friendship developed through emails and texts and then after a few months we decided to start talking on the phone and would have frequent three-to-four hour calls several times a week. We shared our experiences, philosophies and expectations. “
Those calls then inspired a desire for the two to meet in person and Michael flew from Washington State to North Carolina for an in-person visit.
“Those cross-country trips became monthly visits and by November 2014 we planned a road trip from North Carolina to Ohio to be with my family for Thanksgiving.”
It was then, at the site of their first meeting, that ‘The Gaze’ turned into ‘The Proposal.’
“On our way, we stopped in Athens to visit the campus and while visiting Galbreath Chapel, Michael recalled that significant moment in 1971 when our eyes had met and forever left an impression on both of us. Michael got down on his knee and proposed and six months later we married on May 2, 2015,” she said.
The couple, who just celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, now live in Leavenworth, WA. They also have a home in Burbank, CA, the same home Schaefer-Bozoukoff lived in before moving to North Carolina.
As for Schaefer-Bozoukoff, it’s obvious OU and Athens will always hold a meaningful place in her heart.
“I always loved that area and part of it was because of some of the wonderful areas in Southern Ohio, especially in the fall. It was a wonderful four years i spent there,” Schaefer-Bozoukoff said.
She noted that as a young girl, her father, who passed away when she was only 10, used to take the Schaefer family for a drive on many Sundays and they would often find themselves in the Athens area, especially in autumn.
So it was fitting that Schaefer-Bozoukoff would spend her college years in the town she loved visiting as a child.
As for the present, Schaefer-Bozoukoff still runs her own casting agency, Creative Casting Services, and she is currently working on her 15th 3-D animated feature film.
She also just recently discovered a journal she had kept that documented her year of service as Miss America.
She intends to one day write a book recalling that year and her life after wearing the crown.
Based on her experiences as Miss America and the twists and turns her life has taken along the way, that should be one interesting book that will illustrate both the importance of following your heart and the impact fate has in shaping a person’s life story.
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