By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

 In less than a month, Hydie Knuckles will head west to represent Maine in the Mrs. United States pageant.

Knuckles, 40, of Saco, was crowned Mrs. Maine United States in April and is busy balancing appearances with raising money for her trip to the national pageant in Las Vegas from July 18 to 22.

 Knuckles, who lives with her husband, Will, and daughter, Kiera, started her own business last year after leaving the banking industry. She said she always wanted to own her own business, and now offers a full-service traveling salon in the greater Portland and York County areas.

When not working, Knuckles said she enjoys spending time volunteering with community groups, including the Heart of Biddeford and Rotary.

 “It’s important to me because I feel we all need to give back somehow. Kind of like a great saying we have in Rotary, ‘Service above self,’” she said. “My parents taught me from a very young age that it’s always important to give back to others in need.”

Have you been involved in pageants before?

Not since a young age. My mom entered me in my first one when I was 5and my last one was when I was 19. It’s been almost 20 years. I did them quite a bit. I was born and raised in Aroostook County. When I wa 5 I was in Little Miss Potato Blossom, that was my very first one. I don’t even remember half of them because it’s been so long. When I was 9 or 10 I won Junior Miss Potato Blossom. I was in Miss USA, Miss Teen USA. You know, I won some, lost some, but it helped me learn how to be in front of an audience, gave me self-esteem.

Why did you decide to get involved in pageants again?

I always wanted to do one again, but I didn’t even know they offered it for married women. The wife of a man my husband worked with had won Mrs. Maine America, so I started looking into it and said someday I would do it again. I always loved it, I always enjoyed it and loved meeting the other women. It’s just a nice network of people to know. You can get yourself out there. It’s a great way if you have a cause to be heard. I just decided this is the time for me.

When were you crowned?

I was given the title in April. We didn’t have a local pageant this year. When I entered I thought we were going to have a local pageant. The national director contacted the girls who entered and said we want someone to represent Maine. She said at the national level the board would take everyone’s resume and application and pick someone based on that. It’s been a lot of work. I’ve had to get myself out there and do my own fundraising and get sponsors to get myself to nationals. If you win locally, they usually pay for you to go to nationals.

Do you have a specific cause you work for?

My pageant platform is youth exchange. I did a lot of soul searching to determine what I wanted to focus on. A lot of women do heart disease or cancer and those things are great. I wanted to be different and not have the same type of cause everyone else focuses on. The reason I picked it was because I’ve been an exchange student twice. I’ve gone to Brazil and I’ve gone to Europe in high school and college. It made me who I am today. It’s an eye-opener when you’re a young person to go to another country and see how amazing it really is to be an American. I think a lot more youth should be going and doing those types of things. Through Rotary, we have youth exchange programs. My goal is to contact local high schools and doing talks with students about youth exchange and how it can change your life.

How are you preparing for the national pageant?

I’ve had a lot of friends and local business people step up to the plate and offer to help with sponsorships. I’m still looking for more sponsorships. My past experience is a good thing because I kind of know what to expect. I’ll get some people to sit down with me for a few weeks before to do some mock interviewing and do some pageant walking.

Do you have any idea what the judges will ask in interviews?

No, they don’t tell you. Most of the time they’ll look at my application and ask me questions about my platform. They’ll ask questions about what’s going on in the world and the nation. I’m sure we’ll get questions about the BP oil spill, we’ll probably get stuff about President Obama’s health care plan. All the big stuff you see in the news will be asked about.

Have you done many events as Mrs. Maine?

I’ve done a couple talks already about youth exchange about what that is and what that means. I did a huge talk at the Rotary in Portsmouth at the district Rotary conference. I’ve done a talk at the Falmouth club. I did a diva event at the Saco Cinemagic and I did Relay for Life in Wells. I was in the Old Orchard Beach Memorial Day parade. I’m doing the Run for Cash in Old Orchard Beach. I’ll be there for opening ceremonies and will walk part of the race. Most of them are because I’m already out there in the community. It’s been fun getting out there and meeting people.

Do you encourage young people to get involved in pageants?

Yes. With the younger ones, they give scholarships, so it’s a great way to pay for your college education. It gives you the confidence, it teaches you how to be up on stage in front of people and give talks. Everybody, at some point in their career, has to do some type of presentation. It really helps you learn those skills. It’s a big step just to come and compete. You have to learn how to lose gracefully – you can’t win everything.