Windham attorney wins crown in 2024 USOA Mrs. Maine Pageant

By Ed Pierce

Competing in the United States of America’s Mrs. Maine 2024 Pageant on Oct. 21 in Augusta was the realization of a dream for Windham attorney Katie Winchenbach. Her confidence and enthusiasm were on full display as she won the state crown and now advances to compete in 2024 USOA Mrs. America Pageant next July in San Antonio, Texas.

Windham attorney Katie Winchenbach was
crowned as the winner of the 2024 USOA
Mrs. Maine Pageant in Augusta on Oct. 22.
She will represent Maine in the 2024 USOA
Mrs. America Pageant in Texas next July.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

As a corporate attorney and a champion for women’s rights, Winchenbach was a first-time pageant participant in the USOA Pageant, which was created to encourage women to strive to achieve their hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations, while making them feel confident and beautiful inside and out.

“I have never done a pageant before,” she said. “When the USOA Pageant Director, Christie Hines, reached out to me to see if I would be interested in competing, I really thought she had the wrong woman. Once I learned how much of the pageant was focused on community involvement and championing causes close to your heart, I knew I had to say yes.”

Winchenbach currently serves as the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career women attorneys. She has also served as the Vice-President of The Maine Women's Conference, where she contributed to the strategic direction and planning of an influential one-day conference to empower and uplift Maine’s women.

Recently Winchenbach joined Women Standing Together, an organization that supports women leaders in various professional fields. Her role with that group will allow her to better advocate for emerging women leaders in Maine's business community. She’s also a published writer with her articles appearing in publications such as Fashion Republic, Gladys Magazine, Marie Claire, Long Island Bride and Groom, and Chicago Style Weddings.

She says that she intends to use her title as USOA Mrs. Maine 2024 to advocate for women’s empowerment, provide critical leadership opportunities, and to break down barriers to women’s success.

"It’s important for me to empower and inspire women to dream bigger and boldly pursue these dreams,” Winchenbach said. “This passion is at the heart of everything I do. I’m honored to be representing Maine as USOA’s Mrs. Maine 2024 and to be able to positively impact Maine’s young women leaders. I believe in empowering and inspiring women to dream bigger and boldly pursue these dreams. As the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit dedicated to the success of aspiring and early-career female attorneys, I am able to impact over 800 women per year. More locally, I am partnering with the Compassionate Leadership Project to create a one-day conference for Maine’s emerging female leaders. The conference will provide attendees with access to prominent female leaders from Maine, practical training on key leadership skills, and the opportunity to build their networks. The conference will be live streamed, to provide this critical resource to women from all over the State of Maine, and eventually, across the United States.”

Along with her husband, Jared, Winchenbach moved to Windham two years ago and grew up in Milford, near the University of Maine Orono. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maine, a Juris Doctorate law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University. In her free time, she enjoys paddleboarding, and spending time with her husband and their rescue dog.

She hopes her pageant experience will help her to grow both personally and professionally.

“Upon starting this journey, I was surprised by how much it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and how many opportunities there were for me to grow as a person,” Winchenbach said. “Already, I've been able to become more confident in the way I carry myself and in the way I speak publicly. I work as a corporate attorney and a non-profit program director, so these are skills that are going to help me immensely even once the pageant is over.”

Winchenbach said that competing in the USOA Pageant also helped her to honor the memory of her late mother.

“My mom competed in a Mrs. Pageant when she and my dad were just married,” she said. “She passed away from cancer last November, so this is a really nice way for my family to be able to come together again.” <

Windham USOA Pageant contestant a champion for women's equality

By Ed Pierce

Windham attorney Katie Winchenbach is not afraid to fail, but she is afraid not to try. That sense of self confidence and a champion for women’s equality has led her to become an official contestant in the 2024 United States of America Pageant in October in Augusta.

Katie Winchenbach of Windham will
compete as a contestant in the USOA
2024 Maine State Pageant in Augusta
this October. She is an attorney who
works as Program Director for Ms. JD,
a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to the success of aspiring
and early career women lawyers.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

Winchenbach will represent the community as Mrs. Windham in the pageant which is designed to encourage women to strive to achieve their hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations, while making them feel confident and beautiful inside and out. The pageant’s motto is to empower women, inspire others, and uplift everyone and it focuses on women empowerment, promoting positive self-image and advocating a platform of community service, which allows contestants to rise by lifting others up.

She is a corporate attorney and nonprofit leader who is a passionate advocate for women’s equality and is dedicated to finding ways to inspire and empower women across the United States. Winchenbach currently serves as the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career women lawyers.

As Program Director, she spearheads impactful events and programs that foster diversity in the legal profession and set young women up for successful legal careers. Winchenbach says she’s a firm believer in the power of collaboration and inclusivity and has brought that energy to her community by volunteering as the Vice-President of The Maine Women’s Conference, a local organization that brings together Maine women to connect with, educate, and inspire each other.

Earning a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maine, a Juris Doctorate law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University, Winchenbach is eager to share her passion and make an even bigger difference in the lives of women as a USOA contestant.

She said that the pageant will challenge her in new ways that she hasn’t experienced previously.

“I'm looking to be able to show up and support my community as the best version of myself,” Winchenbach said. “Upon starting this journey, I was surprised by how much it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and how many opportunities there were for me to grow as a person. Already, I've been able to become more confident in the way I carry myself and in the way I speak publicly. I work as a corporate attorney and a nonprofit program director, so these are skills that are going to help me immensely even once the pageant is over.”

Along with her husband Jared, she moved to Windham about two years ago and was born in Maine and grew up in the small town of Milford, near the University of Maine Orono.

This will be her first time as a pageant contestant.

“I have never done a pageant before,” Winchenbach said. “When the USOA Pageant Director Christie Hines reached out to me to see if I would be interested in competing, I really thought she had the wrong woman. Once I learned how much of the pageant was focused on community involvement and championing causes close to your heart, I knew I had to say yes.”

According to Winchenbach, she believes being a new pageant contestant will help her.

“I think being a first-time contestant is both a strength and a challenge,” she said. “I'm lacking the experience that more seasoned contestants will have, but I am also going into it without the pressure or expectation of winning. My goal is to represent Windham the best that I can, and to learn as much as I can about competing in pageants. The other women competing are truly incredible and I know I can learn so much just from being part of this.”

She said empowering women will be the cause she will champion if she wins the state title.

“I believe in empowering and inspiring women to dream bigger and boldly pursue these dreams. As the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit dedicated to the success of aspiring and early-career female attorneys, I am able to impact over 800 women per year,” Winchenbach said. “More locally, I am partnering with the Compassionate Leadership Project to create a one-day conference for Maine’s emerging female leaders. The conference will provide attendees with access to prominent female leaders from Maine, practical training on key leadership skills, and the opportunity to build their networks. The conference will be live streamed, to provide this critical resource to women from all over the State of Maine, and eventually, across the United States.”

Grateful to have the support of her family, friends, and community on her quest for the crown, Winchenbach said when she’s not working or preparing for the pageant, she loves to stay busy, so she doesn't have a lot of downtime.

“When I do get down time, I love being out on the water on my paddleboard,” she said. “My husband got me an inflatable one a couple of years ago and I love it. I try to get out on the Presumpscot River on the weekends, do paddle board yoga in Casco Bay, and every once and a while bring my rescue pup out for a ride. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive of my pageant journey. My husband, Jared, was a big factor in my learning more about the pageant and even being open to talking to Christie about it. He clearly saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. My dad has also been a huge support system for me.”

Another reason that Winchenbach chose to compete in the United States of America Pageant is to honor the memory of her mother.

“My mom competed in a Mrs. pageant when she and my dad were just married,” she said. “She passed away from cancer last November, so this is a really nice way for my family to be able to come together again. They cheered her on over 30 years ago and now they get to cheer me on.”

The USOA Pageant for Maine will be held Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 at The Senator Inn & Spa Augusta and the Augusta Civic Center. <

Windham’s famed ‘Tuskegee Airman’ a genuine champion for equality

Fred Williams dies at 98, was Maine’s first black attorney

By Ed Pierce

As a trailblazing member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, Fred Williams of Windham wasn’t content to let racism stop him from achieving his dreams. As the first black attorney to ever practice law in Maine, a former Windham Town Council member, a Baptist minister and a law professor at Saint Joseph’s College, Williams continued to shatter stereotypes right up until his death last weekend at the age of 98.

Windham's Fred Williams is 
shown during his training as a
Tuskegee Airman during World
War II. The 98-year-old veteran
went on to a long and distinguished
career becoming the first black attorney
to practice law in Maine, serving on
the Windham Town Council and
teaching law at St. Joseph's College. 
Williams died last weekend at the 
Maine Veterans Home in
Scarborough. COURTESY PHOTO    

Born in 1922, Williams dreamed of someday attending flight school and was the first member of his family to ever be issued a birth certificate. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps upon graduation from high school in New York City, but because of the enforced segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces at that time, Williams was assigned as a cadet in a new pilot training program for African Americans at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Nearly 1,000 black pilots and about 15,000 black air support personnel trained in the program and became known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black pilots to fly combat missions during World War II. They flew more than 15,000 individual missions in North Africa and Europe during the war, earning more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses for valor and paving the way for the eventual integration of the U.S military. 

"I wanted to be in a bomber, especially a B-17,” Williams told members of Windham’s American Legion Field-Allen Post and VFW Post 10643 during a memorable visit with local veterans at the Windham Veterans Center in 2017. “It was hell getting in, but we were proud.”

Williams told the audience how the Tuskegee Airmen never saw their race as an impediment or barrier to defending their nation in wartime.

He hailed the decision by President Harry Truman to desegregate the U.S. military in 1947 as monumental to achieving equality in the American’s armed forces.

“It’s one Army, one Navy,” Williams said. “It all shows we are one nation. Greek American, Japanese Americans, that’s race, not Americans. Color is not a race. White is not a race. Black is not a race, it’s a beautiful color.”

Williams was recalled to military service for the Korean War and then returned to New York City once he was discharged, where he studied and earned degrees from the City College of New York and the New York Law School. He also worked as a U.S. Federal Treasury Department agent.

Moving to Maine, he passed the bar exam and in doing so, Williams became the first black lawyer ever in the state in 1969, beginning first as an attorney for Casco Bank and then going on to launch his own private practice. Later he served as the president of the Bar Association for the State of Maine.

Making his home for decades in Windham with his wife, Laura, and their four sons, he was elected to serve on the Windham Town Council in 1971 and also was a proud member of the Windham Lions Club, where he eventually served as a district governor for the Lions International organization.

“Fred was one of only two Tuskegee Airmen I have ever met and that, in itself, was certainly an honor,” said Willie Goodman, VFW Post 10643 commander. “Fred was an engaging man with a twinkle in his eye and was very passionate about what he believed in.  Fred was proud of what he accomplished in the military and as a lawyer in Maine.  I feel honored to have had a special friendship with Fred and I am thankful and happy for the visits my wife and I had with him that we'll always remember.”

David Tanguay, adjutant of the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148, said Williams was a charismatic life figure who was honored to become an honorary member of the American Legion post in Windham.

“I recall a veterans coffee meeting one Wednesday when Fred dropped in.  He captivated the veterans with his stories of the Tuskegee Airman during World War II and Korea and made a larger-than-life impression on all,” Tanguay said. “I was impressed with his varied care path from military pilot to lawyer to Town Council member to advocate in the community. He will be missed." 

Never wavering on his commitment to civil rights or forgetting his family’s social justice struggles when he was young, Williams marched in Selma, Alabama in the1960s with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and championed equality, justice and liberty for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity.

He taught Business Law at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish for many years and spent his final days at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough.

Williams is survived by his four sons and their wives including Manuel (Jill), Fredrick, II (Roxanne), Keith (Arlene), and Kenneth Williams; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. His wife Laura passed away in 1988.

Funeral services for Williams will be private. <