Newly crowned Miss Poulsbo brings

volunteer army to Habitat for Humanity.

POULSBO — Forget the sash and crown, Miss Poulsbo Amy Stadshaug is trading in both for a hammer and a hard hat. Just for a day, that is.

This Sunday, Stadshaug and friends, family, fellow title holders and pageant committee members — who call themselves Amy’s Army — will get their hands dirty in support of Habitat for Humanity’s National Women Build Week. The fierce force is headed to New Hope in Bremerton to be part of an effort that will help earn Habitat’s Kitsap branch a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s.

Habitat for Humanity was Stadshaug’s running platform during her reign as Miss Kitsap in 2004. In 2006, she traveled with the organization to help in post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana. Since, she’s stayed with the program, and is once again bringing it royalty power with her newly nabbed Miss Poulsbo title.

Now just a month after being crowned, Stadshaug said over coffee Wednesday she’s had a busy and exciting schedule on her plate — including the christening of the Miss Poulsbo Special at Wild Horse BBQ, a scrumptious platter coined just for her.

“I’m still thrilled,” she said of her win in March. So far, the mass of community support has been a “promising sign for the year ahead.”

The 23-year-old Kitsap native graduated from the University of Washington last June. She’s now the 54th Miss Poulsbo in the town’s history. Along with her crown, she’s balancing a new job and her Habitat work with preparations for the Miss Washington competition at Tacoma’s Pantages Theater in July. The winner of that contest advances to the Miss America pageant.

But none of it seems to phase her. Instead, the value of the Miss Poulsbo/Miss Kitsap program is something she’s eager to share.

Stadshaug said the program’s transformative benefits have opened all kinds of doors for her future. Her year as Miss Kitsap was a valuable one, and now she can’t wait to glean more from her experiences as Miss Poulsbo.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the doors (the program) has opened for me,” she said. “I can’t fathom what this year’s preparation and this year will bring me.”

She said she’s become a life-long advocate for the program, and a true testimony of the impact it can have on a young woman’s life.

Now she’s redirecting her Miss Kitsap know-how to her role as Miss Poulsbo, an opportunity she said is especially unique.

“It’s a different feeling to be Miss Poulsbo,” she said. “It’s more than just a crown to me, more than just a title.”

What it is is the chance to represent her family, heritage and community — to give back, she said. Though she grew up in Central Kitsap, her great great-grandparents came from Norway to settle in Poulsbo, and much of her family has lived there. It’s a place she said she’s fond of, as she spent a lot of time there growing up.

Aside from her Nordic heritage, Stadshaug also came into a love for cars, thanks, she says, to her parents.

“I’ve grown up with Mustangs, we’re a Mustang family,” she said. Now, she cruises in a black 2007 Mustang.

But on a more serious note, it’s her family’s support, not the material things, she said has been the most invaluable of all.

“I don’t think I could have done as much, have gone as far in this program, without the support of my family and friends,” she said. “I feel very blessed to be where I am today.”