My Miss America Voyage
First off, I am not a pageant person.
I have never been in or aspired to be a pageant person. I’m short, round, have no outstanding talent and I just do not have that mindset. My Mom, however, would’ve been delighted to see me in an evening gown strolling down the runway to Bert Parks crooning “There she is…”. Yeah, I’m that old.
Besides Miss Americas, back in the day, were sort of boring to the pre-teen me. The blonde, willowy, beehived, smiling lass who wanted to be the best wife and mother and always wanted to use her crown to promote world peace. We see how far that got us.
My Mom would stay up long after I went to bed to see who would capture the coveted crown. For the younger of you, Miss America was nearly marathon in length with the winner crowned around midnight or later.
Fast forward a lot of years…
I’m in a group of business women. I meet Mary. Mary is a director for one of the local competitions that feed the Miss Pennsylvania competition. She asks me to judge. Why not? It’s a pretty unique thing to add to your resume. Do it once and I got a unique set of credentials.
Much to my amazement, the women I saw in the competition were all shapes, ethnicities, and all had educational backgrounds that looked like they were aiming for the Oval Office. Some had already started nonprofit organizations to promote their platforms!
This was not my Mother’s pageant at all.
No one mentioned world peace.
They all too busy actively correcting issues like bullying, suicide, medical issue awareness, hunger, and other major situations. They were choosing topics that they had passion for, and were making a difference. None of this “someday” stuff, they were doing it now!
Well, I went on to judge again the following year. After that, I became a Judge’s Chair. Meaning, I taught new judges how to judge and get the paperwork right. I got to help the overseers from State to be sure everything went smoothly.
Meanwhile, Mary, figuring that I had become sufficiently addicted to the program, asks me if I wanted to do a pageant to send more people to Miss Pennsylvania. That is where the Miss Neshaminy Valley competition took hold. I never saw it coming. Luckily, Mary and I work together to get as many candidates to Miss Pennsylvania as we can.
Local competitions are something worth seeing. It’s like a mini Miss America complete with talent and evening gown. We used to have swimsuit but that has gone the way of the beehive. The spotlight is on the person and the platform. If you can find one in your area, go. Tickets are usually low in cost and the excitement is usually palpable. The talent portion alone makes the trip worthwhile.
So yeah, somehow I got hooked. But somehow the tide turned and my opinions went from “cattle show” to “talent showcase”. The women I meet shock me every year with their energy and accomplishments in the face real problems. They are making real solutions. Somehow, I did get to be in Miss America. Maybe not striding down the runway, but helping others to get there.
Who knows, maybe someday, there will be world peace.