Miss Washington Pageant To Be Held In Tri-Cities Eastern Washington Gets Competition For First Time

Dorothy Schoeppach is a 25-year veteran of the Tri-City beauty pageant scene, a promoter whose enthusiasm knows no limit.

But she’s more revved up than usual because the 1997 Miss Washington will be crowned right here in the Tri-Cities next Saturday.

It’s the first time the competition has been held in Eastern Washington.

Schoeppach, head of the Greater Pasco Area Chamber of Commerce, helped bring the state pageant here and is also the director.

Yes, but should Tri-Citians be excited about a competition that says part of your worth is based on how good you look in a swimsuit?

“Let me tell you, being physically fit is one of the most important elements of the Miss America program,” the ebullient Schoeppach said in a recent interview. “Miss America travels 20,000 miles a month. She’s in a different city or county every other day. She lives out of a hotel room and a suitcase. She’s got to be healthy enough … staminawise.”

Physical beauty aside, what Schoeppach wants to stress is pageants don’t ignore that women have gray matter.

When the 14 contestants take the stage in the 1,500-seat Richland High School auditorium, 30 percent of their total scores will be based on the interview.

To do well, contestants must be in touch with world and local events, Schoeppach says. That means some young women who once rarely picked up a newspaper are now avid readers.

“That makes them informed enough to know how to vote in the elections, have an opinion,” Schoeppach says. “It’s an awesome program. (People) just don’t know it yet.”

The 1997 Miss Washington Scholarship Pageant could also be a boon to area merchants.

Though Schoeppach doesn’t have an estimate on how much money the pageant may generate, she notes one contestant alone will arrive with an entourage of 75.

“And what do those people do in the Tri-Cities?” she asks. “They buy gas, they buy food, they stay in our motels, and they certainly shop at Columbia Center mall and other retail outlets. They give gifts to that girl every day.”

After nearly 25 years in Vancouver, the pageant was scheduled to move this summer to Renton. But the Miss America Organization apparently changed its mind about the site and in April picked the Tri-Cities, which had applied three or four years ago, Schoeppach said.

The Washington state winner competes for the Miss America crown in September.