Mrs. Spokane enjoys state pageant

When Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag asked Becky Seely what her favorite food was, she was nonplused by the query.

Sonntag was one of four judges in the Mrs. Washington Pageant held in Moses Lake on July 14.

The question came during the preliminary interview portion of the competition.

Seely, Mrs. Spokane, expected him to ask about her platform, “Marriage: A Lifetime Commitment of Love and Respect,” but she gamely gave his question some thought and answered, “Chocolate.”

Lighthearted moments like this made the pageant enjoyable for the novice competitor. Seely, a nurse at Holy Family Hospital, spent the months prior to the competition working hard to learn pageant basics.

A former pageant competitor, Marsha Schlangen, helped Seely prepare for the most nerve-wracking portion of the event: the swimsuit competition.

Most women don’t wear 3-inch heels with their suits at the beach.

“I had to learn how to walk and everything,” Seely said with a laugh.

The contestants wore sarongs with their suits, and when it was their turn in the spotlight, most planned to fling off their wraps. Seely wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

But she said Schlangen told her, “You take that sarong off and be proud of what you worked for.”

As Mrs. Spokane took the stage, her mentor’s words rang in her ears.

“Chest out – head up – lean forward – twist at the waist! Make eye contact with the audience. Say, ‘Look at me! Here I come!’ “

Though Seely said the swimsuit competition was a blur, she did whip off her sarong.

“I couldn’t really see the audience because of the lights,” she said. “But my family held up signs so I could see where they were sitting.”

Contestants found little glamour backstage at Moses Lake High School. With 28 competitors, things were a bit cramped.

“Some of us were in a storage room,” Seely said. They hung up mirrors and lights, and the contestants stepped around paint cans.

After the swimsuit competition, the ladies prepared for the evening gown portion of the competition.

“By then I was feeling pretty confident,” she said. Seely did her walk, executed her turn and answered the judges’ final question. “If you could choose one person who’s had great impact on your life, who would it be and why?”

The answer came easily. She said, “I chose my husband, Don. He’s the most incredible man I know.

“His unconditional love and acceptance has allowed me to blossom into who I am today.”

While the judges tallied the votes, some of the contestants received special awards. Seely was honored for “Best Smile.”

When her name wasn’t announced with the top 10 finalists, she admitted, “I was a little disappointed.”

Mrs. Seattle, Jennifer Adkison, won the crown.

When she returned to Spokane, she took her Best Smile award to show her orthodontist. Great dental work contributed to her beaming smile.

But the radiance that caught the judges’ eyes probably had more to do with the personal journey Seely had taken to walk across that stage.

Seely said participating in the Mrs. Washington competition was a positive experience.

“I stretched and grew, which is why I entered in the first place,” she said.

Then added with a laugh, “I probably wouldn’t do it again!”