SEQUIM — Mrs. Olympic Peninsula — better known as Sequim resident Magan Waldron — has her eyes on this spring’s Mrs. Washington Pageant, and she’s taking Clallam County’s Operation Uplift along for the ride.
This week, Waldron said she was “making sure that I have the entire wardrobe that I need, working on the choreographed dance that I will be doing, making appearances, exercising, eating right and getting plenty of sleep — standard run-of-the-mill-type prep.”
Waldron, 34, sees a need to promote the Olympic Peninsula during the pageant and is highlighting Operation Uplift in her role.
“There is not a lot of representation from this area of the state generally, so it’s nice to be able to go out and represent the area that we live in,” she said, noting that her “platform,” or the principle on which she takes a stand in appealing to the public, is cancer awareness — something she hopes the pageant will help spread.
“Hopefully, my voice being heard statewide will help my platform, Operation Uplift, spread to other areas. I am hoping, if selected, I will be able to make that happen statewide.”
Operation Uplift is a nonprofit organization, locally founded in 1983, that raises money for cancer patients in Clallam County.
Donations are used by the organization to fund a biannual breast-health clinic for women who are uninsured or underinsured, provide vouchers for free mammograms via Olympic Medical Center and offer activities for cancer survivors allowing them to interact with others who have had similar experiences.
“Cancer touches every single person, whether it be themselves, their family or friends,” Waldron said.
The Mrs. Washington Pageant will be held May 16 in Olympia at the Kenneth Minnaert J. Center for the Arts.
Waldron became Mrs. Olympic Peninsula about two months ago after applying for the position.
“They actually don’t do preliminary pageants for state, so you actually have to apply to be in the pageant,” she said.
“And then, once you are accepted, then you are awarded a delegacy to represent at the state pageant.
“Then of course, if I win, I will represent the entire state at the Mrs. America [Pageant],” held this September in Sevastopol, a city on the southwest tip of the Crimean Peninsula, south of Ukraine.
According to event organizers, the contest is being held there this year as “an expression of peace and goodwill” between the United States and Russia, which annexed Crimea last year. The move is considered by some to be controversial, as the area is recognized by the U.S. as Ukrainian territory.
The Mrs. America Pageant, founded in 1976, was established to honor married American women representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is owned and operated by Mrs. America Inc.
Contestants get to participate in the national event by winning their respective state competitions, which are under the direction of Mrs. America state directors.
The national winner goes on to compete in the Mrs. World pageant.
Waldron, a 2000 graduate of Port Angeles High School, works in public relations for the Olympic Peninsula Title Co. branch in Port Angeles.
She has been married to her husband, Klayton, for almost nine years. They have a son, 4-year-old Kooper, who is the “light of her life,” she said.
Waldron is no stranger to pageants, having competed multiple times locally and twice for the title of Miss Washington.
In 2001, she made the top 10 in that contest. In 2004, she was voted Miss Congeniality by 100 percent of the other delegates — a first in the pageant’s history.
Competing in pageants “is something I love to do,” she said. “I compete locally whenever I have the chance. The pageants — they definitely teach you something about yourself.”
The series of Mrs. pageants empowers mothers and women of all ages, Waldron said.
“I feel as though it is important, not only as a young person, to go out and represent an area and to embrace your beauty,” she said.
“I feel as though as long as you love yourself and believe in yourself, that you can make an impact.”
Waldron is currently accepting donations online at www.gofundme.com/gcy4bs to pay for state pageant expenses and to be able to donate to Operation Uplift.
As of Thursday afternoon, she had raised $265 toward a goal of $2,000.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/mrsolympicpeninsula.