Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 19, 1995 TAG: 9505190050
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But the Mrs. Virginia International Pageant isn't your typical pageant, either.
At Saturday's competition in the Salem Civic Center, no one will sashay down the runway in high heels and swimsuits. Instead, some of the 21 contestants will be clad in spandax and sneakers in this pageant's version of a swimsuit competition - an aerobic wear contest.
"Quite frankly, we're not interested in a 20-year-old's body. This showcases the accomplishments of married women," said pageant executive director Mary Richardson.
And unlike most pageants, the previous winner won't be crowning the new one. That's the job of the new Mrs. Virginia's husband.
It is a beauty pageant, just one that's geared toward married women aged 24 to 56.
That puts Hodges at ease. Four years ago she never would have dreamed of submitting her name for the pageant.
Then again, four years ago Hodges hadn't fought and won a battle against breast cancer either.
"Having breast cancer taught me about surviving and being a fighter," said the reigning Mrs. Roanoke City, who had a masectomy in 1991 and reconstructive surgery a year later.
It also taught her determination, which Mary Richardson knows first hand is what it takes to take home a crown.
That's how Richardson won the state title in 1992. She simply refused to give up.
When Richardson first ventured to Newport News to compete in 1990, the Mrs. Virginia pageant was only a couple of years old. And that year she was the only representative from Southwest Virginia - this year there will be four from the Roanoke area.
One of the judges confessed to Richardson that he wasn't quite sure where she hailed from.
"I sat down for the interview, and the judge asked me where Roanoke was. I thought it was a joke," said the South Carolina native who moved to Roanoke several years ago.
He wasn't kidding.
The petite woman with a patented pageant smile went home empty-handed that year, but not defeated.
"When I got back home, I thought I'd like to go back again. When I went back, I didn't think I'd win, but I thought I'd like to place," she said.
She did. She was third runner-up in 1991 and she was satisfied, until the pageant director called her.
"She told me if you tell yourself you can do it, you can. So I put myself on a strict diet, listened to positve-thinking tapes, and practiced in the mirror, and I won," said the mother of three.
Debbie Thomas, who is Mrs. Roanoke Valley, hasn't listened to those tapes. But she's done everything else. She even has resorted to giving herself little pep-talks.
"People keep telling me that the first time you go, you don't win. But I keep saying to myself 'Debbie, you can be the exception,'" the 36-year-old Racing Image manager said.
The other two Roanoke area contestants are Jill Maxwell, Mrs. Roanoke County, and Susan Humbert, Mrs. Botetourt County. All were chosen by sending a photo and an application to the local contests.
After Richardson's crowning in 1992, the pageant also moved to selecting its winner through an application process.
When Richardson bought the Mrs. Virginia franchise last year, she switched it back to a pageant format. That was the first thing she changed. Location was next.
Since its beginning in 1987, the Mrs. Virginia International pageant (not to be confused with the better-known Mrs. Virginia of America pageant) had always been in Newport News.
The Mrs. Virginia of America pageant "does swimsuit, and we don't," Richardson said. "Our pageant isn't just a beauty pageant...No one in the community says you've done a great job [to married women]. This is that pat on the back."
Hodges sees it somewhat differently. She views the pageant as an opportunity.
"I thought what a way to show other women that there is life after breast cancer," said Hodges, who is a junior in the adult education program of Mary Baldwin College. "We can have a normal life. Through this pageant I might be able to help someone. That's what this is about."
Of course she realizes not everyone can win, but she has her fingers crossed.
Debbie Thomas already has a plan for if she loses: a helping of her favorite dessert, and another try next year.
"If I lose I'm going to Shoney's and splurge on a hot fudge cake," she said. "I'll have time to work on my figure for next year."
Besides, winning isn't everything. Just ask tireless competitor Richardson.
Winning didn't instantly change her life.
"I came home and mowed grass," she said.
As for the bejeweled tiara and the satin sash she spent three years striving to take home, she tucked them away in a box inside her closet.
"I realized I didn't need that," she said, pointing toward the crown she'd pulled out for an interview, "to prove to me that I was a good person."
MRS. VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL PAGEANT: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Salem Civic Center. Tickets are $10 for adults. Children 12 and under are free. 977-2314.
by CNB