Miss Washington

Formation	1926
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Puyallup
Location	Washington
Membership	Miss America
Official language	English
Key people	Peggy Miller (Executive Director)
Website	Official website

The Miss Washington competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Washington in the Miss America pageant.

Vanessa Munson of Battle Ground, WA was crowned Miss Washington 2023 on July 1, 2023, at the Capital High School Performing Arts Center in Olympia, WA. She competed for the title of Miss America 2024 in January 2024.

History

Washington first sent delegates to Miss America in 1926 with Leona Fengler, Miss Seattle. She was sponsored by the Seattle Times newspaper, a practice common in the early days of Miss America pageants. She was pictured in the paper leaving in a biplane for her cross-country flight to Atlantic City, where she was voted "Prettiest Girl in an Evening Gown."^{[citation needed]} In 1987, Fendler was featured again in the newly-revived Miss Seattle Pageant.^{[citation needed]}

The Depression and war years caused sporadic participation by Washington contestants in the Miss America pageant, but the Miss Washington pageant was revived in 1948 and held in Ephrata, with a $1000 scholarship offered to the winner.^[1] In 1949 the pageant was a "financial flop" and the winner had to seek community donations to fund her appearance at Miss America. At the time the organization was so deeply in debt that the titleholder's tiara was nearly repossessed by the manufacturer.^[2][3][4]

From 1961 to 1997 the pageant was hosted by Vancouver, under a number of executive directors before moving to the Tri-Cities under the directorship of Chamber President, Dorothy Schoeppach. Under the direction of Schoeppach the local programs again grew from 9 to 22.^{[citation needed]} Two years later the pageant moved to Tacoma under the directorship of Joan Dehn and Mike Shinkle.^{[citation needed]}

The competition was held in Renton or Des Moines, WA beginning in 2008 under the directorship of Charlie VanTramp and then Peggy Miller and Patti Belik, except for 2021, which was held at Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, WA, due to pandemic restrictions.^{[citation needed]} . In 2023, the competition as well as all of its annual events moved to Olympia, WA, to the Capital High School Performing Arts Center.

The Miss Washington Scholarship Organization is a 501(c)4 organization, and it's scholarship arm, MWSO Miracle, Inc. is a 501(c)3, where donations are tax deductible.^[5][6]

Gallery of past titleholders

• 
  Evelyn Atkinson,
  Miss Washington 1922
• 
  Dorothy Parker,
  Miss Washington 1938
• 
  Susan Buckner,
  Miss Washington 1971
• 
  Laurie Nelson,
  Miss Washington 1978
• 
  Elyse Umemoto,
  Miss Washington 2007

Results summary

Following is a visual summary of the results of Miss Washington titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

• 2nd runners-up: Anna Mae Schoonover (1939), Sharon Vaughn (1960), Sharon Rogers (1983), Elyse Umemoto (2008)
• 3rd runners-up: Honey Castro (1986), Jacquie Brown (2011), Alicia Cooper (2017)
• 4th runners-up: Laurie Nelson (1979)
• Top 10: Lauren Waddleton (1965), Susan Buckner (1972), Leslie Mays (1974), Kathleen Moore (1975), Doris Hayes (1981), Jennifer Wall (1990), SoYoung Kwon (1992), Kristen Eddings (2007), Mandy Schendel (2013)
• Top 15: Leona Natalia Fengler (1926), Amanda Beers (2003), Danamarie McNicholl (2019)
• Top 16: Karlyne Abele (1951)
• Top 18: Gladine Sweetser (1933)

Awards

Preliminary awards

• Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Sharon Vaughn (1960), Susan Buckner (1972), Leslie Mays (1974), Kristine Weitz (1982), Mandy Schendel (2013)
• Preliminary Talent: Doris Hayes (1981) (tie)

Non-finalist awards

• Non-finalist Interview: Fianna Dickson (2004)
• Non-finalist Talent: Mardi Hagen (1964), Kippy Lou Brinkman (1966), Kristine Weitz (1982), Brittney Henry (2012)

Other awards

• Miss Congeniality: N/A
• Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship: Honey Castro (1986)
• Miss America Scholar: Mariana Loya (1999)
• Quality of Life Award Finalists: Mandy Schendel (2013)
• STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Lizzi Jackson (2016)

Winners