Having Elayne Pearson selected as the new Mrs. Utah-United States shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody, especially her husband, Rod — it was bound to happen sometime. After helping her through each of the four times she's entered the pageant, and particularly by this year's competition, he was the one reminding her how she was supposed to stand on stage.
Pageants have long been a part of the Richfield mother's life and the family circle that surrounds her.
Consider that one of her four daughters was Miss Richfield in 1996, that her mother-in-law was a Miss Mesa, Ariz., or that she was able to go to cosmetology college based on the scholarship she earned being an attendant to Miss Iron County 20 years ago. And they've been nothing but helpful, as far as she's concerned.
"I have friends that say, 'Oh my heck, doing that would give me major stress, and you say that de-stresses you?' " Pearson, 41, said.
She's had a lot of fun with her royalty so far.
She's been the emcee for a four-hour pasta dinner tied to the annual St. George Marathon. She accompanied Gov. Mike Leavitt and his wife to the opening ceremonies of the Huntsman World Senior Games. She received a sash and rhinestone-studded crown and looks forward to inevitable ribbon-cuttings and parades. There's even the opportunity to compete nationally in Las Vegas this July. But all of that is "icing on the cake" as far as Pearson is concerned.
What the Mrs. Utah-United States really looks forward to is being able to share her platform — "Finding Balance in an Unbalanced Society," a combination of personal experiences based on service and stress management — with all who will hear it.
"There's a statistic I've heard that 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the service. I don't know that that's true, but sometimes it really feels like that," she said. "Why don't we have more people serving in an area that would be so beneficial to others?"
This year's Mrs. Utah-United States Pageant was held in Cedar City in September. The new 2000-2001 royalty was selected by a panel of five judges. Joining her are Joy Hodges of Kearns as first runner-up and Alyson O'Steen of West Jordan as second attendant.
E-mail: dmoody@desnews.com