Shelby Meader of Camas was named Miss Greater Clark County and will compete in the Miss Washington USA Pageant today for a chance to represent the state in next year's Miss USA competition. (iStock.com)Photo Gallery
Shelby Meader and her mother were looking for a mother-daughter activity, so they decided to volunteer with the Humane Society for Southwest Washington in Vancouver.
About two weeks into their volunteering, they were looking at some of the dogs up for adoption, despite already owning two, and fell in love with a shaky, 3 1/2 -pound Chihuahua whose ribs were showing.
“He was rescued from a home where the owners didn’t feed him, and he scrounged for food off the floor and got by on crumbs,” said Meader, 23, of Camas. “He was barely hanging on. He’d shiver and shake anytime someone would walk or move their feet, so I think he was kicked, too.”
Meader and her mother wanted to adopt the dog, but first had to convince Meader’s father they should take in a third pet. He agreed, but on one condition: he wanted to name the dog, and so, Half-Pint joined the Meaders.
It’s a story Meader is hoping to share with the rest of the state, and eventually, the country. Meader is competing in the Miss Washington USA Pageant today in Burien, and her platform is to end euthanatizing animals due to lack of space in shelters.
“I knew that was going to be my platform after volunteering there for about three weeks,” said Meader, who started volunteering with the Humane Society more than a year ago.
Meader wants to let people know that abused animals can be rescued and go on to live happy lives. Half-Pint has since gained more than a pound, eats food, plays with toys and no longer has five to six panic attacks a day. Meader said Half-Pint is a trusting dog who is getting better around people. He almost didn’t make it to the Meaders’ home, though. He almost didn’t make it to the Humane Society. After being rescued from his home in California, Half-Pint was in a kill shelter there before making his way to Vancouver.
“I want every dog in a shelter to have Half-Pint’s story,” Meader said. “I want to have this feeling for every dog I come across, and for all dogs to feel as happy as Half-Pint does now.”
The pageant isn’t just about getting her message out, though. For Meader, competing in pageants helped her grow.
“I’ve gotten a lot more confident and learned to be who I am and embrace who I am as a person,” she said. “It’s not just a beauty pageant. It’s not just the prettiest girl gets crowned. I compete with doctors, with managers, with women who have higher education degrees. It’s more of a job than a title. It’s your job to go around and set a good example.”
Working on MBA
Meader is looking to be one of those competitors with a higher education degree. She’s enrolled in a master’s program at Washington State University getting her MBA. She’s an assistant branch manager at iQ Credit Union, where she has worked since she was 16. Meader said someday she’d like to be the CEO of a financial institution.
But before that, she wants to be Miss Washington USA. Today will be the fourth time she’s competed in the pageant. She scored a top-10 finish her first year, and top-16 finishes each year after that.
“I’ve been prepping for the last four years,” she said. “Each time, I learn something new about myself.”
For this year’s pageant, Meader started prepping in January, when she went up to Seattle to interview for the Miss Washington USA competition. After that interview, she was named Miss Greater Clark County. Since then, she’s had coaching sessions with Lu Sierra, who has trained Miss USA and Miss Universe winners, and Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006. She’s also worked with interview coach Jeremy Monlux. Her parents are helping her stay on top of what’s going on in the world by quizzing her on current events randomly throughout the day.
With all her prep work and past experience, Meader said she feels good heading into today’s pageant, and is hopeful she will get a chance to represent Washington in next year’s Miss USA competition.
“I want to travel around Washington spreading the word of the Humane Society,” she said. “By winning, my voice would be bigger and reach so many more people.”
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