For Mingo County native Mary Richardson, last week was a long-awaited homecoming of sorts. It was a chance to show off her home state to 150 new friends - along with several hundred of their family members and more than a dozen out-of-town, behind-the-scenes folks working to produce a world-class beauty pageant from center stage of the Clay Center's Maier Performance Hall.
"Born here, then married here and chose to bring the business back, and I'm so glad I did," said Richardson, who took over as director for the Miss Teen, Miss and Mrs. International Pageant competition in 2000.
Since then, the annual showcase has been held in other cities, including Chicago, Jacksonville, Florida, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. But in the last few years, Richardson said she has felt a push from one of the pageant's judges, her friend and West Virginia's Division of Culture and History commissioner, Randall Reid-Smith, to bring the pageant to Charleston.
"West Virginia is a great place and has great people," said Reid-Smith, who judged the pageant in both Chicago and Jacksonville. "I just wanted to show my home state off to the world."
Reid-Smith said he felt the pageant would not only be a good chance to show off Charleston, but it would have a positive social and economic impact on the city. He also said he hopes it will encourage contestants to come back and visit.
After a successful tour of the city with the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the International Pageants signed a three-year contract to bring the competition to Charleston.
For Richardson, who now lives in Roanoke, Virginia, the homecoming was a way to help her home state.
"We understand the state is going through quite a shock with the economy, and my husband and I sat back and said, 'What can we do to give back and help?' Because it's a tremendous amount of income that will come back into Charleston," Richardson said. "Families spend money on meals; they shop a lot. They're very interested in the activities at night, and in the afternoon, when the ladies are at rehearsal, they're out and about and need something to do."
The CVB estimates the pageant will have a $1.5 million economic impact on the city each year, based on the number of people involved in the event and the amount of money they are likely to spend on food, gas, retail and hotels.
"When we bring in a big group like this, they're called 'super tourists,'" said CVB CEO Alisa Bailey. "I've been sitting at the welcome desk and they've been going to the mall and coming out with bags and bags and bags of stuff."
Bailey said local tailors and seamstresses had received many last minute calls about alterations.
"In some ways, I would compare it to a large sporting event, which also brings in competitors and their families," said Tim Brady, the CVB's vice president of sales and marketing.
In addition to the interview, fashion wear and evening gown competitions, the contestants spent several days focusing on community service in the Charleston area.
On Tuesday, they had "A Royal Event" at the Kanawha County Public Library, where little girls and boys were invited to color, read, make crafts and learn to walk down the runway with the queens. Then, they visited the Boys and Girls Club for an ice cream social, workshops and to donate school supplies collected by the contestants.
On Wednesday, the pageant held a workshop for Girl Scouts.
To promote local businesses, the pageant held a fashion show at Mi Cocina De Amor and encouraged participants and their families to visit shops around town, including Capitol Market and shops and restaurants on Capitol Street.
"This is an opportunity to showcase Charleston to people who may have otherwise never come here," Brady said. "The hope is that they will go home and share their experience."
The visitors, with sparkling crowns and glistening sashes, have added a bit of glamour to the city's downtown. But the focus of the week, Richardson said, is far more than skin deep.
"We are platform-based, which means that from our teens all the way to the Mrs., they're encouraged to become involved in an organization," Richardson said. "It can be on a state level, it can be on a national level or even an international level, but what it does is push the contestant to become involved in something that she's passionate about."
Though he will not be a judge this year, Reid-Smith said the platform is the most important part of judging.
"When I interview, I listen to how they talk about their platform," he said. "Most of their platforms are based on personal stories. I like to get on board with them."
The queens spend their reigning years promoting their platforms. For example, the 2016 Miss Teen International, Garin Harris, of Idaho, spent the last year promoting Dancing Through the Pain, a program she developed for chronic pain patients.
"I have been able to work with hundreds of kids, and boys and girls clubs, and children's hospitals through my program, Dancing Through the Pain, by just teaching basic management skills," Harris said.
Harris became her mother's primary caregiver after she received a defective flu shot, and she found basic stretches, exercises and ballet moves helped more than most medications.
In her time as the reigning queen, Harris created a website for her program, a YouTube channel and a mobile application. She also became a spokesperson for the U.S. Pain Foundation.
Mrs. International 2016 and mother of six Priscilla Pruitt, of Wyoming, became a spokesperson for the National Safe Haven Alliance and Safe Haven Baby Boxes to help rescue newborns from abandonment. Safe Haven laws allow mothers to surrender newborns to police departments, hospitals and fire departments without being prosecuted.
"A baby box is basically a way to take away that face-to-face interaction," Pruitt said. "They have heating and cooling features and sensors so emergency personnel is notified within 30 seconds."
Pruitt is now in charge of all international affairs, every email, phone call and anything to do with planting baby boxes internationally.
"What we do is go into a community and get involved," Richardson said, noting the various activities the girls participated in around the city. "Our thought is, not only are we coming to an area, we want to make a difference."
Richardson said she hopes to keep the pageant here longer than its three-year commitment.
Results of the pageant can be found on the Miss International and Miss Teen International websites. The Mrs. International pageant will be held this week.
Reach Jennifer Gardner at
jennifer.gardner@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-5102 or follow
@jenncgardner on Twitter.