My Mrs. Hawaii - Mrs. America Experience

If you asked me on March 12, 2011 that I would be the new Mrs. Hawaii the following day, I probably would have laughed at you and asked you what you were drinking.  Not in a million years would I ever think that I would win a title, let alone enter a pageant.  After dodging requests to enter the Miss Hawaii pageant straight out of high school on numerous occasions from my mom and friends, I found myself pleasantly surprised with my experience as Mrs. Hawaii.

WHO?...WHAT?..WHEN? 

My husband mentioned a couple years back that both me and my sister-n-law should enter the pageant, and we never took him seriously.  Last year, he felt the need to tell people that I was going to enter.  I thought he was crazy because I was pregnant at the time and about to give birth to our son.  Soon after the birth of our son in late September, I really thought about how lucky I was to have the support and encouragement of my husband and knew that if I didn't run in the next pageant I would never do it.  Although it wasn't of any interest to me, I knew that it would make my husband proud to see me follow through on it, and it definitely could help my business as a self-employed and independently contracted Realtor.  I spoke with the pageant's director in late November and got the info I needed to make that final decision.  It wasn't until early January, when a close family member of mine was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, that I knew that I wanted to go after the title with an open heart and a goal to bring home the crown.  I have always been passionate about health and fitness and chose to use that as my platform in entering the contest.  Although the pageant does not require to have a platform, most of the contestants choose to bring awareness to things that they are passionate about and living a healthy lifestyle was my passion.  Besides,  it fit perfectly with the fact that I was doing my best to get back into shape and was eating healthy after giving birth to an 8lb 13oz baby several months before.  

TAKING STAGE

March 13th rolled around the corner faster than I planned.  Yes, I had lost about 35 of the 42lbs that I gained, but knowing that I had to strut my stuff in a bathing suit in front of family, friends, complete strangers and JUDGES, literally made me sick to my stomach.  I've been a professional entertainer for over a decade, but never have I had to get up in a bathing suit and have people pick me a part.  Nervous, to say the least, was the biggest feeling I had right before I went on stage.  I have to say, that the other girls were absolutely fantastic with supporting each other.  There were a few that made me feel like no matter what the outcome, we were all proud of what we were accomplishing that night and were supportive of each other.  Once the opening number started, I blinked my eyes and we were already announcing the top four! 

Say that again please?  Who just won?  I was totally SHOCKED!  My first pageant ever...no training...no coaching...no idea what I was getting myself into...AND who just won again?  
What an HONOR!  My favorite part of the whole night was my daughter yelling, "We won mommy, we won!"  I get all teary eyed when I think about that and till this day I believe that whole night seemed so surreal.  But now that I have this crown on my head and a banner over my shoulder that says Mrs. Hawaii; what's next?  Mrs. America, that's what!

THE IN BETWEEN TIME

Two weeks later I am on a flight to West Virginia to compete in the Mrs. America Pageant for a total of 16 days.  I am really not sure how I was able to pull off getting a full-time sitter for two weeks, getting work situated with my leave, holding a fundraiser, making sure all the bills were paid for and in place while I was gone, booking tickets for the family to come up the last week, getting the house cleaned and dad and the kids pre-packed, and the biggest one- getting my son on formula in case the milk I left him ran out.  I somehow managed and left the islands wondering, "what the hell am I doing and how did I get here again?"  Three flights and twenty-four hours later I stepped off the plane with 6 other contestants that I met in Georgia and boarded a bus to the Greenbrier. 

MRS. AMERICA

Talk about intimidation when I stepped off that bus and walked into this opulent hotel filled with gorgeous women!  I kind of had to pinch myself and get it into my head that this local girl was here on behalf of her state to make an impression.  I think the first night with the jet lag and the excitement of me having my own room made me distracted because there was no glamor in my appearance or in my strut, so not quite sure how I came off in my first impression towards the girls.  All I know is that the first night was the night I got the most sleep because there was no kids rolling all over me and I had a bed ALL to myself! 

Mrs. Florida was the first girl I met on our layover in Georgia and was the last lady I saw when I left the Greenbrier.  She became my closest friend there and I was so grateful to have her there sharing this experience with me and I with her.  She had experience that helped me get through the times when I had no clue what I was doing and it seemed that every girl there knew what to do.  She also had the shoulder to cry on when I thought I was going to loose it being so far away from my kids for so long.  In fact, Mrs. California, Mrs. Colorado, Mrs. Delaware and Mrs. Florida were my shoulders throughout my time there and till this day I still remain very close with them.  I have to say, I came across some cattiness, but overall these women were beyond FANTASTIC.  I felt so honored to be apart of this pageant with such accomplished women who were not only beautiful, but were wives, mothers, even grandmothers and they had a voice that requested to be heard, and made it a priority to give back to their communities.  I felt inspired by them and knew that we would all leave West Virginia with an experience that only a select few would have.  

I could write on and on about my sixteen days there, but lets just get down to the final night.  

By day fifteen I can say that I was READY!  I was mentally, physically and spiritually ready to get in front of those cameras and let America know how grateful I was for this whole experience; how grateful I was to wear my Hawaii sash; And to be honest...45lbs. lighter, I was feeling awesome and ready to walk in my Amos Kotomori gown and 4 1/2 inch stilettos.  I couldn't have had a better crowd.  Although, Auntie Jo and Liana would have topped it if they had been able to come in such a short notice.  My mom, my sister and my "ROCK" of a husband were cheering me on with the spirit of ALOHA.  My husband really won over a ton of people with his Mr. Hawaii title, including winning over the other husbands because I had a cheering section in other places of the ballroom.  When the music started I knew that it was time to take my Hawaiian Flag to that stage with my husband and have FUN.  

THE MOMENT

Two hours later I stood on the stage with two other girls waiting to hear who the next Mrs. America would be.  I felt so unbelievably lucky to be up there with these two ladies that I absolutely fell in love with, and if you met them in person you would know what I am talking about.  Mrs. Florida (April Lufriu) and Mrs. Colorado (Janell Ames) were the girls I spent 10 minutes with in those final moments that felt like an eternity.  The onstage question: "Why do you deserve to be Mrs. America?"  Well, if you watched the show you would have seen my reaction to that question since I thought, "Hello...don't we all!"  I still don't remember exactly what I said, but I do know that I was moved by Mrs. Florida's answer about her mission to find a cure for Retinitis Pigmentosa as she and her children suffer from it.  
Eventually my grip on my right hand was loose as I said goodbye to Mrs. Colorado and embraced Mrs. Florida because we were the last two left.  All I remember is looking behind me to all the beautiful ladies and thinking, "something has to be wrong...how the heck am I still up here!"  For dramatic affect, Florence Henderson our host, took another several minutes to add to the anticipation of who the winner was.  I knew in my heart that it was April and I even spoke about it with her during those final moments.  She was the one I was rooting for from the beginning because she had a personal mission that was far beyond my reason for being up there.  And with that moment of being absolutely at peace, I heard my name and then the new Mrs. America is... Mrs. Florida, April Lufriu.  I couldn't have been more happier for her and for myself for making it so far. I knew they wanted to crown her immediately after the announcement, but we hugged for several minutes.  Heck, they waited for several minutes for dramatic effect to announce the winner, so we thought we would do the same for television!!! The most humbling part of those moments after the coronation was the fact that I saw her children jump up with joy as their mom was crowned the winner.  No one, not even a disease could take away that memory from them, and I was so blessed that God gave that gift to a very deserving woman who was out to find a cure and now had a title that would create the recognition and publicity that her foundation needed.

 SWEET HOME

Well, one delayed overnight flight and four lost bags later, I landed in Honolulu with the biggest embrace from my Auntie Jo's arms.  I was home!!! I was going to see my kids!  I was going to go back to the organized chaos of my daily life that I absolutely loved and missed!  I did it not just for my husband but for myself and every women that I knew, and I came back a new and refreshed woman and a winner in so many hearts!

I cannot express how much gratitude I have for the support of my family and friends through this incredible journey.  Thanks to social media, I am able to keep in touch with all of the girls from the Pageant and former contestants who are part of the Mrs. America Family.  I took away memories that will last a lifetime.  My daughter tells me at least twice a week that I am her "Mrs. America" and she is going to be "Miss America" one day.  My favorite gift to myself: I have pictures and a taping of the National Broadcast of the show with me on stage six months post baby and owning it!  

My life has evolved in so many positive directions since I have been home from Nationals that I am truly grateful for the journey that me and my family are traveling on.  I have chosen to dedicate my year to the Mrs. Hawaii title and promote my platform on health and wellness, specially focusing on childhood obesity.  It's a mission that I am passionate about and hope that it will be felt throughout Hawaii's communities.  I look forward to seeing many of you at my service events and guest appearances.  Thank you again Hawaii for giving me this wonderful gift and I hope the world feels the love I have for my beautiful island and our people!

Mahalo Nui Loa/ Fa'afetai Tele Lava,

Lara Leimana Fonoimoana