Mrs. Washington named in Moses Lake Sunday
Pam Curnel/courtesy photo<br> The Mrs. Washington Pageant was held Sunday at the Moses Lake High School theater. From 20 contestants, the winners are, left to right, Mrs. Issaquah Lisa Quast is third runner-up, Mrs. Snohomish County Jessica Rigs is first runner-up, Mrs. Snohomish Elizabeth Larsen is Mrs. Washington 2009, Mrs. Pierce County Carla Richards is second runner-up and Mrs. Thurston County Dionne Tarter is fourth runner-up.
MOSES LAKE — Mrs. Snohomish Elizabeth Larsen was named Mrs. Washington 2009 during the pageant Sunday night at Moses Lake High School.
The first runner-up was Mrs. Snohomish County Jessica Riggs, second runner-up was Mrs. Pierce County Carla Richards, third runner-up was Mrs. Issaquah Lisa Quast and fourth runner-up was Mrs. Olympia Dionne Tarter.
Two Columbia Basin women received awards during the pageant, said State Director Pam Curnel.
Mrs. Columbia Basin Jessi Schorzman received a community service award and the Angel Award for raising the most money for the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation, Curnel said. She raised $525 out of a total of $1,800.
Mrs. Moses Lake Bethany Jensen received a community service award for reading to children, she said.
Curnel said Larsen will move on to the Mrs. America pageant.
She said there are plans for a nationally televised reality show featuring women competing for the Mrs. America title. She was unable to release further details about the project.
During the event, several local people participated.
Sue Molitor performed a solo and played the piano.
Kelli Chestnut, Tracy Estrellado, Rena Harrison and Melissa Curnel Pendleton performed in a quartet.
Three youth, who are cancer survivors, presented the Angel Award. They were Kelli Ritter of Moses Lake, Samantha Chapman of Spokane and Sammy Brown of Spokane.
Each year the pageant selects an organization to benefit from their fund-raiser. This year it was the cancer foundation. Next year, they will focus on the Moses Lake Food Bank.