Red Hat Ladies Queen of Our Hearts Pageant - January 21st 2009 the 5th annual Red Hat Ladies - Queen of our Hearts Pageant was held at the Sheldon Park Assisted Living residence in Eugene. County Commissioner Bill Fleenor served as Master of Ceremonies. Joelle Rankins Goodwin, Mrs. Oregon America 2009 opened the pageant by singing the National Anthem. There were 7 contestants vying for the title “Queen of Our Hearts” all from the Lane County area. There was a raffle and silent auction which raised nearly $300.00 for the American Heart Association and its “Go Red” Campaign. Queen Shelley of Cottage Grove was the winner pageant winner. Also in attendance were The “Men of the Long Tom Grange” calendar Chuck Cook “Mr. January 2007, Wade Skinner, Mr. February 2006, and Mrs. Brita Arcuri, Miss Oregon 2002. A great time was had by all; the pageant gets bigger and better each year.

HEARTS AND ROSES AUCTION - My first official function as Mrs. Oregon was to attend the Royal Rosarians Hearts and Roses Auction held in Portland to raise money for children's causes. The evening started off with a bang as I had forgotten to bring an evening bag with me and I was walking around with my phone, lipstick and a credit card in my hand. That just would not do. Luckily directly across the street from where the auction was being held was the Lloyd Center Mall, so bob and I walked across the street to the mall, Bob in his Tuxedo, me in my red sequins evening gown, crown and sash. It was really great fun, as people said hello and asked to have their picture taken with me. The auction was a blast the food was good, the auction was fun and the Royal Rosarians raised a record amount of money for kids in the Portland area.

Mrs. Oregon, "Mr. Oregon" Bob, and Miss Oregon 2009, Danijela Krstic

Mrs. Oregon Director; Libby Crawford, Miss Oregon; Danijela Krstic, and one of our Royal Rosarian hostesses.

MRS. AMERICA HERE I COME - and so after three years and three tries I, Mrs. Eugene finally became Mrs. Oregon America. The Broadway Rose Theater in Tigard was the setting as married women from across Oregon came together to compete for the title of Mrs. Oregon. I had absolutely no expectations this year. After coming in as 1st runner-up two years in a row, I really played it low key this year, I didn't build myself up too high, for fear of coming crashing down. Heck this year my husband didn't even make it to the pageant as he stayed home to take care of our litter of puppies that were just 2 weeks old. My father was not supposed to be there either but but when I hit the stage for the swimsuit competition, I could see my father through the stage lights standing up and screaming his fool head off, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. I had no idea what to expect as we stood on the stage seven finalists waiting to hear who's name would be called. Kimberly Buckingham was called as 1st runner-up, well that had been my spot for the last two years so that must mean that there was no place for me, I was going home empty handed this year, back to a sense of normalcy. And then I heard it, "Joelle Rankins Goodwin" is your new Mrs. Oregon. Disbelief. My friend, Mrs. Oregon 2008 Taryn Stasny came to place the Mrs. Oregon sash over my shoulders and I gave her the biggest hug, I didn't want to let go. What a wonderful, rewarding time it was. The pageant was only one day this year which did not give us as much time as we have had in the past to get to know all of the ladies but in the short time that we had together all of the ladies were a joy to hang out with. My new sisters in pageantry are Lisa Larson, Macy Bishop, Kimberlee Buckingham, Darlene Geddes, Tamara Wissbaum, Ana Kuhl, I wish them all good luck and hope that they will return to what I think is one of the best pageants and pageant systems to be a part of.

I originally started writing here to chronicle my leading up to the Mrs. Oregon America Pageant back in 2006, and my writing has been kind of off and on, now I hope to do a better job of keeping this space up to date with all the wonderful events and functions that I have the opportunity to be a part of as Mrs. Oregon America. Persistence and tenacity are my watch words for this year, for without them I would not have made it this far.