Beauty pageant meets the military, and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with entertaining the troops. This time it’s a member of the troops who is flaunting.
Joelle Rankins Goodwin, 42, is also known as Mrs. Eugene in the pageant circuit, when she’s not working as an assistant professor in military science for the University ROTC program or as a major in the U.S. Army specializing in military intelligence.
She is running for the title of Mrs. Oregon on Saturday.
Less than two weeks before the pageant, Goodwin chats on her cell phone with Mrs. Springfield, laughing and nodding her head. The two have become good friends over the past 10 months of preparation and meetings, Goodwin said.
The most difficult aspect of pageant training for Goodwin is the walking. She had to learn how to run before she could walk in her extensive training in the Army.
“When I tell people that I’m a major they can’t believe it,” Goodwin said, smiling. “I can go from my BDU (uniform) and boots into heels and an evening gown in 15 minutes.”
Goodwin has been in pageants since the fifth grade in Portland, and was crowned Lincoln High School Rose Festival Princess in 1982. She graduated from the University in 1986 and earned a master’s degree in psychology at Hood College in Maryland.
Before reaching her 20th year in the Army, Goodwin applied for the title of Mrs. Eugene last December. Of the three women who submitted applications, Goodwin was selected along with Trudi Newman, who was given the title of Mrs. Springfield.
The pageant world differs greatly from her military life and involvement in the ROTC, which is why she was afraid to tell her boss, Lt. Col. Bill Fox, she was entering a pageant, she said.
“I thought Army folks might frown upon it,” Goodwin said, adding that they were surprisingly accepting of her decision to participate in the pageant.
“She is a very dedicated, self-motivated individual who sets goals for herself and actually works to achieve them,” said Fox, who is the head of the military science department at the University. There has been “no conflict with her job performance,” he said.
After witnessing her brother, Scott, die from AIDS six years ago, Goodwin chose HIV/AIDS as her platform for the pageant. She is focusing on education to prevent the spread of the disease, research to cure it and compassion to reach out to those who suffer, she said.
“People have forgotten that there are people dying by the thousands every day all over the world from HIV,” said Goodwin, who has worked with the Eugene HIV Alliance and this years’ AIDS Run/Walk.
Goodwin has been able to use her title to speak to community organizations and schools about HIV and AIDS.
“The title opens doors for these women to go to small groups and speak on their platforms,” said Libby Crawford, the executive director of the pageant. Still, Crawford said, the main focus of this pageant is beauty.
Fifty percent of contestants’ scores are based on interviews, focusing on poise, appearance, intelligence and confidence, Crawford said. The other half, which Goodwin said is her favorite section of the pageant, is the swimsuit and evening gown competition.
Six judges will critique the 11 contestants, deciding how each represents a modern married woman, through her involvement in her family, career or community, Crawford said. Each year is different, she said.
“She (Goodwin) is exemplary for everything we are looking for at a state level,” Crawford said.
The winner of the Mrs. Oregon title will receive prizes ranging from a case of bottled water to a $15,000 smile makeover and airfare to Palm Springs, according to the Mrs. Oregon Web site.
The pageant will be held Saturday at 6 p.m. at Clackamas High School.
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