By Rich Pileggi ’07

Thanks to stereotypical portrayals of Hollywood, we too often associate beauty pageants with catty behavior and the elevation of superficial qualities. Moreover, attention is almost solely dedicated to the competition. Then, once the winner is crowned, they too fade into the background and questions about what these pageant winners actually do never seem to be asked.

In May, the Mrs. Pennsylvania United States Pageant, now in its twentieth year, broke the mold. Partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the pageant’s winner became a spokesperson for the charity and earned the right to compete for the national title. Unlike the Ms. America Pageant, the Mrs. United States series of pageants focus on married women who have a vested interest in their communities.

Jenny Bright-Stonecipher ’99, having already been declared Mrs. Cumberland County, entered the competition as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Currently, Jenny serves as the associate director for the Cumberland-Perry division of the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC). Of her job, she commented it involved “supervising a lot of people” including six group homes in her community. She also works as an investigator for ARC, attempting to determine situations in which the mentally disabled may have been abused. Jenny also recalled her work in children’s care prior to joining ARC that included Catholic Social Services.

While Jenny did not win the competition, she was named “Most Civic Minded”—an award given to the contestant who is the most active in their community. She won the award for her field advising of Temple University social work graduate students and her “independent project for an emergency response program for those who work with the disabled.” In comparing her most recent experience with other pageants, she said, “Sheila Strassburg is what made the pageant so fun.” As the director, Sheila “was fabulous, nice, and professional.”

While “the profs at Shippensburg were fabulous and their knowledge was amazing,” Jenny said her mother was the biggest source of inspiration for her both as a woman and as a caring worker.

Although the Mrs. Pennsylvania title eluded her, it is apparent Jenny’s beauty is more than skin deep.