Oregon's Miss Washington -- Contestant's Eligibility Questioned

BURIEN

LaNae Williams, runner-up in the recent Miss Washington pageant, says her dream of becoming Miss America is over. She lost the state crown to a contestant whose out-of-state residency has enraged local contest organizers.

Williams, a Burien resident who competed as Miss Southwest King County, said yesterday she is satisfied with the $1,100 in scholarship money she won in the state pageant.

``I feel like the pageant's over . . . and this is the way it ended,'' said Williams, a legislative aide to King County Councilman Paul Barden. ``I'm first runner-up. There's nothing to be ashamed of.''

However, local pageant directors are disputing the Miss Washington contest, saying newly crowned Lynnae Thurik does not qualify for the title since she's actually from Oregon.

Thurik, who hails from Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, won the title June 23. Williams' supporters blame state pageant officials for allowing Thurik to compete and are demanding an explanation of eligibility standards. Thurik entered the state pageant as Miss Clark County, listing a local address in Vancouver.

Patti Belik, president of the Washington State Association of Local Miss America Pageants, which plans the local contests, said more specific eligibility requirements are needed.

``We think everything should be aboveboard. It's not fair to . . . any of the candidates to have these ambiguous rules,'' she said.

To qualify as a contestant in the local and the Miss Washington Scholarship Pageant, candidates now must meet one of three requirements: Be a registered full-time college student in this state; be a resident of this state six months prior to the local pageant, or be an employee in Washington, working more than 20 hours weekly within the area the contestant is competing.

Thurik, an advertising account executive for the Oregon-based ``This Week'' magazine, said yesterday she meets the employment requirement because her job requires her to spend more than 20 hours weekly in Clark County. She is responsible for getting classified and display advertising from Clark County and East Portland, Thurik said.

Said Belik: ``The magazine's main office is in Oregon. Her W2 tax form is from Oregon. And the form is how you determine where someone's employed.''

Belik said her organization has hired an attorney to draft a letter to Miss America pageant officials about the dispute.

Miss America officials could not be reached for comment.

``The rules have been inconsistent on what an eligible contestant is. It has hurt the reputation of our pageant,'' said Joan Dehn, co-executive director of Miss Southwest King County Scholarship Pageant and Williams' chaperone.

Phyllis Goldhammer, executive director of the Miss Washington Scholarship Pageant, however, defended Thurik's eligibility, noting she qualified also because of college attendance.

A 1986 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Thurik was enrolled in a fitness and photography-layout class at Clark Community College in Vancouver prior to competing in the pageant.

Belik, however, said Thurik was not enrolled as a full-time student.

Thurik said she is focusing on preparing for the Miss America Scholarship Pageant Sept. 8 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Williams and Thurik are both 26, the maximum age for a contestant in the Miss America pageant.

``Ever since I was 5 years old I wanted to be Miss America. Not Miss Universe or Miss USA, but Miss America,'' said Thurik, who has been competing in pageants for seven years.

``I'm sure it was (LaNae's) dream, too. This is just my moment.''