The pressure-packed moment didn’t overwhelm Devanni Partridge, not this time.
Two years ago, Partridge came away disappointed and out of the top 10 at the Miss Washington Pageant. This year she returned to the state stage poised, polished and ready to take the prestigious crown.
Combining grace with talent, the 21-year-old from Auburn stole the show to capture the Miss Washington crown last Sunday at the Burien Community Center.
“It was very exciting,” said Partridge, the 2007 Miss Auburn and reigning Miss Seattle. “It was nerve-wracking until the very end. It’s never in the bag.”
But Partridge came through, becoming only the second woman from Auburn to wear the crown. Amber Hamilton was the first from the city to take the tiara back in 1995.
“I was very surprised,” Partridge said. “But I believed in myself. I knew I could do it.”
By winning the crown, Partridge automatically advances to the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, Nev. Partridge will participate in an 11-day trip, culminating with the two-hour nationally televised finals (5 p.m., The Learning Channel) on Jan. 10 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Partridge, one in a field of 53, intends to give it her best shot.
“I want to walk away proud, knowing I gave it my best,” she said. “I want to walk away with my head held high.”
Auburn was represented well at the Miss Washington Pageant. Maple Valley’s Allie Wallace, the current Miss Auburn, finished in the top 10 of the field of 18. Miss Tahoma’s Cara Rudd, 2008 Miss Auburn, made the top five as third runner-up.
Partridge won all three preliminary awards in her group, beginning with the talent phase. A classically-trained pianist, she performed a Spanish solo called Malageuña. Partridge also won the lifestyle and fitness round before taking the evening wear contest and sweeping the preliminary awards.
She performed on the platform, “Donate Life”: The Importance of Organ and Tissue Donation.”
“Winning Miss Auburn 2007 was the impetus,” John Partridge said of his daughter’s eventual pursuit of the Miss Washington crown. “She looked at her life and decided, ‘What more can I do?’
“As a dad, I cannot tell you how proud I am,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she brings back the Miss America title to Auburn.”
Partridge, an Auburn High School graduate and Western Washington University senior, also earned more than $12,500 in scholarship awards at the pageant. Partridge, a pre-med student majoring in kinesiology, is interested in pursuing a career in chiropractic care and physical therapy.
As Miss Washington, Partridge will delay the completion of her college degree (she is two quarters shy) and devote her time exclusively to her new role.
“School is always going to be there,” she said, “but being Miss Washington will not.”
Partridge can expect to make anywhere between 50 and 250 appearances throughout the state this year, including visits to various schools, service clubs, hospitals and city events.
Partridge made her first official visit locally Tuesday at the Auburn Noon Lions Club, of which she is a member.
Partridge will tour the state on two platforms – her own for “Donate Life” and the other for the Miss Washington state crusade that supports the Children’s Miracle Network.
Partridge has donated two feet of her hair to Locks of Love, a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
Partridge, daughter of John and Shirlee Partridge, has two sisters, Laura and Anne. Anne also was the third runner-up in the 2009 Miss Auburn Scholarship Pageant.
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Note: For more information or to support organ donations, please visit www.donatelifetoday.com. To support Devanni Partridge’s mission or request an appearance, visit www.misswashington.org or mail contributions to: Miss Washington Scholarship Organization, P.O. Box 1549, Puyallup, WA 98371
