PORT ANGELES — Cherie Kidd will represent her city and the Pacific Northwest this week as a contestant in the Ms. Senior Universe pageant in Las Vegas.
Kidd, a Port Angeles city council member and former mayor, was first runner-up in the Ms. Senior USA pageant in June.
She was invited to participate in the Ms. Senior Universe contest Friday and Saturday at Saxe Theater at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Kidd, who will travel to Las Vegas today.
“This is an opportunity for me to meet some amazing, accomplished, talented women who are very significantly involved in their communities and charitable work working with seniors.”
After spending the week at various events with her fellow contestants, including the PGA tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Kidd will take the stage this weekend and compete in a gown walk and talent show.
For her talent presentation, Kidd will dance to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” with new choreography she learned at Studio360 in Port Angeles.
The contestants also will summarize their philosophy of life.
“Age is an attitude,” said Kidd, 72, when asked if she had a message to other seniors.
“We have so much to share. We have so many talents and experiences, and it’s our time to shine.”
Should reigning Ms. Senior USA Sara Jo Burks of Alabama be crowned Ms. Senior Universe, Kidd would become Ms. Senior USA by virtue of her runner-up performance in June.
The list of competitors at the Ms. Senior USA contest included military veterans, cancer survivors, doctors, attorneys, CEOs, dance instructors and a former Olympic athlete, according to the Ms. Senior USA website.
Ninety-eight women older than 60 and “super seniors” older than 75 participated in the contest.
“It should be noted that these are ‘senior’ women who have a commitment to community service and possess an infectious and enviable energy,” according to www.msseniorusa.org.
Kidd has shown a passion for her hometown in her 10-plus years on the City Council and as a volunteer with the Soroptimist International of Port Angeles Noon Club and Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles.
Kidd, whose family settled on the North Olympic Peninsula in the 1880s, operates AAA Affordable Storage in Port Angeles with her husband, Bob Forsberg.
Shortly after entering the world of senior pageants, Kidd was crowned Ms. Senior Washington in October 2017.
She and the other Ms. Senior Universe contestants will attend the United Nations’ observance of International Women’s Day at the UN headquarters in New York in March.
“That’s an opportunity I would never have had if I wern’t part of this group,” Kidd said in a Friday interview.
Kidd said she was “thrilled” to have the title of Ms. Senior Washington.
“No one from Port Angeles had gone to that pageant before, and I was happy to represent my home community,” Kidd said.
“It’s promoting all that’s good about the Northwest. We have a growing senior population, and it’s amazing that new boundaries are being set.”
Kidd encouraged her fellow seniors to set new goals, volunteer and “get out and learn something new.”
“It’s a great time to stretch our learning and to share,” Kidd said.
“Age is an attitude. Get out there and find your vision and help share your vision. We are the volunteers that are the foundation for our communities, and it’s our time to do that.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
