Miss Grays Harbor pageant offers young
women opportunities, scholarships
women opportunities, scholarships
STORY By Katie McGregor
PHOTOS BY KEITH KRUEGER
For the past 77 years, the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization has fostered a legacy of great women who take the stage each winter to represent their community, promote the platforms important to them and compete for the crown.
“It’s a great learning opportunity for lifetime skills,” said Dawn Kuhn, president of the Miss Grays Harbor board of directors. “Because it’s a scholarship organization, they have the opportunity to earn a lot of scholarship dollars. Last year Grays Harbor was recognized as the number one giver of scholarship dollars in the state.”
In 2025 the Grays Harbor pageant awarded $36,000 in scholarships.
Miss Grays Harbor is a scholarship competition that is part of the Miss Washington and Miss America organizations and thus governed by their standards. The Grays Harbor preliminary is one of the longest running in the country. Those who win the local titles qualify to move on to compete at the state level and possibly the national level.
The Miss Grays Harbor competition is for women from 18 to 27 with the goal of serving their communities and acquiring skills to better equip them for future opportunities. The young women are judged in five areas: private interview, talent, evening gown, lifestyle and wellness in active wear, and on-stage conversation.
To compete in Miss Grays Harbor, each contestant must be at least 18 but no older than 26 on the day of the annual Miss Washington pageant which takes place in March. In 2007, the local program grew to include a teen competition, where contestants from 14 to 18 years old compete.
In 2025 Madilynn Marx was crowned Miss Grays Harbor’s Teen and Jailynn Burgher was crowned the first Miss Pacific Coast’s Teen. Both went on to compete in Miss Washington’s Teen in the summer.
While practices will begin soon, Kuhn said sign-ups are open until Dec. 5. Anyone interested in participating can find the contestant paperwork and contact the organization through the website.
All the areas of competition take extensive work for the contestants.
“There is a lot that goes into it,” Kuhn said. “The ladies put in a tremendous amount of work. Rehearsals go on for a few months.”
But schedule accommodation is important to those running the organization. Any young woman within the designated age range is welcome to participate in Miss Grays Harbor if they live on the Harbor, even if they are away at college.
“Because we’re a scholarship organization, we don’t want to discourage anyone who is away at college from participating,” Kuhn explained. Kuhn’s own daughters, Lauren and Paige, both held Miss Grays Harbor titles in the past while they were in college.
The reigning 2025 Miss Grays Harbor, Dalma Ashby, has only lived in Grays Harbor for a year but has taken her position as a community role model in stride.
“I think what I love most about being a part of the organization is that it’s been one of the best networking opportunities in my life and I feel like I’m able to be a role model for young girls in Grays Harbor,” Ashby said. “It’s also given me a chance to build a platform where I can now help people in a situation that I thought I would be totally crushed by.”
Ashby’s platform, “Financial Freedom: Make it Make Cents,” is centered around educating and empowering victims of financial abuse. Through the Miss Grays Harbor program, she has been able to partner with Washington Business Week and TwinStar Credit Union to promote her platform throughout the community.
“Once they are crowned, they hit the ground running and work hard on their initiatives in our community as well as make any public appearances that are asked of them,” Kuhn said. “Their year of service is whatever they want it to be but the ladies do take the role seriously and they want to represent their community.”
Community support plays a large role in the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization through scholarship donations and volunteering. The program runs on volunteering so all the money that comes in goes directly to scholarships for the young women.
The scholarship opportunity is part of why Ashby chose to compete in the 2025 season. Her long-term goal is to go back to school to become an attorney, but she also plans on competing in Miss Washington again after she passes her crown on to the next Miss Grays Harbor.
“Thank you to last year’s donors for giving me a soft place to land. Your contribution can really help a girl achieve her wildest dreams,” said Ashby.
Both Ashby and Violette Capoeman went on to compete at Miss Washington, where Ashby became the second runner up. Capoeman was crowned Miss Pacific Coast 2025 and is the first to hold the title since 2007. She descends from the land of the Quinault Indian Nation and is also the first indigenous woman to earn a title in the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization.
The return of the Miss Pacific Coast title was made possible, in part, because of community support.
“We are very grateful for the community support over all these years,” said Kuhn. “We had our 75th anniversary just a couple of years ago. It’s been such a good program in the Grays Harbor community, and we are just really grateful for the people involved.”
The upcoming Miss Grays Harbor pageant is set for Jan. 24 at the Aberdeen High School auditorium at 410 N G St. in Aberdeen. The Miss Teen pageant will be at 1 p.m. that day, with the Miss Grays Harbor contest scheduled for that evening. (The exact time wasn’t available at press time.) Tickets can be purchased online at missgraysharbor.org or at the door.
PHOTOS BY KEITH KRUEGER
For the past 77 years, the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization has fostered a legacy of great women who take the stage each winter to represent their community, promote the platforms important to them and compete for the crown.
“It’s a great learning opportunity for lifetime skills,” said Dawn Kuhn, president of the Miss Grays Harbor board of directors. “Because it’s a scholarship organization, they have the opportunity to earn a lot of scholarship dollars. Last year Grays Harbor was recognized as the number one giver of scholarship dollars in the state.”
In 2025 the Grays Harbor pageant awarded $36,000 in scholarships.
Miss Grays Harbor is a scholarship competition that is part of the Miss Washington and Miss America organizations and thus governed by their standards. The Grays Harbor preliminary is one of the longest running in the country. Those who win the local titles qualify to move on to compete at the state level and possibly the national level.
The Miss Grays Harbor competition is for women from 18 to 27 with the goal of serving their communities and acquiring skills to better equip them for future opportunities. The young women are judged in five areas: private interview, talent, evening gown, lifestyle and wellness in active wear, and on-stage conversation.
To compete in Miss Grays Harbor, each contestant must be at least 18 but no older than 26 on the day of the annual Miss Washington pageant which takes place in March. In 2007, the local program grew to include a teen competition, where contestants from 14 to 18 years old compete.
In 2025 Madilynn Marx was crowned Miss Grays Harbor’s Teen and Jailynn Burgher was crowned the first Miss Pacific Coast’s Teen. Both went on to compete in Miss Washington’s Teen in the summer.
While practices will begin soon, Kuhn said sign-ups are open until Dec. 5. Anyone interested in participating can find the contestant paperwork and contact the organization through the website.
All the areas of competition take extensive work for the contestants.
“There is a lot that goes into it,” Kuhn said. “The ladies put in a tremendous amount of work. Rehearsals go on for a few months.”
But schedule accommodation is important to those running the organization. Any young woman within the designated age range is welcome to participate in Miss Grays Harbor if they live on the Harbor, even if they are away at college.
“Because we’re a scholarship organization, we don’t want to discourage anyone who is away at college from participating,” Kuhn explained. Kuhn’s own daughters, Lauren and Paige, both held Miss Grays Harbor titles in the past while they were in college.
The reigning 2025 Miss Grays Harbor, Dalma Ashby, has only lived in Grays Harbor for a year but has taken her position as a community role model in stride.
“I think what I love most about being a part of the organization is that it’s been one of the best networking opportunities in my life and I feel like I’m able to be a role model for young girls in Grays Harbor,” Ashby said. “It’s also given me a chance to build a platform where I can now help people in a situation that I thought I would be totally crushed by.”
Ashby’s platform, “Financial Freedom: Make it Make Cents,” is centered around educating and empowering victims of financial abuse. Through the Miss Grays Harbor program, she has been able to partner with Washington Business Week and TwinStar Credit Union to promote her platform throughout the community.
“Once they are crowned, they hit the ground running and work hard on their initiatives in our community as well as make any public appearances that are asked of them,” Kuhn said. “Their year of service is whatever they want it to be but the ladies do take the role seriously and they want to represent their community.”
Community support plays a large role in the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization through scholarship donations and volunteering. The program runs on volunteering so all the money that comes in goes directly to scholarships for the young women.
The scholarship opportunity is part of why Ashby chose to compete in the 2025 season. Her long-term goal is to go back to school to become an attorney, but she also plans on competing in Miss Washington again after she passes her crown on to the next Miss Grays Harbor.
“Thank you to last year’s donors for giving me a soft place to land. Your contribution can really help a girl achieve her wildest dreams,” said Ashby.
Both Ashby and Violette Capoeman went on to compete at Miss Washington, where Ashby became the second runner up. Capoeman was crowned Miss Pacific Coast 2025 and is the first to hold the title since 2007. She descends from the land of the Quinault Indian Nation and is also the first indigenous woman to earn a title in the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Organization.
The return of the Miss Pacific Coast title was made possible, in part, because of community support.
“We are very grateful for the community support over all these years,” said Kuhn. “We had our 75th anniversary just a couple of years ago. It’s been such a good program in the Grays Harbor community, and we are just really grateful for the people involved.”
The upcoming Miss Grays Harbor pageant is set for Jan. 24 at the Aberdeen High School auditorium at 410 N G St. in Aberdeen. The Miss Teen pageant will be at 1 p.m. that day, with the Miss Grays Harbor contest scheduled for that evening. (The exact time wasn’t available at press time.) Tickets can be purchased online at missgraysharbor.org or at the door.