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September 15, 2000/15 Elul 5760, Vol. 52, No.53
Contest celebrates 'inner beauty,' builds confidence
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
Esther Kelter, back center, with other finalists, is crowned Ms. Senior Arizona in 1999. |
Contestants for Ms. Senior Arizona are judged on different criteria than how they look in bathing suits.
"It's strictly your philosophy of life, your inner beauty," says 1999 Ms. Senior Arizona Esther Kelter, first Jewish winner of the 12-year-old pageant.
"You don't have to be skinny. You don't have to weigh 99 pounds. You can be yourself, and that's what inner beauty is," she says.
After taking the state crown, Kelter, 63, competed in the Ms. Senior America 2000 pageant, where she was named first runner-up. Her duties include appearing at the Ms. Senior America 2001 pageant in October in Las Vegas.
Contestants are judged in four categories: philosophy of life, evening gown, talent and interview.
In the talent competition, Kelter, a singer, performed what she calls her signature song, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Other contestants included a piano player, a dancer, a yodeling country singer and a 91-year-old who played "Beer Barrel Polka" on an accordion.
"People who have not seen this pageant have no clue what it's all about, how inspiring it is," Kelter says. Children in the audience are "fascinated that these old people can get up there and do their thing."
Bernie Meuser, of Carefree Public Relations and Promotions, sponsor of the contest, says the pageant is "very motivational. It's a great encouragement for older people."
In her first pageant, in 1998, Kelter won the "Most Talented" category.
As Ms. Senior Arizona, Kelter appeared at state fairs, parades and Super Bowls and performed at retirement communities. A highlight was meeting President Clinton when he visited Tucson last year.
Although wearing the title crown has been exciting for Kelter, it was a bittersweet time. Four days before she won, her husband David was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dis ease, a progressive neurological condition that results in irreversible loss of brain nerve cells. It leads to impairment in memory, judgment and decision-making.
During her reign, Kelter and state pageant producers Hedi Headley and Helen McKnight founded the Kelter-Wynn Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. Headley's mom, Josephine Wynn, died from the disease three years ago. The foundation gives caregivers a short break, "even if it's just a few hours to go to a movie or shopping or walking around without having the thought that nobody's taking care" of the ill family member, Kelter says.
Just last week, David Kelter was diagnosed with also having lung cancer.
"It has become a very heartbreaking part of my lifetime," Kelter says. "I'm very, very lucky because I have incredible friends with me through thick and thin," she says, citing the "tremendous support" of women she has met through the pageant.
Kelter grew up in Galveston, Texas, where she sang in her high school choir and at telethons, synagogues and hospitals. After she married, she performed at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans and the Gaslight Square in St. Louis.
The Kelters raised three children, Paul, now 41, Sydne, 38, and Gloria Andrews, 32; and have five grandchildren.
When her children were young, she stopped singing professionally and focused on being a mother and on playing and teaching tennis.
The Kelters moved to Surprise 6 1/2 years ago from Detroit and after meeting Roberta Ward, a pianist in her apartment complex, Esther Kelter decided to resume her singing career.
Ward accompanied Kelter on the piano for the pageant. The duo has appeared throughout Arizona, and in Detroit, San Diego and San Francisco, performing show tunes, standards, ballads and classics. For information, call 623-214-1748.
Although her reign as Ms. Senior Arizona is officially over, Kelter remains involved with the contest.
"I respect my banner and I'm very proud of it. I will do whatever I can for the pageant because it's been part of me," she says.
"When I was Ms. Senior Arizona, they teased me about sleeping in my banner. I wore my crown and banner everywhere I went. ... I want people to know that a senior can win a pageant. ... It helped me a lot. I did a lot of things that maybe I wouldn't have done otherwise."
Carefree Public Relations and Promotions is accepting applications for the Ms. Senior Arizona Pageant to be held Feb. 18, 2001 in the Northwest Valley. Participants must be age 60 or older, Arizona residents for at least three months prior to the contest and U.S. citizens.
For applications and sponsorship information, call 480-488-4006.
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