Meet Mrs. Colorado

Hi I’m Megan Yarberry, thanks for visiting the website and for taking the time to read my bio.

I was born and raised in Canon City, Colorado.  I grew up as an only child and while it had its perks it also had some drawbacks; like I was extremely shy.  In fact I was so shy that my parents had a hard time coaxing me out of my bedroom to greet visiting family members.  When I turned five years old my mother enrolled me in dance classes to help me overcome being bashful.

It was probably then that I fell in love with the stage and the idea of performing.  I was seventeen when I decided to enter the local Canon City Music and Blossom Festival Pageant.  It was my first pageant and even though I didn’t even place, I had a great time.  I entered again the very next year and won the title.

That year the current reigning Mrs. Colorado, Gina DelVecchio was a judge.  After winning the Canon City Blossom Queen title, I was invited to attend the 1999 Mrs. Colorado Pageant competition.  It was there that night, exactly ten years ago, sitting in the audience of the Buell Theatre with my boyfriend, Scott, that I first dreamed of becoming Mrs.Colorado.

After seven years of dating, my boyfriend and I got engaged.  Scott and I have now been married for over four years and still call Canon City home.  We both share a passion for mentoring teenagers in our community; Scott coaches the varsity baseball and football teams at Canon City High School and I coach the varsity cheerleading squad.

In addition to coaching, seven years ago I became the director of the very pageant that got me started competing when I was seventeen years old.  Through competition the teen girls who compete in the Blossom Pageant build their self-confidence by learning interview techniques, stage presence, personal grooming and public speaking.  The contestants are also encouraged to participate in many community service activities surrounding the annual festival like the “Tails on the Trail” walk, (benefiting the local human society) and “Treats for Our Troops,” (sending boxes of candy to American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I first entered the Mrs. Colorado Pageant shortly after I got married in 2006 and placed fourth runner-up.  I continued to compete over the next couple of years placing third runner-up then first runner-up.  And as disappointing as it was to keep getting so close to the crown and not winning, I believe that I grew from the experience each and every time I competed.  I truly think that it has prepared me to compete at the national Mrs. America Pageant and to be a positive voice for Colorado’s women throughout my reign as the state titleholder.  The four year experience reminds me of a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

This year, forty-six incredible women ranging in ages from twenty-two to fifty-nine traveling from all over the state, competed for the coveted title and crown.  At the end of the evening I held my breath as I stood there with one other deserving woman waiting to hear which one of us would be named Mrs. Colorado 2009.  It’s a moment that I’ll cherish forever.  It’s that one shining moment when you realize a dream has actually come true.

It seems that my journey in pageantry has now come full circle ~ since winning the Blossom Queen title in 1999, to becoming a director and now ten years later being crowned Mrs. Colorado 2009.

It has been an amazing journey and now I’d like to encourage you to find your passion, take a chance and dare to dream…