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She's Tops With Contenders In Quality Of Character

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

PLANT CITY - Katie Sharer has had her fair share of success in the beauty pageant world, but after making a top 10 finish at the recent 2008 Miss Florida Pageant in St. Petersburg, Sharer said she is 21 and done.

At 14, Sharer won Florida Teen Miss Hometown USA. As a 16-year-old, she was 2004 Florida Strawberry Festival queen and won the Miss Tampa crown in 2006. She went to the Miss Florida Pageant this year, her second try at that title, as Miss Winter Park.

"I had a wonderful time in St. Pete," Sharer said. "I enjoyed the competition. Being placed in the top 10 was exciting. Everything went well. But I wasn't meant to win. I felt from the beginning that my reason for being there was to support the other 44 girls in the competition."

Many of the other young women competing must have appreciated Sharer's attitude during the July 2 to 5 pageant at the Mahaffey Theater. She was voted by her peers the winner of the Quality of Character Award.

"They used to vote for Miss Congeniality, but this award has a slightly different twist," Sharer said. "The character award is based more on integrity, honesty and sincerity. It's a little deeper than just getting along with the other competitors."

Although Sharer didn't win any of the preliminary competitions in swimsuit, talent or evening gown, she scored high enough in all of them to make the top 10.

Roxanne Fulwood, president of Miss Heart of Plant City, watched the pageant and said Sharer was awesome during the competition.

"Katie was wonderful," Foxwood said. She represented Plant City well, as did all the girls from Plant City who competed there."

Aside from Sharer, three other young women from Plant City were contenders: Miss Central Florida MacKenzie Clark, Miss Capitol City Caycee Hampton and Miss Heart of Plant City Amanda Holland. Sharer was the only one to make the top 10.

"Katie was classy all the way," Fulwood said. "She was elegant and stylish in swimsuit, talent and evening wear. I know she would have liked to finish higher. They all do. But there was an awful lot of talent on that stage. Katie could have easily made the top five. She was that good. ... I'm very proud of her."

The Fourth of July was a day off for the pageant but not really for the contestants.

"Pageant officials took all the contestants to the Columbia Restaurant in St. Pete," Sharer said. The group watched fireworks from The Pier in St. Petersburg.

"On Saturday July 5, they let us sleep in, which was great. Then we had lunch and started to rehearse our group performance and go through the plans for Saturday night," she said.

The contestants practiced from 1 to 4 p.m. and had a little time to relax before getting dressed for the opening number at 8 p.m.

After that performance, in which all 45 contestants sang and danced, the young women took their places and waited for the top 10 to be named.

Sharer said she was thankful her name was called by pageant officials before they got too deep into the count.

"I caught myself holding my breath before each name was called," Sharer said with a laugh. "If I had to wait for the 10th name, I might have fainted."

The top 10 went through another round of swimsuit, talent and evening gown competition. That is when the top five were chosen, and Sharer and four other contestants were out of the running.

Miss Palm Beach County Sierra Minott was declared the winner about 10 p.m., Sharer said. The competitors joined in congratulating the winner.

And then it was over.

"That's it for me and pageants," said Sharer, who has entered the competitions since she was a young girl. "I'm going to pursue my career and other things. It was a lot of fun. But I'm done."

Sharer, the daughter of Vicki and Richard Sharer, is a recent graduate of Paul Mitchell the School, a cosmetology school.

"I have several offers in South Tampa from shop owners who want me to work with them," Sharer said. "Eventually I hope to own and operate my own high-end salon. But I'll take it all one step at a time."

Fulwood is sure "Katie will do it with class; like she always does."

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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