Sheri Backous, executive director of the Miss Clark County Scholarship Organization, said the key is to build up the contestants with love and confidence

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

It takes a team for one to shine.

But it takes a leader for so many individuals to stand out through the years.

Sheri Backous has been atop an organization that has been empowering young women from Southwest Washington for years. 

The executive director of the Miss Clark County Scholarship Organization since 2015, Backous has seen five impressive young women win state competitions and two of them have gone on to claim the top spot at nationals. 

The Miss Clark County Organization did it again earlier this month when Vanessa Munson, Miss Clark County, won the Miss Washington competition. Munson has a goal of becoming Miss America, too.

“I just love to mentor young ladies and watch them grow,” Backous said recently from her Vancouver home.

She emphasizes that it takes a team to win at local, state, or beyond. Sure, she is a coach, a mentor, a leader, but there are nine board members, as well. There are choreographers, talent support, and more.

“I’m kind of like the head of all that, helping to make sure we are going the right way so we’ve got all the right people on the bus,” Backous said. 

Of course, it also takes incredible, confident, strong young women who get on that stage and become greater versions of … of … well, of themselves, actually.

Backous said if there is a reason for success from Southwest Washington, it’s just that. Nobody from the board, nobody on the support team, dares ask a young woman to change who they are going into a competition.

“We love ‘em up and guide them in the direction they want to go,” Backous said. “We don’t try to make them into somebody they are not. They need to be themselves.”

Still, after so many state victories, Backous acknowledges that she has had others ask what is in the water in Clark County.

“I really relate it back to our team and just allowing these girls to grow to who they want to be and giving them that support and not forcing them to change,” Backous said. “Sometimes we give them guidance … but I’m too humble to say we’re an expert in any area, to say we’ve got the key answer. I think just supporting them, and showing that you care about them, and building them up.”

It has been quite a ride, though, building the region into a powerhouse in the scholarship competitions. The Miss Clark County Scholarship Organization runs Miss Clark County and Miss Greater Vancouver, which includes titles for Miss and Miss Teen.

Backous took over in 2015. In that first year under Backous, Alicia Cooper won Miss Washington 2016 and ended up the third runner-up at the Miss America competition.

Three years later, Abbie Kondel won Miss Clark County and then Miss Washington and competed at the Miss America Pageant.

Payton May was Miss Clark County Teen and finished in the top 10 at state the first year, then returned as Miss Greater Vancouver and won Miss Washington’s Teen before claiming Miss America’s Teen. 

She reigned for two years during the pandemic.

Next up was Morgan Greco. She was Miss Clark County’s Teen in 2020 and first runner-up in Washington. The next year, she entered the state competition as Miss Camas’ Teen. Not officially affiliated with Miss Clark County, Backous and her team still mentored Greco, who won Miss Washington’s Teen and last August, she claimed Miss America’s Teen.

It should be noted that when May and Greco earned their crowns, the title was called Miss America’s Outstanding Teen. Now, the title is called Miss America’s Teen. But, as Backous said, they are still outstanding ladies.

Backous has fond memories of those national victories.

“We did a lot of screaming,” she said when Payton May won. “It was just absolutely amazing to have someone work that hard. It was her time, and it was perfect.”

May did not get to travel as much as previous Miss America’s Teen winners, reigning during the pandemic.

Greco was recently in Dallas. For the Fourth of July, she was in a parade in Philadelphia. And earlier this year, Greco sang for Vietnam veterans in Washington D.C. 

“I have to say Morgan has always admired Payton. They became friends. Morgan kept working at it. She didn’t try to be like Payton. She developed into herself. She did a wonderful job.”

Now, Battle Ground’s Vanessa Munson has a shot at a national crown. By claiming Miss Washington, Munson will compete for Miss America, likely in January of 2024. (Dates and location have not been finalized.)

May, Greco, and Munson have a lot in common, too. They kept competing through the years, kept improving.

“One of the main things is we really try to get them to look beyond,” Backous said, especially after not winning a competition. “You’re not losing. You’re gaining skills along the way. Keep trying and keep moving forward. Vanessa came to us when she was 15 years old. She’s 22 now. She stayed with us.”

Munson said Backous has a way to make every girl feel like a winner.

“She is so supportive. She became the director the first year I competed,” Munson said. “I grew up with Sheri. She is so thoughtful and so kind and so confident in her convictions in helping every girl feel like they can be the next Miss America.”

Munson earned a $15,000 scholarship and many other prizes for her Miss Washington victory. 

Backous also stresses that whether it is Miss Clark County, Miss Washington, or Miss America … these are not beauty pageants. These competitions are scholarship pageants. The contestants all have Community Service Initiatives, something they are working on in order to help their communities. 

“We’re empowering young women to focus on their future,” Backous said. “I get great gratification from that, as far as helping them figure out what they want for a career, to try to get them there through scholarships that we provide in our organization. It’s just a great learning opportunity. No matter if they win or not, they learn interview skills and life skills that they take with them from there on.”

Backous has been a part of the scholarship program, directly or indirectly, for much of her life. Her parents were part of the Miss Washington board in the late 1960s back when Miss Washington was based in Vancouver. In high school, Sheri worked for the executive director of Miss Washington at the time.

Sheri never competed, but years later, her fourth daughter Kelly announced she wanted to compete. Kelly would go on to become Miss Clark County in 2005 and 2007. Because of her daughter’s interest, Sheri started volunteering again in the pageant circles. 

By 2015, she was asked to run Miss Clark County. She has a pageant room in her home she shares with husband Rick. They also have a photo studio in their home.

Today, her motivation is to help young women become the best they can be, and earn scholarships in the process. Backous said when she went back to college as an adult (WSU Vancouver), it was scholarships that helped make it possible.

“That’s my main focus, helping these young ladies reach some of their goals,” Backous said. “It’s not about the most expensive dress. It’s not about the most expensive wardrobe. It’s about being who you are inside. That’s how I think they win, being able to express themselves. That’s how we mentor them.

“Maybe that’s the secret.”