Ponte Vedra Beach resident to compete in Ms. Senior Jacksonville pageant on July 21

Posted

Ponte Vedra Beach resident Kim St. Clair Seals will compete for the Ms. Senior Jacksonville crown on Saturday, July 21 at the University of North Florida.

“It's my first time competing in a pageant," Seals said. "I used to be a girl who would go fishing and do other kinds of stuff. I was never a pageant girl, so this is the first time ever."

Seals, the president of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association’s North Florida chapter, said one of the reasons she's participating in Ms. Senior Jacksonville 2018 is to educate people on heart disease and its impact on women. According to Seals, women with a family history of the ailment are at a higher risk for heart attacks, peripheral vascular disease and other problems.

"I'm very excited to have this opportunity to be a spokesperson for Jacksonville and be an advocate for all women," she said. "To improve quality of life and prevent disability from strokes, that's what I'm really passionate about."

Seals said she heard about the pageant when she saw a contestant at Costco with a Ms. Senior Jacksonville sash. After inquiring about the competition, Seals followed the recommendation of her mother-in-law and attended a previous edition of the pageant before deciding she wanted to compete herself.

In preparation for Ms. Senior Jacksonville, Seals said she is seeing a voice instructor to help with the choreography for a song she'll be performing at the competition. She is also working out and eating healthy.

"I'm going to the gym and making sure I'm fit," Seals noted. "I'm eating well, getting sleep, taking care of my voice and practicing ‘the walk’ because you have to do ‘the walk’ in a gown ... I'm keeping my spirits and my enthusiasm up."

Furthermore, Seals asserted that winning the competition would allow her to utilize a larger platform to be an advocate for all women.

"I'm very active with the American Heart Association, with Tobacco-Free Jacksonville," she revealed. "I'm already doing a lot of this stuff but I want to continue, and having that voice and being able to be visible will be huge. They utilize Ms. Senior Jacksonville for a lot of other functions."

Seals also said, should she win the pageant, she wants to go to a Jacksonville Icemen game and skate onto the ice with her sash and crown and have the team wear red, the color for women in heart disease. She is also interested in throwing a ceremonial pitch at a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp game, or even singing the national anthem.

Winning Ms. Senior Jacksonville wouldn't be the end for Seals. A July 21 victory would open the door for the Ponte Vedra resident to compete for the Ms. Senior Florida crown, and eventually Ms. Senior America.

"That would be just so huge," she said. "Then I would think that it would bring so much more attention to this (heart disease) issue ... just to make women aware, that's what I want to do. I want to be a huge voice; that would mean the world to me."

For more information on the Ms. Senior Jacksonville pageant, visit www.aseasonedaffair.com.