May 29, 2002 By April Straughters 4 min read

A Uniontown woman was crowned Ms. Senior Pennsylvania this past weekend in Philadelphia and will represent the state in the Ms. Senior America pageant in Mississippi in the fall. Renelda Thomas, 68, said she can’t explain how it felt when he she was crowned Ms. Senior Pennsylvania.

“I couldn’t even attempt to tell you what it was like. I wasn’t anticipating. I wasn’t nervous, maybe because I was tired. I just can’t explain the feeling. I don’t know,” she said.

Thomas said she really doesn’t think the reality of being Ms. Senior Pennsylvania has “sunk in yet.”

The competition was just Friday and lasted all day. She said it began at 7 a.m. and finished around 8 p.m. She said contestants had rehearsal in the morning, a personal interview in the afternoon and then the pageant, which included a presentation of their “philosophy of life,” talent and eveningwear. The pageant that took place in the Pennsylvania Convention Center was followed by a reception. A Monongahela woman, Peggy Savadeck, was named second-runner-up.

“It was so fast-paced. Everything tumbled over another then next thing you know it was show time,” she said.

According to its Web site, the Senior America Pageant judges women 60 years and older on a combination of talent and inner beauty along with individual fulfillment and elegance. The Web site said, “…the pageant seeks to draw attention to the achievements of senior women.”

Thomas, a retired elementary school teacher, has many achievements. She is an accomplished writer, painter and musician. And she combined the three for the talent portion of the contest.

Thomas said she displayed several paintings and poems as she recited her poems “Life” and “My Rainbow” through word and song.

Thomas says her six children are her greatest accomplishments, and that is the answer she gave the judges at the pageant when asked.

During her presentation of her “philosophy of life,” Thomas said, “Losing a beautiful child (Anna Lynn, 7) at a tender age is devastating, but raising five to successful adulthood is triumph over tragedy.”

Her children, Brenda Bryner of Smithfield; Nancy Otto, Lois Stasulis and Craig Frazee, all of Virginia; and Lori Frazee of Maryland are very excited about her recent title but were unable to attend because Thomas kept her participation a secret from everyone until the last minute.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone in case I chickened out at the last minute,” she said.

So Thomas traveled across Pennsylvania alone to compete against eight other candidates for the Ms. Senior Pennsylvania crown.

Thomas, who travels a lot to visit her children, had no reservations about making the long trip alone. Her motto for a long time has been “have car will travel.”

Thomas said her motto seemed to win points with the judges who smiled upon hearing it during the interview portion of the competition.

“They seemed to like that. I guess since I will be travelling a lot. They told me to expect to be very busy,” Thomas said.

Ms. Senior Pennsylvania, as part of her duties, will travel and make public appearances throughout the state.

Thomas made her first appearance as Ms. Senior Pennsylvania already when she visited a nursing home in York where her brother-in-law stays. Instead of coming home after the pageant, she stopped off in York to attend a family barbecue, living up to her motto.

When Thomas finally did get home, she was surprised with a warm welcome. Friends and neighbors proudly welcomed her with big yellow banners hanging from her garage and bright colored posters on her front door, congratulating her of her win.

Thomas currently works part-time with the Governor’s Institute of West Virginia, and is excited about her new title and its duties. She expects to visit many local nursing homes and senior centers and looks forward to meeting the different people.

Thomas said the national competition is expected to be scheduled in November in Mississippi.

“I can’t believe I will represent the state in this national competition. We’re talking the whole country here,” she said, smiling.

Thomas said she expects the competition to be extremely tough at the national level.

“I hear the competition is tough, that a lot of showbiz people participate,” she said.

But Thomas will remain optimistic and keep the faith, as is her “philosophy of life.”

“To succeed against adversities one must have faith in God and self, ” she said.