Mrs. Brighton Laura McGaffney to compete in state pageant

BRIGHTON — After coming across an Instagram post for the 2023 Mrs. America winner, Laura McGaffney learned there was a pageant for married women.

McGaffney, a Brighton resident, decided to apply for Michigan’s pageant.

“I can teach my daughters about bravery,” McGaffney said. “I can give them that gift.”

McGaffney is competing as Mrs. Brighton in the 2024 Michigan-America Pageant, which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Plainwell High School Performing Arts Center, 684 Starr Road.

Tickets for the pageant are available online at indianamichiganpageants.com. For those who can’t attend in person, tickets can be purchased to view a livestream of the event.

Contestants will compete for three titles: Mrs. Michigan-America, Mrs. Michigan AmeriCAN (runner-up) and Miss Michigan For America Strong. The three winners will represent Michigan at the national competition in August in Las Vegas.

Contestants for the two Mrs. titles must be married, age 21 or older, an American citizen and a resident of the state — according to the event website. Miss Michigan for America Strong contestants must be single, divorced or widowed and age 18 and older.

McGaffney is hoping to be either Mrs. Michigan-America or Mrs. Michigan AmeriCAN. McGaffney was born in Spain and moved to the U.S. when she was 8 years old. The only words she knew were “hello,” “goodbye” and “Snickers bar.”

McGaffney works in aviation and owns “My Custom Balls,” which sells customized embroidered baseballs. She has lived in Brighton with her husband and children for the past seven years.

Contestants will be judged on three categories: personal interview (50% of total score), swimsuit (25%) and evening (25%) — according to the website.

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People can visit the website to vote for Michigan’s Fabulous Face. Votes are a minimum of $2 and the winner automatically moves to the top five in the competition. The winner is determined by money raised, not a total number of votes.

McGaffney, 45, is one of 12 women in the Mrs. Michigan America category. McGaffney described her competition as “truly amazing women.”

“It’s been a beautiful sisterhood getting to know all these other women,” she said.

McGaffney said this is her first pageant and hopes to receive support from the Brighton community. She said the pageant is “about bringing out the best version of yourself" and described it as a “sport.”

“You have to know your thoughts to be able to win,” she said. “You have to know your game if you’re playing lacrosse, basketball or baseball. Same rules apply here. You have to get not just the right attire but your confidence.”

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Mrs. Brighton Laura McGaffney to compete in state pageant