By Jessica Chase
The Scene staff
A Forest Park student with a colorful background competed in the Mrs. Missouri United States pageant last month.
Wauneen Rucker, 50, was one of six contestants from across the state. She’s a baking and pastry major, a Baptist minister and a mother of two. She formerly served in the U.S. Marines and worked as a police officer.
Rucker didn’t win the competition, but she enjoyed it.
“My experience was a good one, even though it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped,” she said. “I wouldn’t have changed anything.”
The pageant was sponsored by Vanbros and Associates, a talent management firm. It’s a preliminary to the Mrs. United States Pageant.
Contestants had to be natural-born females, married, at least 21 years old and U.S. citizens. They were judged in three categories: Personal Interview, swimsuit and evening wear.
There was no talent competition, but all the contestants performed in a stage production at The Missouri Theater in St. Joseph.
“(The pageant’s purpose is) to encourage excellence in women and to help them develop life skills that will ultimately help them win in life by being the best they can be in everything they do,” said Jennifer Vannatta-Fisher, co-executive director.
Rucker selected “volunteerism” as her platform. She prepared for the pageant by working on her interview skills. She wanted to be convincing and seem realistic about her goals for giving back to the community.
Another challenge for Rucker was finding sponsors in a poor economic climate. They help defray the cost of expensive gowns, makeup artists and trainers in exchange for the opportunity to promote their products and services.
One of Rucker’s biggest supporters is Yolanda Yancie, a friend for more than 10 years. They met while singing in a gospel group at church. Both are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
“Wauneen is very hospitable and excels in pageants because that’s her element,” Yancie said. “She is very elegant in pageants and is an excellent role model and coach for younger girls who compete.”
Rucker has been competing in pageants for nearly 30 years. She was 14 when her cheerleading coaches suggested she enter Hal Jackson’s Talented Teen Contest in Kirkwood.
Rucker didn’t win, but she went on to compete in about 10 more pageants as a teen-ager.
“It became something to do outside the neighborhood, and I enjoyed doing it,” she said.
As an adult, Rucker has competed in Dream Girls U.S.A., Mrs. Missouri America, Essence and Mrs. Missouri United States pageants.
Rucker is married to commercial painter LaVance Rucker. She has two sons, Fred Fuller, 26, and Elisha Rucker, 8. She’s a licensed minister with The Shalom Church City of Peace in St. Louis.
Waunee and LaVance Rucker have been married 13 years. He describes her as an “out-going” and “people-oriented” person who enjoys helping others.
“I enjoy watching her on stage (in pageants),” he said. “It’s a beautiful transformation that you see, and I am very supportive of her competing.”
Wauneen Rucker graduated from Beaumont High School in 1982 and enrolled at University of Missouri-Columbia. She was walking home one day and saw a U.S. Marines recruiting station near the Fox Theatre.
Rucker enlisted in the middle of the semester. Before she knew it, she was putting college on hold and preparing for boot camp.
“My parents were not happy,” she said. “Even the neighbors were shocked that I had decided to join the military, but I was burned out from school and thought serving in the Marines was the best thing for me to do.”
Rucker spent six years in the Marines and two years in the reserves, earning the rank of E3 and becoming a lance corporal legal specialist clerk and judge’s aid at Camp Pendleton in California.
After the military, Rucker earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1992 and a master’s degree in criminology from Webster University in 2000.
She worked as a St. Louis police officer for five years before getting a job as an investigator with the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Rucker enrolled at Forest Park last year to pursue her passion for cooking. She always has enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. As a child, she would rather help her beloved grandmother prepare meals than play with her siblings.
“My grandmother did baking, and I used to have allergies really bad, so I stayed in the house, and by age 6 or 7, I was cooking alongside my grandmother,” Rucker said.
“My plan after graduation was initially to own a bakery. But now, since other venues are opening up, I decided that I want to work in a pastry kitchen at a well-known casino.”
This semester, Rucker is taking Pastry Block 1 and Culinary Fundamentals, among other classes.
Fellow baking and pastry major Ashton Lowery, 20, didn’t even know she competed in pageants.
“I’m happy for her,” he said. “She’s the nicest person and is always is willing to help. I support her and would say she’s a very good cook. Anytime we’ve been paired together, our finished product was very tasty.”
Rucker advises young women interested in pageants to ignore how they’re portrayed on TV and recognize they’re not just about winning crowns.
“When competing in pageants, compete against yourself and set personal goals you want to achieve that can help you grow and build character,” she said.