Richland grad hopes to bring Miss Washington crown back to the Tri-Cities

Miss Tri-Cities Noël Anderson hopes her advocacy for a cause close to her heart will give her the edge needed to become the next Miss Washington.

Anderson, the 2021-22 Miss Tri-Cities winner, plans to show her passion for scoliosis education at the Miss Washington competition this weekend.

Anderson, 21, said she has been competing in the Miss America program for six years now, earning titles such as Miss Tri-Cities Outstanding Teen in 2016, one year after she was first runner-up for the same competition. She went to the Miss Washington Outstanding Teen competition that year and placed in the top 10.

As Miss Tri-Cities, Anderson is advocating for Setting Scoliosis Straight, a nonprofit organization supporting families impacted by scoliosis.

The organization resonates with Anderson because she had scoliosis from a young age and needed to get a spinal fusion surgery that placed two rods and 19 screws in her spine at the age of 14.

“Scoliosis awareness and everything, a lot of that is done as Miss Tri-Cities, but I also just do that as Noël,” she said. “That’s something I’m personally very passionate (about).”

During her time as Miss Tri-Cities, she has been able to promote Setting Scoliosis Straight and give back to Shriners Hospital for Children, where her surgery was performed.

“(Miss Tri-Cities has) really given me a voice to turn this experience of overcoming scoliosis, which was very difficult for me, (and) turn that into a purpose. So that’s been just quite amazing to have that sense of purpose,” she said.

“Also, Miss Tri Cities and Miss America has given me confidence in myself to just be the best version of myself and to be confident in my abilities as a person.”

Anderson said she has been working hard this year as Miss Tri-Cities, and she hopes her work shows at the Miss Washington competition.

She has attended and spoken at multiple events over the past year. She has also been making the drive from Washington State University in Pullman, where she is studying broadcast news, to the Tri-Cities almost every weekend to make appearances.

“I’m really just hoping that all that hard work pays off and that people get to hear my heart and my story at Miss Washington,” she said.

This will be Anderson’s second year competing in the Miss Washington competition.

In the 2018-19 competition season, when Anderson was a senior at Richland High School, she competed in Yakima and was crowned the title of Miss Sunfair. At the Miss Washington competitions that year, she received a talent award for her cover of “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone.

“I’m actually singing (“Feeling Good”) again at Miss Washington,” she said. “I’ve had success with that song and I really just enjoy singing that one.”

Anderson will be competing against dozens of other women from across the state for the role of Miss Washington. But, even though they’re her competitors, she has been able to build relationships with every one of them.

“I find them to be very like minded, which makes it very easy to be friends with this these people because we’re all ambitious, intelligent, driven, passionate young women who want to make a difference in their community and compete to gain scholarship money,” she said. “That’s really, at the end of the day, one of the greatest things about Miss America.”

Anderson is heading to Burien, a city 20 minutes south of Seattle, this week to prepare for competitions. Rehearsals begin June 30.

The competition is July 1 to 2 at the Performing Arts Center in Burien. Tickets are available for the preliminary round and the final round on the Miss Washington website.

“It’s been over 10 years since we’ve had a Miss Tri-Cities win Miss Washington,” Anderson said. “So I really, really want to make my hometown proud and to bring the Miss Washington crown back to Tri Cities, and I think this is the year. I think this is the time.”