To Miss St. Petersburg, Beauty Pageants Aren't Everything

ST. PETERSBURG – When it comes to beauty pageants, the women who enter them often fall into one of two categories: casual contestant or cutthroat competitor.

Laura McKeeman, the reigning Miss St. Petersburg who recently finished third in the 2011 Miss Florida competition, definitely sees herself in the former category.

“The pageant world is a supplement to my life. It should never be your life. And once it becomes your life, then it’s a problem,” she said.

Becoming a pageant lifer isn’t a problem for McKeeman. She is too busy answering opportunities to get caught up in a brief, crowning moment.

An Atlanta native who now lives in Pass-A-Grille, McKeeman grew up in an active household. She fell in love with sports after attending field hockey events at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

A potential career in classical ballet was put on hold when McKeeman decided to attend the University of Florida, where she worked at the campus radio station covering sports.

“They said we have one opening, in sports, and I said ‘Fine, I’ll take it!’ ”

Upon graduating this spring with a degree in broadcast journalism, McKeeman was hired by Fox Sports Interactive, where she covers the Southeastern Conference and produces 60 pieces of written and video content per month.

She also serves as a reporter on Tampa Bay Rays broadcasts for Fox Sports South, a job she loves due to her fondness for the area.

“I always loved St. Petersburg. I visited a lot during college,” McKeeman said during an interview at the Pier last week.

“When I got the job with the Rays I thought, ‘this is perfect…I get to live in St. Pete’.”

In addition to her blossoming broadcasting career and ballet skills, McKeeman, 22, is an avid cook, plays four musical instruments and knows the words to every James Taylor song.

In other words, she’s not your typical "Pageant Patty," she notes.

A Pageant Patty?

“A Pageant Patty is someone who doesn’t have a real bone in their body, and if they do, they’re not gonna show it,” she explains. “They lack a lot of the candid aspects… that make people who they are.”

With her diverse background and wide array of interests and talents, the last thing McKeeman ever thought was that she would become a beauty queen of any type.

In fact, it was not even her idea to start entering contests.

“My sorority sisters at Zeta Tau Alpha urged me to enter the Miss University of Florida Pageant last year,” she recalls. “I’m like ‘No, I’m the girl next door’!”

She is the girl next door who won first runner-up in her very first competition, prompting McKeeman to enter other pageants in order to win scholarship money to assist her parents with the cost of tuition.

She won the 2010 Miss Suncoast crown a few months later, then went on to place 15th in the 2010 Miss Florida event in St. Petersburg. After that showing, she set her sights on winning the crown of her adopted hometown.

“Going into this year I was like, I’m just going to be myself. I just wanted to do the best I could and represent the city of St. Petersburg.”

McKeeman got her wish this past February, when she bested all the competition en route to capturing the title of Miss St. Petersburg. The victory earned her a spot in the on July 9th, with an opportunity to make it to the Miss America Pageant next January.

During the week of the contest, while other girls fussed over their outfits or fretted over their spray tans, McKeeman kept busy. She researched her Fox Sports stories, wrote content for her online columns, and helped the other contestants with the difficult interview portion of the competition.

“I hate the spray tans. They smell bad, and they rub off on everything!”

But the self-professed sports junkie had no designs on winning the Miss Florida title; she was thrilled and shocked just to finish as the second runner-up.

“I never expected to be in the top five. I didn’t care what happened; I just wanted to represent St. Petersburg well.”

The title went to Miss Winter Park, Kristina Janolo, a competitor whom McKeeman has nothing but praise for.

“Kristina’s awesome. She’s incredibly talented, and it’s amazing the amount of work she put into it. She really deserves it.”

“She will be a wonderful Miss Florida, and I think she’s going to do very well at Miss America, too.”

As for McKeeman, she is unsure whether pageants will be part of her future or not.

After becoming the youngest on-air reporter in Fox Sports history, the combination of her charisma, hard work and dedication to her craft has her broadcasting career on the rise.

She can see herself working for ESPN, taking a path blazed by another former glamorous Gator, Erin Andrews, or possibly doing a Good Morning America or Today-type talk show, or even a cooking show.

But whatever the future holds, McKeeman acknowledges that she would like to remain right where she is for a long time to come.

“Whatever happens, I’d like to stay in this area."

"I love the Pier. I love walking past the Vinoy. Parkshore Grill is one of my favorite places to eat, and Bella Brava, too. And I’m a huge fan of the Dali Museum.”

“It’s such a cool place to live because there is always something fun to do, and it’s such a cultured area.”

“But my ideal night off is watching Sportscenter, cooking some food, and going down for a walk on the beach.”