Local Resident Competing for Ms. United States

Thursday, September 9th, 2021 -- 10:01 AM

(Cindy Cardinal, O-W Enterprise) A local resident will compete for Ms. United States on a platform of mental health awareness.

According to Cindy Cardinal of the O-W Enterprise, local resident Jaclene Newell currently holds the title of Ms. Wisconsin United States and will be competing for the title of Ms. United States in October.

Newell competed in her first pageant about nine years ago, running for Miss Wisconsin USA. She didn’t place the first time, but not to be deterred, she ran again, and placed in the top 15. The Ms. United States pageant has different divisions in which women can compete.

The pageant has been around for about 33 years. The national pageant is October 3-7 in Las Vegas. Newell plans to use her title as Ms. Wisconsin United States to promote mental health awareness.

She is working with a Lake Hallie Police Officer who has started Stop the Threat-Stop the Stigma to allow a platform to promote Law Enforcement Wellness, particularly in regard to mental health.

Part of the reason that Newell chose this pageant is because it is more platform based, more about charity and volunteerism. Newell had to submit a video where she talked about her platform and herself.

In the end, she was chosen as Ms. Wisconsin United States. Newell said she began in pageants as a way to challenge herself and to gain self-confidence. She said the world needs to change.

As a title holder, she feels she can get out and create that change, to help those who are struggling. Newell was born in Eau Claire. She was a premature baby, weighing only a little over three pounds.

As such, she had some struggles to overcome. She spent time in Withee with her grandparents while growing up. When she was 17, her grandmother died and she moved to Withee to help take care of her developmentally disabled cousins.

Newell went on to get a Masters Degree in Mental Health Clinical Counseling-Forensic Science. She did this because she wanted to help others through their struggles and help them promote peace in their lives, to help them find their life purpose.

Newell is currently working in the Dunn and Eau Claire County jails. She feels her job is to help the inmates find peace within themselves with what they have done and/or to cope with where they are at in their lives.

She wants them to know that someone cares and is willing to listen to them. She is also still working one day per week at Living Well Mental Health in Owen. But Newell said she would eventually like to do jail counseling full time as she enjoys it.

Newell plans to spread the message about mental health; whether she does that as Ms. Wisconsin United States or as Ms. United States is still to be determined. She has raised the funds needed to get her to Las Vegas and will be there for four days.

Sometime in September, she will have Zoom meetings with the seven judges. This will serve as the interview portion of competition. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, she will have preliminary competition in both swimsuit and evening gown.

On the final night, there will again be swimsuit and evening gown competition. The top five contestants will then answer a question live on stage. Newell believes that the competition will be livestreamed and we will provide that information to our readers when it becomes available.

Newell said she can still use sponsors as she is working with coaches on both the interview process and walking/stage presence. Sponsors could also provide accessories such as jewelry.

There are a lot of expenses involved in competing beyond just getting to the pageant. If you would like to help, please contact Newell at (715)-316-1254 for more information or you can send checks to Jaclene Newell at 205 Division Street, Withee, WI 54498.

The photo is courtesy of Jaclene Newell.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.