Lynette Schlager, of Pahrump, finished first runner-up among 16 contestants vying for the title of Ms. Senior Nevada, during the 23rd annual pageant held at the Suncoast Casino Hotel Showroom in Las Vegas Wednesday. Schlager won the 2008 Ms. Senior America Nye County Pageant at the Saddle West Hotel in Pahrump last April.
During the state pageant she danced and sang to the theme song of the musical "Fame" during the talent competition. During her evening gown competition, Schalger said her philosophy was, "life is to be judged not by the breaths you take but by the happy and joyous moments that take your breath away." Mya Lake Reyes, an African-American woman from Las Vegas, won the crown.
A former KLAS-TV reporter, she was once named Las Vegas Review-Journal Enterprising Woman of the Year. Schlager will fill in for Reyes if she is unable to attend a function as Ms. Senior Nevada. Schlager has led an active, outdoor lifestyle as a former race car crew chief, a scuba diving instructor, a skiing instructor, showed horses and had her own musical production company.
After competing in the 2006 Ms. Senior Golden Years, she lost 75 pounds on a protein diet and competed in the Ms. Senior Sweetheart Pageant of America in Massachusetts last November. Schlager said she wasn't disappointed to finish first runner-up in the state pageant, given the quality of the talent. Another Pahrumpian, Scotty Winegar, was the stage director and choreographer for the state pageant.
