ELEELE — When Shannon Daliva of Kekaha was crowned Mrs. Hawaii United States at New Hope Christian Fellowship on Oahu, she asked herself a question.
“Now what?”
“I literally hit the ground running,” said Daliva, human resources manager at Holo Holo Charters in Eleele. “We had only four weeks to prepare for the national pageant which takes place in Orlando, Florida from July 3 through 7.”
Daliva, who received an outpouring of public support, will be leaving Sunday for the Mrs. United States pageant presented by the Miss United States Pageant system where she will be participating among 54 delegates from around the country. The reigning Mrs. United States is Rachael Todd, who earned the title as Mrs. Florida on July 8 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate.
Daliva will be competing in this field that includes a private interview with pageant judges, the evening gown phase, and an on-stage question from the panel of judges. She will also participate in a state costume runway competition that does not count toward the overall scoring. The competition will have delegates wearing costumes representing their states.
Earning the title of Mrs. Hawaii has been an amazing experience for Daliva, who holds previous pagent titles of Mrs. Garden Isle 2017, and Mrs. Kauai United States 2018 before securing the Mrs. Hawaii title.
“I’m a Kauai girl, born and raised here,” Daliva said. “It’s a really nice feeling to bring this title back home and share it with all of the people. This is a title to share with everyone here because of all the excitement it generated.”
Daliva said she was surprised at the excitement from the Oahu pageant where her co-workers and a lot of other Kauai folk were texting and emailing her about the results.
“I’m amazed at the amount of support there is in the community,” the 2018 Mrs. Hawaii said. “I just want to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey.”
Daliva lives in Kekaha with her husband Benjy and daughters Jourdan, a senior at the Louisiana State University at Alexandria, and Justice-Ross, a student at Waimea High School. She is a retired dancer with Lazaro’s hula halau.
Since earning her crown, Daliva has had the opportunity for just one public appearance — the annual King’s Parade and Celebration on June 9 in Lihue.
People can vote for her at wwww.missunitedtatespageant.com.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
