Maple Valley resident Larissa Long doesn’t exactly fit the stereotypical image of a pageant contestant.

Married with three kids she regards herself as a social media geek who spends most of her time in gym clothes.

This past November, however, she participated in the Mrs. Washington contest and intends to do so again this year, with the hopes of winning. As Mrs. Pacific Northwest Long has been using her title as a way to promote the long list of charities and nonprofit organizations that she supports. She is also the spokesperson for Autism Speaks, a cause close to her heart, as her 10-year-old son Ethan has autism.

Long first became interested in the pageant three years ago after speaking to a friend of hers who had been crowed Mrs. Seattle and was acting as the ambassador for a charity. Then her husband, Eric, suggested she enter one — an idea she was initially tentative about.

“I’m not much of a pageant girl,” she said.

Yet, she admitted that she had many of the qualities that would mark her a good contestant.

“I am always out of my house, always at events, always at a charity,” she said.

Her interest was primarily with promoting Autism Speaks which helps with early intervention with autistic children. Long said she began to suspect Ethan had autism when he was 2 after reading a magazine article listing the symptoms of autistic children. He was eventually diagnosed with severe autism.

“It was quite a shock to me,” Long said. “I cried a lot.”

She added, however, that Ethan has improved dramatically due to therapy.

“You wouldn’t even know (he had it),” she said. “

Long ultimately she decided that the pageant would be a great way for her to get word out about the organization. By the time she decided to enter in October, however, she had only two months to prepare.

During that time, Long started to work out, as well as learn various skills such as curling her hair and putting on makeup.

“I had to watch YouTube videos,” she said. “I am a total geek.”

She was also highly secretive about her decision to participate in a pageant as she was terrified of what people would say. Ironically, when she finally did tell her friends, their reaction was very positive.

“They were really excited,” she said. “Even my brother was like, ‘You could totally win this.’”

Given the title Mrs. Pacific Northwest, Long said the contest wasn’t particularly nerve-wracking, save for having to stand up on stage in a swimsuit.

“I had zero idea of what I was doing,” she said.

The environment among the contestants, she said, is very much like a sorority.

“It reminds me so much of it,” she said. “When you go to the pageant and leave you’re still friends (with other contestants). It’s got that sisterhood.”

Even though she didn’t win the pageant, Long said, the experience has helped tremendously with her efforts. In addition to interviews, she has written for magazines and for an online blog. The pageant, she said, has a very strong emphasis on promoting charitable causes.

“It’s not just a beauty contest,” she said. “There’s so much more to it. That’s why I do it.”

Long expects to do much better this time around when she competes again in the fall. She has made more than 55 event appearances and has become more educated about the pageant in general.

“Now I know what to do,” she said. “Now I know I need big hair even though I don’t have big hair. I have the confidence going in because I don’t feel nervous about it. If I’m going to lose, there’s women I respect that are going to do good things with it.”