There must be something in the union-made bread produced by members
of Portland-based Bakers Local 114. Over the past two decades, the
offspring of four Local 114 members have been crowned Miss America,
Miss Oregon and Miss Teen Oregon.
The most famous is Katie Harmon, Miss America 2002. She is the granddaughter
of union member Adolph DiMarco.
The latest is Miss Oregon Donilee McGinnis. She will represent the
state at the Miss America Pageant to be held Jan. 29 in Las Vegas.
She is the daughter of Ron McGinnis, a 13-year member of the union
who works at Oroweat Bakery in Beaverton.
In 1984, Renee Bagley, the daughter of member Clyde Bagley, was
crowned Miss Oregon; and in 1996, Kristen Cook, the stepdaughter
of Local 114 Business Representative Gene Beaudoin, was selected
Miss Teen Oregon.
Donilee McGinnis, 24, of Scappoose, is a communications major at
Portland State University.
She first competed for the Miss Oregon title in 2004 after being
recruited by Katie Harmon’s mother, a customer at a Gresham
dress shop where McGinnis worked. McGinnis placed in the Top 10
that year, finished fourth in 2005, and captured the title in 2006.
Her talent is tap dancing, and her platform issue for the Miss
America contest, which will air on CMT on Monday, Jan. 29, is “Autism:
Advocacy and Awareness.” She selected that topic because her
brother, David, 18, is autistic. Donilee volunteers for the Autism
Society of Oregon, as well as the Autism Research & Resources
of Oregon. Last year she led an in-house autism awareness training
project for the Portland Police Bureau.
