March 15, 2007
Featured in Metro Edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal
By Angie Fenton
Sometimes Denise Mattingly envisions herself in a different line of work.
"I would like to be a full-time volunteer at our church," she said, referring to Our Mother of Sorrows, the parish she and her husband, Matthew Coddington, attend. "I want to help prepare the meals, look after the sick," said Mattingly, who lives in Louisville. The career change can't come "soon enough," she said — but it probably isn't going to come any time soon. As one of the area's reigning queens of pageant productions, Mattingly sets the stage for young people to compete in talent and beauty contests, and that's an endeavor she's not ready to relinquish. "Pageants are like a drug," said Mattingly, 42. "Boy, there's nothing like getting your name called," she said.
Mattingly, who runs DeniseMattingly.com, is in the midst of a busy season. She will direct the Ms. Sun Tan City preliminaries in Lexington, Ky., and Goodlettsville, Tenn., in March and April. The Louisville prelim is in May at Saddle Ridge, inside 4th Street Live, which also is where the national finals will be in June.
There is a high from being on stage and having people clap for you," Mattingly said. "Applause is intoxicating." She fell in love with the public accolades when she started competing in pageants as a child, showcasing her baton-twirling talent. She credits her late father, Bob Mattingly, and her mother, Colene Mattingly, for instilling the confidence necessary to get up before a crowd. "Whatever goals she had, we knew she could accomplish it," said Colene Mattingly, who lives in Borden, Ind. "But it wasn't like she had to be No.1. If you know you went out there and did the best you can do, what more can you ask for?" "I won some," Denise Mattingly said. "I lost more. But if I didn't win, I usually walked home with something."
The pageants led to modeling gigs, TV appearances, voiceover work and, for the past 12 years, the opportunity to impersonate a host of icons, including Cinderella, Miss Chiquita Banana and a breathy Marilyn Monroe. The pageants also led Mattingly to the realization that she wanted to host the pageants, not simply compete in them. At the "ripe old age of 18," she opened a local modeling agency, Denise Mattingly Creations. Shortly afterward, she directed her first event, a high school fashion show fundraiser. "I wasn't old enough to drink the champagne they served," Mattingly said. The fashion show was a success, and she was soon on her way around "pageant land," judging competitions all over the country. Eventually she made her way back to the agency, where she started coaching girls for area pageants. "And then they started winning," Mattingly said. "And then I started charging."
For the past 19 years, Mattingly has directed pageants at the annual Carl Casper Championship Auto Show at the Kentucky Exposition Center. "I was totally flattered when they initially asked me," she said, "and I never left. I'm still there." What started out as fashion and hair shows and four pageants have evolved into the Kids World of Fun Beauty Pageants and Baby Contests and American Dream Calendar Model Search . Mattingly carefully orchestrates the numerous competitions at the car show over the three-day weekend, maintaining what appears to be a seemingly impenetrable exterior. "I'm not as tough as I act," she said. "I'm somewhat of a softie. I get my feelings hurt." Dealing with parents whose children are vying for prizes can be particularly challenging, she said. "It's part of the business. I have to deal with angry parents, with angry grandparents. My shrink suggested giving out ribbons so everybody gets a prize," Mattingly said. "But defeat is a very important thing to learn." So, too, are the lessons older competitors glean by stepping on stage. Pageants aren't merely fluff 'n' stuff, she said. "If you can get on stage in a swimsuit, you can do anything," Mattingly said.
When Ashley Miller began competing four years ago, judges told her she needed to lose weight. "They said I was too heavy. My legs were too big," said Miller, a registered nurse and full-time student at the University of Louisville. On the verge of giving up, Miller sought Mattingly's advice. "She gave me the hard facts," Miller said. The truth was, Miller did need to get in better shape if she wanted to capture a crown, but more than anything she needed to hone her interview skills and stand up straighter to exude the confidence of a beauty queen. "She talked to me, and she told me she really believed I would be wasting God-given talent if I gave up," Miller said. The perseverance paid off when Miller was crowned 2007 Miss My Old Kentucky Home. She'll compete for the Miss Kentucky America title this summer. "Denise is, like, the lone reason why I've even stuck with the pageants and modeling," Miller said. "She stays on my butt."
In addition to coaching, Mattingly also runs the Jefferson County Coca-Cola Talent Classic and used to direct the Miss Hawaiian Tropic and Ms. Sun Tan City pageants at Phoenix Hill Tavern. When the shows become chaotic and overwhelming, Mattingly considers her contributions. "I'm watching (pageant competitors) achieve their goals. I am watching them become productive adults. I watch them excel in school, in business, in anything they want," Mattingly said. "I have been a part of their success as human beings."