In the living room of their Ooltewah home, “the Governor” and “First Lady” (as identified by the mailbox at their driveway) were holding court, regaling a guest with the story of how the Miss Metropolitan pageant played a role in their first meeting.

J.R. Fitch, holder of the gubernatorial honorific, was dressed casually on the sunny Friday afternoon, his golf shirt and slacks offering a laid-back contrast to his wife Autumn’s business suit and high heels. They occupied side-by-side arm chairs in the tastefully-decorated room, across from a curio cabinet housing three crowns, two of them souvenirs from Autumn’s involvement with the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Organization.

The former Miss Metropolitan and Miss Hamilton County, now Cigna HealthCare’s implementation manager for client services, told most of the story, punctuated with additions from her husband, whose mother she met first while visiting Bobbie Nation and Rodney Hullender, executive directors of the Miss Metropolitan pageant, at their salon one afternoon.

“It was a Tuesday, and I just popped in. I’d spoken at a school and was still wearing my crown. J.R.’s mother walked in, took one look at me, and said, ‘What am I supposed to do? Curtsey?’ I didn’t know what to say. I was in shock. Finally I managed to say, ‘No, ma’am.’”

Shortly thereafter, her future mother-in-law suggested that “‘Miss Tennessee here should meet ‘the Governor.’ I thought, ‘What does that mean? (As spokesperson for the Safe and Drug-Free Tennessee program) Miss Tennessee works for the governor.’”

“The Governor” proved to be a family nickname for J.R., referring to his interest in politics and aspirations to hold public office. Both he and Autumn were dating other people at the time, and when they did meet, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight.

“I thought, ‘Pageant girl. Not my type,’” J.R. remembered. “She was looking at me and thinking, ‘What a redneck.’”

“He had the NASCAR jacket, two cell phones, the whole nine yards,” Autumn confirmed. “I was not impressed.”

They didn’t meet again until six months later, again at the directors’ salon, where Autumn was working on her wardrobe in preparation for the Miss Tennessee pageant. It was about 7 p.m., and she had changed into her evening gown and walked out into the reception area, where J.R. had arrived, looking more like the investment advisor that he is.

“I looked at him and thought, ‘Oh, my goodness,’” Autumn said. “Wow” summed up J.R.’s thoughts as he took a more interested look at the beauty queen in her full-length gold sequined gown. She went on to practice her song for the talent preliminary, “and J.R. with his arrogant self sat right in front of me while I sang ‘Since I Fell For You.’ It was at that moment that he decided, ‘I’ve fallen for you, all right.’”

Laughing, J.R. explained that “things had changed for both of us by then, and neither of us had a significant other,” a change in circumstances that led to Autumn agreeing to attend an upcoming gala with him. “I didn’t know anything about this guy, but he seemed like a gentleman when he was around me,” she said.

There happened to be a mix-up about the date of the gala, but since neither had other plans for the agreed-upon evening, they decided to go out anyway, on a date for which J.R. was pressured to be on time. “He had been on a business trip to Fort Knox, and he drove all the way back to East Brainerd to change, then all the way to Cleveland to pick me up, then back downtown to the Vaudeville Café.”

After enjoying ‘The Italian-Redneck Wedding,’ neither was anxious for the night to end, so they went to Coolidge Park. “I love the park,” Autumn said. “We walked and walked and walked (and I was wearing four-inch heels – talk about a pageant girl),” ending up at Rembrandt’s in the arts district, where they ordered coffee and Italian cream cake, most of which Autumn consumed. “I’m trying to stay in shape, it’s four weeks before the Miss Tennessee pageant, and he lets me eat the entire thing,” she remembered with bemused exasperation.

“I didn’t like it,” J.R. shrugged.

They were falling for each other, but since Autumn was serving as a titleholder and preparing for the state pageant, she wasn’t sure it was the right time to start a relationship. She changed her mind after J.R. took her back to her dorm at Lee University and remained until 2 a.m., helping her and her roommate complete a project for their sorority.

“I called my mom after he left and said, ‘I’ve just had the best date of my entire life. He’s wonderful. I laughed the entire evening.”

“How eighth grade is this?” J.R. said with a chuckle, taking a sip from his glass of tea before adding that, having graduated from dating, they observed their first wedding anniversary in August.

Having concluded that story, Autumn went on to reflect on her time as a pageant titleholder and how she believes she benefited from the experience.

Her background in pageantry: “It started when I was 10 in South Georgia, and I did them for a couple of years. I had every little girl’s dream to be Miss America.” Winning the Miss Dublin title several years later, she qualified to compete for the Miss Georgia crown, which she describes as a learning experience. “They were serious about it, and I was determined not to go back unless I was prepared.” Moving to Cleveland to attend Lee University, “I decided to get some good groundwork and some volunteering under my belt.” Eventually she was encouraged by friends to enter the first Miss Metropolitan pageant, which she won. “That brought me into the Chattanooga community.” She won the talent preliminary at Miss Tennessee that year, and “I was completely satisfied. I got a lot of support from the local community.” Returning to the state pageant the next year as Miss Hamilton County, “I wanted to be Miss Tennessee so bad. I thought it would be the best job in the world.” She won the swimsuit preliminary and finished among the top 10 finalists. “It was a blast. I had a lot of fun.” As Miss Metropolitan and Miss Hamilton County, she worked with READ Chattanooga and the United Way on local literacy initiatives.

A day in the life of Miss Hamilton County: “I had my full-time, 9 to 5 job, so if I was scheduled to speak at a school, I’d take lunch, go to the school, and then go back to work. After work, I’d work out for two hours. At the time, I was cheerleading coach at Ooltewah Middle School, so I had cheerleading practice from 7 to 9. After that, I’d go home to read the paper and watch the news to prepare for the Miss Tennessee interview. That was every day, no exaggeration at all, not including trips to Nashville and Jackson for different things. On weekends, I’d have events at reading centers or I’d be singing the national anthem somewhere, lots of neat things.”

The crown: “When you wear that kind of hat, it makes a difference in the life of a small child. They’re amazed by it. It gets their attention in a way someone without it can’t. Each titleholder does it differently, and what worked for me was my feeling that children will listen to someone who is able to speak clearly and relate to them, someone in a suit and high heels who doesn’t mind kicking the heels off and getting down on the floor with them. I would talk to them about how to make right decisions now, that you’re responsible for your decisions, which can either take you up or take you down. I have a passion for kids and helping them, and that’s where my focus was.”

Refuting the charge that a pageant title is simply a beauty crown: “It’s just not. As with anything you’re not involved in, you never learn the true face of it, but any girl involved in the Miss America or Miss Tennessee organization will tell you that platform is huge. That’s what Miss America does. That’s what Miss Tennessee does. It’s a job. It’s not waking up every day, putting on a lot of make-up and high heels, and going out. Several times I’d visit six schools a day and try to find time to eat lunch in between. There is a very high standard that comes with a title.”

How participants benefit from pageants: “Because of the pressure to be your best, you really develop as a young woman. You learn certain skills that are not taught anywhere else. There is no way I’d have my job at Cigna HealthCare without the interviewing skills I learned at Miss Metropolitan and Miss Hamilton County. If you can make it through a Miss America-style interview, you can make it through any job interview. The networking has been invaluable, too. It opens up a lot of cool opportunities.”

On working with the community: “I logged 1,300 volunteer hours in community service, and Hamilton County supported me in a big way. The community will never know how much I appreciate it. I was never able to thank them enough.”

Autumn Fitch Style: “I like to dress up. That’s one reason I loved pageants. I’m not so much trendy, though. I tend to be very traditional, and I like to be as comfy as possible if I don’t have anywhere to go or anybody to see. A good thing about my pageant experience is that if anybody should show up and I need to be out of my sweats and into a business suit in five minutes with my hair and make-up ready, I can do it.”

How she describes herself: “Compassionate and tender-hearted, loyal (in my personal relationships and to whatever organization or project I’m involved with), results-oriented, task-driven, dedicated. I want things done, and I want them done right, for myself and others.”

In her leisure time: “If I had it…” she’d spend it scrapbooking, riding horses, rock climbing, repelling, and hiking. “I like being outside with nature, and I love spending time with family.”

She recently read: True Confessions of a Shopaholic. “It’s a fun book. There’s so much I do that’s serious, I want to read something that’s light and fun and that I don’t have to think about.”

On movies: “I like fun movies, things that make you laugh. I do watch thought-provoking things, but life is so serious, I feel like getting away from it for a little bit when I watch a movie. I will not watch a scary movie. I get very tense. Suspense drives me crazy. It’s just like being backstage waiting for your name to be called.”

Her favorite restaurant menu item: “The Outback Special, medium rare. If I had to eat the same thing every day, that would be it.”

Her favorite coffee: “Starbuck’s pumpkin spice latte is to die for. I look forward to it every fall.”