COEUR d'ALENE - It's not about winning and losing, they say, it's about the experience.

They don't get nervous, either.

"This is what I was born to do," said Alex Priest, singer and dance instructor with stage presence galore. "I really like making people happy."

Priest, of Coeur d'Alene, will advance to the Ms. Idaho Senior America Pageant at the Kroc Center May 5 after being selected from the Coeur d'Alene regional tryout Friday.

Three contestants graced the stage at Fairwinds Retirement Community Center in Coeur d'Alene and sang, philosophized, interviewed with judges and showed their all-around talent for the annual competition.

Kathleen Lamanna, of Hayden, was the other selection who will join Priest and eight southern Idaho contestants in vying for the state crown.

The state winner, by the way, will go to Atlantic City N.J., for the national show.

"Honestly, I'd love to got to Atlantic City," Priest said. "I've never been there before."

She'll have Lamanna to beat, along with eight contestants from southern Idaho.

And Lamanna knows Priest, a line dance instructor and experienced karaoke singer, will be tough competition for the title. But winning isn't as important, she said, "as much as the journey."

"I enjoy all this fun stuff," she said. "For me, this is a walk in the park."

The one requirement, besides talent, is each contestant must be over 60 years old. Nearly 100 people came out to see the regional show Friday.

"Oh, to be 60 again," event emcee Faye Briscoe said after listening to Priest sing.

Between sets, the audience was entertained by former winners, and dance team numbers. After the stage shows, the contestants were interviewed privately by the judges.

"It's wonderful to watch people as seniors so confident in themselves," said Nancy Voermans, Ms. Senior Washington 2012, who came over for the show. "They're not intimidated by age, they embrace it."

Kathy Camden, of Nez Perce, didn't make the cut, but said she was glad to give it a stab.

As an event organizer herself, she's not used to be the one on stage.

"I'm used to being the one behind the scenes," she said.