Round Lake woman seeking Mrs. Illinois International crown

Round Lake resident Jenifer Dosch will be vying to become Mrs. Illinois International in March.

It's the third time Dosch, 29, will be in the final. She reached the finals each time by virtue of her appointment as Mrs. Lake County International for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

This year's Mrs. Illinois International final will be at 3:30 p.m. March 16 at Gorton Community Center in downtown Lake Forest. Amy Gregorio took the crown in 2013.

Dosch, who worked as an emergency dispatcher for nine years in Lake County, said she entered the Mrs. Illinois International competition again because it's a meaningful and honorable system highlighting the accomplishments of married women.

She said she also has an opportunity to spread awareness for a platform or cause important to her. She said her platform is pediatric cancer, with an emphasis on the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"I first became involved with my platform when my close friend's child was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer and ended up passing less than two weeks before his wish," Dosch said. "Because of this, I became self-educated on many different aspects with pediatric cancer and became a wish granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with my husband, Greg, as my partner.

"We are currently working on our 10th wish. I hold each child very close to my heart and love enhancing their Make-A-Wish experience with memories that will last forever," she said.

Dosch, a volunteer village of Antioch pageant director, said she and the other women will go through personal and onstage interviews, along with fitness and evening gown competitions. She said she's been preparing by dedicating "mind, body and soul" by becoming more knowledgeable in her platform, eating healthy and working out.

In addition to her firefighter husband, Dosch has two children, 5-year-old Hailey and Tyler, 6. Dosch was Miss Antioch in 2002 and Miss Northern Illinois in 2004.