From Plainfield officer manager to beauty pageant contestant to Mrs. Illinois in just three weeks.

Who would have thought? Certainly not Zara Johnson, who claimed the crown Friday night and is now making preparations to attend the Mrs. America Pageant at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs, W.V.

"There were eight contestants, and I was probably the oldest of all of them," said Johnson, 58, who is married and has two sons and two grandchildren.

"It was a very exciting night, and I met a bunch of great women," she said. "I was at (an event on Saturday night) and I wore my crown and sash. Everyone was so excited."

Julie Aceto, a spokeswoman for the Mrs. Illinois Pageant, said Johnson was just "unbelievable." She competed in evening gown, costume, interview and swimsuit categories, which are the same as the events in the Mrs. America competition from March 31 to April 15.

Johnson said she hasn't had a lot of time to think about the next stage, and whether she'll be donning new gowns and costumes for the event. She does know she'll be doing plenty of aerobics between now and then, she said with a laugh.

"This time I'd really like to get myself in better shape," she said. She had only three weeks to prepare for the Mrs. Illinois pageant, which was held at the Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center and comes with $15,000 in prizes.

At this time last month, competing for a beauty crown was about the furthest thing from her mind, she said last week. It was only after a woman in a clothing store told her about it and encouraged her to enter that she decided to take the plunge -- with a little push from her family, including husband Hank.

Two of her sisters were so thrilled at the prospect that they came from their homes in Louisiana and Texas to provide moral support, she said. Her employer, Cicero's Development Corp. of Plainfield, where she's worked for 21 years, issued a press release via www.marketwire.com to announce her participation in the contest.

While a Mrs. Illinois has never won the national crown -- twice they've taken the second runner-up spot, including last year -- this may be the year they go all the way, Aceto said.

"We're so, so excited about Zara," she said. "We're totally due for a win."

The Mrs. America pageant features contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It will be televised on April 15, although the station has yet to be announced, Aceto said.