Collins Staffer The Second Most Beautiful Person On The Hill

You’ll forgive the tabloid-esque story this one time, but I couldn’t resist.  Today, The Hill came out with it’s annual compilation of the “50 Most Beautiful People On The Hill“, their sort of serious and sort of not list of the fifty people who work on Captitol Hill in Washington DC who they find most… appealing.

While reading through the top ten this morning, I saw an old friend of mine, Kay Gerard, was listed as the #2 most beautiful person, losing out to Rep. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico (I want a recount).

Kay is a scheduler for Susan Collins, and former downstairs neighbor to yours truly in an Old Town apartment from our days at the University of Maine.  She is part of a cadre of feministas my wife and I used to affectionately refer to as “the girls downstairs”, who I still to this day consider the coolest neighbors I’ve ever lived next to.  Small world, no?

The Hill’s write up on Kay told an interesting story about a Moose, which I actually remember happening:

Kay Gerard
The newest Australian

Age: 25
Hometown: Madawaska, Maine
Political party: Republican
Relationship status: Boyfriend

Kay Gerard’s life changed when she moved from a small Maine town on the Canadian border to Washington, D.C. Zipping along a stretch of rural road in the twilight hours of the morning, she hit a moose. The beast plunged through her windshield and missed her by inches. People who later saw the ravaged car assumed the driver had been killed, but she had survived in a miracle that can only be described as a second chance.

Gerard says it changed her outlook on life.

“You always take an extra second with people. You stop and smell the roses,” she says.

And, Gerard might add, you don’t miss the opportunity for adventure and romance, no matter how unconventional.

Gerard will be leaving her job as scheduler for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) at the end of the summer to move to Adelaide, Australia, to be closer to her Aussie boyfriend of one year, whom she met in Maine last year when he volunteered on Collins’s reelection bid. A relationship blossomed on the campaign trail and stayed strong, despite a 13-and-a-half-hour time difference. It was made easier by e-mail and Skype.

Gerard loves working on Capitol Hill, playing soccer in a local league, and much about the nation’s capital. She has never been to Australia, but that makes it all the more alluring for a “restless” spirit, as she describes herself.

As someone drawn to unknown and beautiful places, she sees herself as a future travel writer, having already been to France, Spain and Italy. Now Asia is at her doorstep but Gerard says she first wants to learn how to surf on Australia’s famed waves. A true romantic.

So, you’ll forgive me for covering something so obviously silly, but it is hard not to give a plug to an old friend.

Also, it should be noted that another Maine native made the list.  A Democratic policy advisor in the House, Megan Shannon-Winterson of Kennebunkport, Maine also made the top fifty.

Megan Shannon-Winterson
When a Bush calls you pretty …

Age: 27
Hometown: Kennebunkport, Maine
Political Party: Democratic
Relationship Status: Engaged

While waitressing at the now-shuttered Seascapes Restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine, Megan Shannon-Winterson caught the eye of former first lady Barbara Bush.

“I was reaching around Barbara Bush to pour water for her, and it was kind of awkward because she was in the middle of a conversation, and I didn’t want to interrupt her,” Shannon-Winterson says. “So she took the water glass and turns around to hand it to me and goes, ‘Well, you’re a pretty girl.’ Then I poured her water.”

The interaction, which took place the summer after her sophomore year at Maine’s Colby College, may not have lasted more than 15 seconds, but it cemented a significant turnaround for Shannon-Winterson.

“I was an awkward child,” she says. “Not one of those people who claims that they were. This was severe, severe awkwardness for many years. I feel like I’ve grown into myself a little bit.”

The Kennebunkport native has emerged from that phase with a sharp smile, infectious laugh and witty sense of humor.

Her face lights up brightest when talking about her fiancé, Dimitri, and the dog they got in April, a beagle-pit bull-whippet mix named Lylie (“We like to say, ‘That must have been a wild party,’ ” she jokes.)

In 2007 she represented Maine as a Cherry Blossom Princess but is quick to point out that no beauty pageant was involved.

“I’m a big believer in having an interesting lifetime to-do list: see the Northern Lights, run a marathon, jump out of a plane, have a reason to put on a sash and tiara,” she says.

She’s open about one lingering insecurity: Shannon-Winterson believes her fiancé should be the one on The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People list instead of her.

“He is far, far better-looking than I am,” she says. “I live in constant fear that people are like, ‘What is he doing with her?’ ” (Alas, Dimitri works off Capitol Hill.)

The wedding is scheduled for next month in Kennebunkport. And no, the Bush family will not be attending.