Vivienne Lee knows what it's like to be one of the models entering the Ms York contest she organises - she's been there, done that, as she tells Karen Grattage.

VIVIENNE Lee is one of York's leading career women whose experience in public relations and marketing has helped her build a successful management company.

But in the late 1970s she was appearing in beauty contests, modelling on the catwalk and being photographed in her swimsuit in freezing conditions in front of delighted sailors.

Vivienne is a shining example of how a woman can enjoy being in the limelight for her appearance, but still have a strong personality and a serious career. She is a perfect role model for women wishing to enter this year's Ms York contest organised by Vivienne's company Events Connect.

Vivienne, 49, of Jewbury, York, said: "Many of the entrants are intelligent young women taking serious degrees who see the contest as a bit of a fun. They don't want to be models - they want to enjoy themselves while they are young before going on to their chosen careers."

At the age of 19, Vivienne wanted to be a journalist but says in those days it was difficult with only two colleges in the country offering the right course.

"I had done my A-levels and wanted a career, but it was the 1970s, and I had to think about what was available in my home town," she said.

"I took a deportment course at college, which teaches you confidence and posture, and decided to go into modelling.

"Then I signed with an agency and started doing fashion shows in Newcastle and around the country.

"There were very few Claudia Schiffer-type supermodels in those days, modelling was more of a job which involved spending weeks working away. But the designers were very nice and sent us dresses."

Vivienne, who had been a child model and appeared in a Cussons TV advert at the age of two, was urged by her agency to enter a beauty pageant, because it was seen as a way of giving her a higher profile.

"I was Miss North Tyneside when my friend Patricia was Miss Great Britain and I would drive her all over the place as she was only 17 and couldn't drive," she said.

"We went to functions all over the country and when Patricia was invited to Miami to represent the country, I went with her."

One of Vivienne's jobs in her year of office was to meet sailors on board HMS Kent when it came into Wallsend.

"It was December and I had been ill for three weeks with bronchitis," she said. "But I still had to get dolled up and put on my swimsuit for the pictures. It was freezing and the day after I came down with pneumonia."

Vivienne carried on modelling until the age of 25, when her agency closed and she moved to York and started a new career in sales and marketing.

"I had the chance to take over the model agency myself," she said. "It would have been a good career move but, at the time, I thought I was too young to take on so much responsibility."

Vivienne worked at the Royal York Hotel and marketed trips on the Orient Express before becoming regional marketing manager for eight Crown Hotels in the north of England and eventually starting her own business.

Then one day, she was trying to track down her old friend Patricia when she came across information about the Miss England competition.

"I realised there hadn't been a York heat for the competition for 20 years and so girls had never been able to represent their city," she said.

Although Vivienne never found her friend, she was soon sealing her company's biggest contract.

Now she is running the second year of heats for the beauty contest, and also manages Ms York, Georgia Horsley, and runs public relations for Miss England, Hammasa Kohistani.

When Hammasa was crowned last year, Vivienne found herself on the phone all night talking to journalists and organisations from all over the world interested in her story.

"My phone went crazy," she said. "We even had a call from the United Nations because Hammasa is a refugee from Afghanistan and an inspiring role model for the organisation.

"It is really rewarding to work with Hammasa and the other girls, and I feel a bit like a mum to them all because they turn to me for help and advice."

Hammasa, who speaks six languages, is another example of the intelligent young women who put themselves in the spotlight and are selected for their talents and attitude as well as their beauty.

"Entering a beauty contest is not a life-changing experience," said Vivienne. "It is a fun competition which will allow the winner to travel the world, before they move on to their own careers."

The competition also raises cash for charity, and Vivienne points out that Miss World has raised more money than Live Aid during its history.

"Miss Peru raised £2 million to build schools in her country when she won the title," she said. "And Hammasa talks about returning to Afghanistan when she is older and working in schools there."

Vivienne's company Events Connect continues to thrive with its model agency, events management and public relations work.

She has just spent five days in Dubai, to accompany Hamassa at the World Cup races, and is busy selecting candidates for this year's Ms York, which is in aid of the Evening Press Guardian Angels Appeal.

"We are receiving two or three entrants every day, which proves how popular the event has become," she said.

Updated: 10:29 Tuesday, March 28, 2006