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Miss
Pennsylvania Newsletters
July
2010
Newsletter
(August 13, 2010)
It has been almost two months since I was crowned ‘Miss Pennsylvania
2010’ and there are some days when I still cannot believe it. When
you dream about something for so long and finally accomplish it
after all of these years—it is an indescribable feeling. I have been
given the opportunity to change a little portion of the world, and
the sky is the limit!
I already have so many stories to share with you, and it has only been two
months! During the first couple of weeks I was still trying to fathom the fact
that I was Miss Pennsylvania, all while planning for the year ahead. I received
a shower of cards and congratulatory messages. I was so touched by all of the
support that I received from the pageant community, my hometown, and even fans
from other states! My hometown even erected a billboard congratulating me on my
accomplishment!
My very first appearance was the Union County Veteran’s Day Parade. As soon as I
put my crown on I was approached by groups of children and baseball teams all
wanting pictures and autographs. It was astounding to see how excited everyone
was about the Miss America Organization. Speaking of Miss America, I spent the
next weekend in Pittsburgh getting things finalized for January. You wouldn’t
believe all of the paperwork and questionnaires that there are! During this
time, I had my official headshots taken at Becky Thurner Photography! It was so
much fun and I even got to spend the day with our Outstanding Teen, Jocelyn. I
cannot wait to spend the week in Orlando cheering her on!
Another event that I really enjoyed was the Miss Pennsylvania Reunion in
Altoona. I had the opportunity to meet some of my sorority sisters and reminisce
over stories and pictures. Despite the heat, we had loads of fun! Not long after
that I revisited Chet’s beautiful farm for an afternoon party. I was given a
personal tour of the Llamas (I even got a kiss from “Lilly”) and drove
four-wheelers on some trails behind the farm!
An appearance that I was really looking forward to as soon as I heard about it
was the “Queen for a Day” event at the Clearfield County Fair. Several fair
queens from the surrounding areas got together to offer tips and encouragement
to young girls who are interested in competing for the fair queen title in their
home counties. I shared my experiences from Miss Pennsylvania week and met many
potential MPSO contestants! At the event, I met a little girl named Brooke, who
is a poster child for the Children’s Miracle Network. The Clearfield County Fair
Queens raise money for CMN every year, and Brooke happened to be a guest of
honor at “Queen for a Day”. She is nine-years-old and has already undergone two
heart transplants. It was so inspiring to see how driven and motivated she was
despite her surgeries. I was honored to meet her and even got her to take a
picture with me!
Before the Miss Pennsylvania pageant I was asked to be a spokesperson for the
Ensign John R. Elliot HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, because of my work
with my platform. It is a great organization that was started because of a
tragedy involving a drunk driver. Every year they have a dinner and memorial to
celebrate the life of John Elliot, who was killed by a drunk driver. They also
take that opportunity to recognize important representatives, sponsors, and
supporters of the HERO Campaign. This year was the 10th anniversary
of John’s passing and with an audience of over 500 people, I was asked to share
my involvement with the campaign and my goals for the upcoming year. I was
honored to speak beside First Lady Laura Bush and Olympic gold medalist, Carl
Lewis. It was a life-changing event and I was so blessed that I was not only
asked to be in attendance, but to have the opportunity to share the story of my
platform.
I have been so busy with appearances the last two months, and each event has had
something special about it that I will take with me through my year. I feel so
blessed to have received the opportunity to travel across the great state of
Pennsylvania advocating my platform and meeting people from all walks of life. I
am even more blessed because since I was crowned Miss Pennsylvania, I was able
to move back home and have had time to spend time with my grandfather who has
been battling cancer for the past year. He just passed away a couple of days
ago, and it is because of this title that I was able to be home with him and
spend his last days by his side.
Having said that, thank you to all who have shown your sympathy and support to
my family and I. My grandfather was a remarkable man, and will be greatly
missed. I admit I have been quite distracted by his illness the last few weeks,
but look forward to keeping up with my blog and newsletter more consistently
now. Unfortunately there were a few appearances that I had to miss because of my
grandfather, but the Miss Pennsylvania Board was so kind in allowing me to spend
this time with my family. I have such a great support system and I would like to
take this time to personally thank Chet, Steve, Mark, Bob, and the rest of the
board for everything that they have done for me so far. I promise that I will
continue to pour my heart and soul into this job and to make you all proud! Take
care, Pennsylvania!
With
Love,
Miss Pennsylvania 2010
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