Regional Meeting

Mike Stafford invited me to be the guest speaker at one of the group meetings he hosts at Bogey's Bar and Grill. At the meeting, several candidates for various political seats were invited to speak as well. It was great getting to meet all of them and hear what their plans are for our state.

Kevin Wade was one of the candidates that spoke to us at the meeting along with Glen Urquhart.

I had the privilege of speaking to everyone about the importance of the Miss Delaware Scholarship Organization, the honor of being Miss Delaware, and my experience at Miss America. It was also a wonderful opportunity for me to express my dedication to promoting "CharacterCounts!". They were a wonderful audience, and it was a pleasure to meet everyone there.

Blue/Gold Basketball Game

At the Bob Carpenter Center, the Best Buddies of Delaware hosted their annual Blue Gold Basketball game. I was honored that they requested me to sing the National Anthem. My good friend, and former Miss Delaware contestant, Lauren Stevenson works for Best Buddies. She introduced me to a couple of her buddies before the game began.

I had the pleasure of meeting John and Renee while they were finishing up their pizza. We talked about school and things they enjoy doing with their time. I even learned that John has several suits in a variety of colors! I'd love to see some of them! After they finished eating, they were sent to their respective teams, Blue or Gold, to get ready for team introductions. After all of the players were announced, along with the buddies that were their captains, I sang the National Anthem.

It is always nice to have the colors presented while I sing. I think that it is an incredible tribute to our country and those who serve it. Unfortunately, I could not stay for the entire game. But it was wonderful to be at the event and see how many supporters came out for it.

Dover Downs Bridal Show

At the Dover Downs Bridal Show, Steffi, Marcie, and I had the privilege of modeling wardrobe from the Wedding Boutique in Dover, DE. Steffi is wearing a lovely wedding gown, Marcie is wearing a stunning bridesmaid dress, and I am wearing something that could be used for many occasions. The Wedding Boutique is located on Loockerman Street in Dover and has a wide variety of apparel.

I really think this dress made me look extremely tall! Don't tell anyone that I was wearing platform heals underneath...

More fashions from the Wedding Boutique! We walked throughout the crowd to promote the store and showcase the dresses that are available there.

But have no fear! I also enjoyed a wonderful time of dancing with the crowd and local titleholder, Carley Economos. Mario Rocco was in charge of the music, and he never disappointed us. I figured, no matter where someone wears the gown I have on, they will have to move around in it. So, I took the liberty of showing everyone how easy it was to do so.

Federation Day

The Delaware Federation of Women's Club hosted a Federation Day luncheon and auction at the lovely Harrington Casino. It was a huge success thanks to the many volunteers that took their time and effort to getting it all together, and that includes Mr. Chuck Ivans and Mrs. Trish Rodriguez (Left and Right respectively in photo above).

I was asked to start off the luncheon with singing our National Anthem and then entertain with a few songs before the auction. So, of course, I sang music from none other than my favorite fifties country star, Patsy Cline. I sang "Crazy", "She's Got You" and "Walkin' After Midnight". After we were done jamming out to some Patsy Cline, the women began their live auction of over 90 items!

For those of you that may not know what these women do year round, I'd like to take a moment to inform you. I had not realized all of the work they put in to helping those in need. They put on fundraisers and community service events to raise money for charities that benefit our state and country. There is even a national convention that many of them attend to represent the work that has been accomplished in our state/country thanks to them.
As I go through my year as Miss Delaware, I find more and more examples of good citizenship that I never knew existed in our lovely state. We may be small, but our people are powerful. I've seen community service represented by all ages and it puts a smile on my face. It is rewarding to know that I have played a part in the process of volunteering, and that I am able to experience it with so many people.

Seasons of Respect-Blades Elementary

My "CharacterCounts!" mentor, Kim, also works with Connecting Generation's "Seasons of Respect" program. She has graciously partnered with me to assist in making the 8th week of the program a memorable celebration of everything the students have learned. "Seasons of Respect" is an 8 week program for 5th graders. The students learn about the definition of respect, respectful listening, conflict resolution, stereotyping, and much more. Since respect is one of the six pillars of "CharacterCounts!", this lesson is perfect for me to get involved in.

We handle the celebration as a team. She gets the students pumped up and ready, then I come in and do a review of everything they learned over the past two months. After that, she does a quick game with them, and finally we dance and enjoy a yummy snack! It has been a pleasure getting to know the students involved with "Seasons of Respect". Most of the schools already have some type of motto centered around respect. I think that is a huge help in aiding the students to retain the information Kim teaches them.

The boys and girls always react differently to me showing up at their school. The girls are always excited and want to get to know me. The boys react one of two ways: One- they could care less that I'm there, I am still just another girl; or Two- they decide to pursue a relationship with me and the girls tell me how much the boys love me. It really is the cutest thing. Sometimes I like to play it up and ask who "So-and-so" is so I can waive hi. Other times they come up to me to defend themselves and deny that they said anything about me. Oh the good ol' days!

After we enjoyed our snack the dance floor was open! This was the first celebration where I was asked if we could do the limbo. So I asked Kim if we had a way to do the limbo. Being the creative lady that she is she decided to use the string of paperclips used as a project for the classes. You see, each class was asked to have the students put a paperclip in a piggy bank in the classroom everytime they saw someone showing respect. So by the time the celebration came, the strings of paperclips were extremely long. Thus being the perfect tool for limbo!
Of course, I wanted to participate! Now I did not consider that my odds of winning were slim from the start. I was taller than most of the students, especially with my heels on, and I had a crown on my head. Nonetheless, I went for it. The students got a kick out of my attempts to get under the string of paperclips. Once our limbo stick was too low the students were sliding, rolling, and evening army crawling under the string. All rules were put aside and we were just having fun. It is always a joy to experience these celebrations and get to know the students in Delaware's schools.

Delaware Bride-Bridal Expo

This must be the time for weddings, because I have certainly been to my fair share of bridal shows. Here I am wearing a dress from Lady's Image. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Mrs. Delaware America was going to be joining me as well. I had not met her before this point and she is an absolute doll!

Amanda Shepard and I had a great time mingling with the crowd. There were a ton of vendors and a very entertaining fashion show to keep the brides-to-be excited.

I hung out at the entrance for a while to welcome the guests and hand out some coupons. During the fashion show Amanda and I had to return the diamond necklaces we were wearing for Orly Diamonds. While we were doing that, we were graciously offered some of the flower arrangements on display. I thought this one was really cute and small so I decided to bring it home with me. Beautiful and springy isn't it??

The flowers were arranged by Petal Pushers. I thought that was an adorable name for a business. You should check them out!

Local Pageants

Miss Southern Delaware 2010 was a wonderful event and a new pageant brought to Miss Delaware this year. I had the pleasure of co hosting with Mr. DE 2008 and dear friend, Chris. We had a great time as we watched talented, beautiful, and intelligent young women compete for the title.

Lorin Walls won the title of Miss Southern Delaware 2010! Her platform is "Get Your Head in the Game" promoting awareness of brain tumors and her talent is Irish step dancing. She is a great role model for girls to look up to.

Another local pageant held a couple weeks after was Miss Kent County 2010. My co host for the evening was Miss Capital Heather McKinney. We had a great time yet again. It was a tough competition!

Kayla Martell won the title of Miss Kent County and will be competing for Miss Delaware this June along side of 11 other contestants. She has been incredibly involved in community service and is always a joy to watch as she dances. I know I have said this before, but I truly think Miss Delaware is going to a close competition this year!