Miss Apopka and other adventures!

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry that it has been a long time since I have posted any blogs! The end of the school semester definitely took it's toll on me but I will do my best to update you on what has been happening.

The biggest news is that on November 7th, I was crowned the new Miss Apopka! I was crowned by the former Miss Apopka and my good friend, Rikki Klaus. It felt so good to be competing once again! My mom, sister, brother, princesses, and their families were all there! Seeing them in the audience gave me an extra boost of energy!

I sang "Home" from Broadway musical The Wiz, which was the very first song I had ever sang for a Miss Florida preliminary pageant, four years ago! Time really does fly!

Third runner up was Dasha Gonzalez, Second Runner up was Victoria Williams, and First Runner up was Brittany Fornof. Congratulations to all of the girls!

The very next week on the 14th, my sister and I performed at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church's Christmas Bazaar. For the first time, my sister played her guitar while she sang. She has been learning how to play the guitar for some time and I must say, she does a fabulous job! Performing at the bazaar was a lot of fun. I always have a blast when I perform with my sister.

Before you knew it, it was Thanksgiving and I was so happy to be reunited with my entire family!

On December 4th, I made my first official appearance as Miss Apopka! I was a part of the annual Apopka Christmas Parade. I got to ride in a Corvette. I always love participating in parades. It warms my heart when I look out into the crowd and see many smiling faces. My sister got to ride along in the Corvette too! I also got the chance to kiss a camel...who would've thought that you would be able to do that anywhere other than the zoo! Haha

Talbot House Gala

On October 22nd, I attended the Annual Talbot House Gala. Many of the sponsors and clients of the Talbot House attended the event. There were about 900 people in attendance. I was given the opportunity to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" during the program. What an honor it was!

Delivering C.A.R.E. Cozies

On October 14th, a few members of my youth group and I delivered C.A.R.E. Cozies to the residents of Plantation Bay. Plantation Bay is a nursing home in St. Cloud, Florida. This was the first time we had delivered the cozies and the reaction that we received from the residents was unlike anything I imagined.

The moment we stepped into each resident's room their faces lit up. Most of the residents that we visited did not have any family and they were so glad to have visitors. Just when I thought that they couldn't get any happier, one of my youth group members would give them a blanket and their faces would illuminate even more! Many of the residents even shed tears of joy and gratitude. Also seeing the reaction of my youth group members was truly heart warming. They had fun delivering the blankets and they learned a lot from the experience. They never knew how much a simple visit and gift could affect these individuals.

While walking through the nursing home I realized how much blankets are truly needed in these facilities. I was so excited to know that the collection of C.A.R.E. cozies would help these facilities in a great way!

What a great start to my new project!

Talbot House

Hello Friends!

Oh my goodness! It has been so long since I have posted any blogs! I have been so busy! I will do my best to catch you up.

A few weekends ago, I served lunch at the Talbot House. I had a blast interacting with the clients there! Arthur shared a few songs with me on his flute. He is such a talented man.

Towards the end of my visit, Arthur and a friend of his played "Amazing Grace" for me with the flute and piano. I was able to sing along and it was so much fun!

PARC Red Ruby Ball

Saturday, October 3rd, my executive director, Angela and I attended the PARC Red Ruby Ball in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"PARC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to exercise their independence, enjoy an enhanced quality of life and experience life to

the fullest."

Please visit: http://www.parc-fl.org/Default.aspx for more information about this wonderful cause!

In the ballroom they had a play casino set up. All of the money raised in the casino was to be donated to PARC. Angela's daughter, Holli, and I helped sell chips to the attendees. It was such a fun experience!

Music Hour at the Talbot House!

Right after my class this afternoon, I drove to Lakeland for the music hour at the Talbot House. I had visited the Talbot House several weeks ago to serve lunch to the homeless. If you scroll down through my previous posts you can read more about that wonderful experience.

Every friday, the Talbot House has a music hour which gives the homeless a chance to share their talents and to just have fun!

I was so pleasantly surprised by the amount of talent I witnessed today. There were guitar players, piano players, and singers. I was particularly taken away by a gentleman named Arthur who wrote a song about the importance of faith and trust in God. The lyrics to the song were so beautiful! He also had a beautiful voice! What a talented man! Below is a picture of Arthur.

After listening to everyone sing or play their instrument, I was given the opportunity to sing a few songs. Everyone was so attentive and they gave me the greatest applause! I had so much fun!

Presenting C.A.R.E. Cozies!!!

Hello All!

I'm so excited to share my new project with you! As most of you know, my platform is

C.A.R.E. -Commitment to Always Remember the Elderly. C.A.R.E. focuses on encouraging the youth to volunteer their time with the older generation. Every time I have spoken at schools and various organizations, I have had my audience create cards that were to be delivered to local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

While speaking with a friend about advancements that I wanted to have made in my C.A.R.E. program the idea of lap blankets came up. If you have ever visited a nursing home you have probably noticed that many of the residents had blankets that fit perfectly across their laps. As we know, our elderly have a tendency to get cold a little quicker than those of younger generations. Blankets are always needed at nursing homes and other facilities geared towards the care of seniors.

Thanks to the genius mind of my friend, I had decided to take the idea of lap blankets by storm. So now I present to you...C.A.R.E. Cozies...lap blankets made or donated by someone of the younger generation for someone of the older. After the collection of these blankets, they will be delivered to all kinds of senior facilities. Whether the blanket is made or donated, it will be a wonderful gift that will provide warmth not only physically but also emotionally to the elder who owns it. This is a perfect way for the young to reach out to the old!

This past Wednesday, September 23rd, I had my youth group make C.A.R.E. Cozies. They had fun making the blankets and were so excited that they were making them for a great purpose! The blankets will be delivered next week to one of our local nursing homes.

I am so excited about my new project! I hope that it will take off and bring smiles to many faces!

Carpenter's House

Dear Friends,

This past weekend, Miss Florida Sunshine's Outstanding Teen, Siobhan Gale, and I visited the Carpenter's House in Lakeland. The Carpenter's House is an independent living facility for the elderly.

Siobhan and I took a tour of the facility. It was absolutely beautiful! We stopped and visited with a few of the residents and we even got to watch a few of them play Wii bowling! It was such a joy to watch them!

After the tour, Siobhan and I spoke to some of the residents about our platforms, our experiences as titleholders, our future goals, and about the Miss America System. We also sang for them.

Although my C.A.R.E. platform has taken me to various facilities, I had never been to an independent living facility. It was neat to learn about how they differ from others. The residents of the Carpenter's House were very welcoming! It was a wonderful experience.

Share the Care Gala and Mrs. Florida International

Hello All!

Last weekend, September 11-13, was a busy one! On Friday, the 11th, I attended the Share the Care Gala. Share the Care is an organization the provides aid to family caregivers. My director, Angela Harwell, volunteers a lot of her time to this organization and she invited me to attend the gala with her. The night was filled with a live auction, fabulous food, and dancing! I had a wonderful time.

The following day my family and I attended the Mrs. Florida International Pageant preliminaries. My sister and I were invited to sing for both preliminaries and the finals. My sister sang "Astonishing" from the Broadway Musical, Little Women, and I sang "Home" from The Wiz. We performed the same songs the following day for the finals. It was such an honor to be asked to come and perform for the Mrs. Florida International state pageant!

What a wonderful and productive weekend it was!

Oh and by the way, September 11th was my sister's 14th birthday!

Happy Birthday Samantha! I love you!

The National Sweetheart Pageant

Hello Friends!

The National Sweetheart Pageant was an amazing experience! I still cannot believe that I had the opportunity to represent the Miss Florida Organization at a national pageant.

Monday, August 31st, I took a flight from Orlando, Florida to Indianapolis. Now something that a lot of people do not know about me is that I had never flown on my own before then. Not only had I never flown on my own...but I had a fear of flying. I say that I "had a fear" because I believe that I conquered it while flying on my own to and from Indianapolis.

Once I arrived at the Indianapolis airport I was greeted by the board members of the Miss National Sweetheart Pageant and nine other contestants. We waited for the rest of the contestants to arrive.

After the rest of the girls arrived we made our way to Hoopeston, Illinois, where the pageant was to be held. We had a fabulous welcome dinner hosted by the board. Our place mats were maps of the United States with our names written in the states that we were representing!

After dinner we were brought to our host family's homes. My "host parents" were Monica and Billy Bruens and my "host siblings" were Leevi and Natalie. I roomed with Jenna (Miss California), Sarina (Miss New Mexico), and Alex (Miss Kansas).

The week was filled with many appearances...

My absolute favorite event of the week was the parade. Every single contestant was given the opportunity to ride in a Corvette and be a part of Hoopeston's annual parade! It was so cool to see my name and "Miss Florida" on the side of the car!

We also had an autograph signing!

I learned a lot during my experience at the Miss National Sweetheart Pageant and I made new friends. Now I can say that I know at least one person in every state! Hehe. What an incredible experience!

Congratulations to the Miss Virginia representative, Shannon Beam, on her outstanding performance and on becoming this year's Miss National Sweetheart!