I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary and Middle Schools in St. Cloud who just informed me that they had a blanket drive for C.A.R.E. Cozies. They collected over 100 blankets and sent them to Plantation Bay Nursing Home! Way to go guys! Thank you for your support of C.A.R.E., and most especially for taking the time to remember our elderly!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Miss Winter Park (Weeks 4 and 5)
Weeks four and five of my reign were dedicated strictly to school. I had midterms as soon as school resumed and loads of projects the week after. But this past wednesday I volunteered at the Children's Miracle Network Offices in Orlando. I helped envelope all of the letters that are to be sent to the people who made pledges for the 107.7 radiothon.
Miss Winter Park...Week Three (Spring Break!)
Ahhhh...Spring Break had finally come! :-) My friend from New Hampshire, Meghan Lamontagne came to visit me. I met her in 2009 at the Sweetheart Pageant when she was New Hampshire's first runner-up. We had a blast! On the Monday of that week (March 7th) I picked her up from the airport and took her back to my apartment to drop off her things. We then went to get pedicures at a fabulous spa right across the street from my apartment complex. After some serious relaxation we got ready for an appearance. Allison Kreiger Walsh, Miss Florida 2006, hosted H.O.P.E.'s 2nd annual golf tournament. Meghan and I came to support her and he organization. There were a lot of people that I knew at the event and it was great to catch up with them! The following day, I took Meghan for some fun in the sun at New Smyrna Beach. She was able to soak up some serious sun!
Sadly, Meghan's visit was short lived and the following day I dropped her off at the airport after brunch with my mom, brother, and friend, Chino.
The next day, Thursday, March 10th, I drove back to Kissimmee for a busy day. That morning I brought lunch to one of our beloved church members who had just had surgery. I brought her some homemade spaghetti. :-)
After dropping off lunch at her house, I made my way to Plantation Bay Nursing Home to meet with its executive director, Tom Distaffen. I spoke with him about C.A.R.E. and it's mission and about a hopeful sponsorship. Tom was very moved by my program and gave me so much information and contacts to help me. He was so insightful and we were able to come up with a lot of great ideas for C.A.R.E.
After my meeting with Tom, I hopped into my car and drove to Osceola Healthcare Center to visit Mr. Charlie and bring him dinner. Mr. Charlie is the oldest member of our parish...he is 107-years-old!!! How amazing is that? He is still sharp as a tack! I asked him about his life and he was so pleased to share his story! I loved every moment that I was there visiting him. He was so delightful!
The very next day I drove back to Winter Park to attend a Toast Masters meeting at the Mayflower Retirement Community. I had the opportunity to speak about C.A.R.E. and the Miss America Organization. The members of the club were so warm and inviting. After the meeting, I had lunch with the community's activities director and the president and vice president of the Toast Masters Club. The lunch was extremely delicious! During lunch they asked me if I would visit one of the residents, Dave, after lunch and I did. As soon as I met Dave he told me his story. Exactly a year from that Friday, he was in an accident that made him unable to use his legs. He also told me about how he had been a swimming coach and had been inducted into that high school's hall of fame for coaching. It was so humbling to meet this man. Sometimes, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and we forget to be thankful for all the things that we have. We never know what's going to happen within the next hour, minute, or even second, that can possibly change our lives forever. After my visit with Dave, I had the opportunity to meet with the CEO of the community. He was such a pleasure to meet.
What a fun and especially rewarding week that was!
Miss Winter Park...Week Two
Week two of my reign as Miss Winter Park was very eventful and filled with many appearances! On Tuesday, March 1st, I woke up before the sun was up and went to a local Ihop to help promote Children's Miracle Network during Ihop's National Pancake Day. I was so glad that I had taken the Children's Miracle Network Tour at Arnold Palmer Hospital the week before because it helped me promote CMN the best way possible! I was able to answer many questions that people had about the organization
The following day I met with my sister queens, executive director, members of the Miss Winter Park board, and some of our moms for dinner at Olive Garden. It was the first time that we all were together since the pageant. We made small talk and then talked about our game plan for the year. We discussed some big appearances that we wanted to make and about how to reconnect the people of Winter Park to the pageant. Oh! I also coined our team name that night: Team W.P.C.B! (Winter Park, City Beautiful) Below is a photo of us making our team sign! Hehe!
The rest of the week was packed with school work and then the weekend FINALLY came!
Friday, after class, I drove home to Kissimmee, picked up my sister, and went to visit my Lola Doray at Plantation Bay Nursing Home. We came just in time to have dinner with her. My favorite moment of the evening was when she winked at my sister and I. I winked back. Unfortunately, Samantha doesn't know how to wink so my Lola Doray then tried to teach her how to do so. It was the most adorable thing to watch :-)
Saturday morning, Sara (Miss City Beautiful) and I went to the XL106.7 Studios to help out the crew with Operation Princess Project. This project was started by Jayde from the Johnny and Jayde Morning Show. They hosted an evening gown drive where they collected over 3000 gowns. The Saturday that Sara and I came to help, was the day that girls from all over Florida came to find a FREE prom gown! As we know, prom gowns can be very expensive and this was a wonderful way to help make girls' prom dreams come true.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Miss Winter Park...Week One
Hello Again!
The past 3 weeks since I was crowned have been filled with so many appearances as Miss Winter Park and in order to catch you up I am going to divide the weeks into three separate blogs.
The day after Miss Winter Park was my 24th Birthday! As you can probably guess, winning Miss Winter Park was the best birthday gift ever! I spent the day with my family and took some time for much needed rest.
That following Wednesday, February 23rd, my sister and I took a Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Tour at the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Hospitals. Our tour guide was Amy Moyer. She brought us to the Neonatal Unit where most of the CMN goes towards. She expressed to us how much of an impact CMN makes on nonprofit hospitals such as Arnold and Winnie Palmer. For example, the incubators that are used in the neonatal unit cost about $118,000 each and CMN was able to provide over 20 for the hospital.
Amy took us to visit some of the playrooms where we had the opportunity to meet a few of the kids. One of my favorite parts of the tour was when Amy brought us to the Trauma Unit. CMN was able to provide $1 million to Arnold Palmer to develop this unit. Amy informed us that it takes the trauma team approximately 45 seconds to move the patient from the helipad to the trauma unit. How amazing! The room is kept at 88 degrees to keep patients warm while they are receiving all the necessary procedures. This CMN tour was very informative and it has given me a greater perspective on how important it is to promote this organization as much as possible.
That following Friday, February 25th, I went to a H.O.P.E. event sponsored my Morgan and Morgan. Allison Kreiger, Miss Florida 2006, has been working on her H.O.P.E. platform for 10 years now and it continues to grow. Allison has been very inspirational to me. Her work ethic and love for her H.O.P.E. organization are truly commendable.
The next day my mom, aunt, sister, and I ventured to Gainesville to watch the Miss Gainesville Pageant. Before arriving at the venue where the pageant was held, we visited my cousin Mara who was voluteering at a local elementary school. She and a team of people were giving the school a makeover. Mara took us on a tour of the school to show us all of their projects and paintings. On the basketball court was a map of the United States...of course I had to take a picture next to Florida :-)
Then we were off to the pageant. The pageant was a blast to watch! Congratulations to Myrrhanda Jones, Laura Beard, Olivia Stacy, and Ashley Innis for a job well done! I also got the chance to see my director, Ross Amkraut, and Rachel my sister queen. Diana Kelly, who is a beloved friend, was giving away her Miss Gainesville title that night. It was very emotional for me because this will be the first time in a long time that Diana won't be at Miss Florida with me. I wish her all the best and I am so thankful to have her in my life.
Miss Winter Park :-)
Hello Friends!
There is so much to catch you up on! On February 19th I was crowned Miss Winter Park! I was so overcome with joy when they called my name as the new titleholder. My sister was also crowned minutes before me as Miss Winter Park's Outstanding Teen! Many of family members were there to support us which made the night even more memorable. The pageant was a blast and I made a lot of new friends!
Also crowned that night are my sister queens, Sara York and Rachel Strever. They were crowned Miss City Beautiful and Miss City Beautiful's Outstanding Teen. They are the sweetest girls and I am so glad that we are going to have a whole year of experiences together.
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