I know it has been a while

The winners!


The Mayors of both sides of Delmar, MD and DE


riding on the back of Denny's mustang

The last couple weeks have been busy busy busy! I still have more to come this week but I thought I should update you some so that you aren't overwhelmed with reading everything all at once. September 20th was the 150th Birthday Celebration for the city of Delmar. It was a week packed with events, but I only made it to Sunday to help kick it off. It started with a parade through the city, where I rode on the back of a beautiful mustang convertible. Then we all gathered under the tent for opening remarks by the mayor of Delmar for Maryland and the mayor of Delmar for Delaware. The chief of police actually told me that Delmar's police force is the only one left that has jurisdiction in two states...how cool is that! Then I was able to judge the Little/Miss Delmar Fire Prevention pageant which is a preliminary pageant to the Delmarva Fire Prevention Pageant. It was a tough job! Go figure why I enjoy competing...then somebody else has to judge! Jolene was wonderful to work with and everyone in the town was so welcoming and they were all excited to have me celebrate with them.

The cutest part of the whole day was when I opened my judges gift bag to find a button inside. It wasn't just any button. It was a button to exempt me from the cosmetic rule. Let me explain... 150 years ago, the women in Delmar did not wear make up and the men all had beards. So the rule for the day was if a policeman caught a women wearing make up or a man clean shaven they could be "arrested" and fined $10. Now you could purchase this button for $5 allowing you to get away with it. But if you chose not to spend the $5 you could end up being fined $10. So that was one of my gifts for judging. If you look closely in my picture you'll see what I'm talking about!

about to judge-wearing my button!

Fall Festival and Meals on Wheels

This past Saturday rounded out my busy weekend with two great events. First, I went to the Fall Festival in Milford to work the Miss Delaware Booth for a few hours with my mom and Georgeann. We were raffling off a harvest basket that was really nice! I walked around with Georgeann for a while and signed autographs while I tasted various samples of desserts and other food being sold. All in all I think it was successful! I saw a lot of familiar faces, which is always nice.

Later that evening I went to the first annual Kent County Meals on Wheels fundraiser and auction at the Agricultural Museum in Dover. It was a wonderful event! The place sold out! The food was amazing and the variety was impressive. There were silent auction items ranging from tickets to an Eagle's or Phillies' game to pieces of jewelry and golf trips. I even got to model one of four live auction pieces which was an emerald and diamond necklace. It was beautiful and sold for $800!!!

getting ready for the auction

The winners!

I met a lot of people that night. It is always interesting to me how easy it is to just talk to people. At events like this, my job is to talk to as many people as possible and do my own networking for possible future events. It can seem overwhelming at first, but once I get there I become at ease. Most of the time people come to me and strike up a conversation, but other times I just have to walk right up and start my own conversation. It really helps me work on speaking extemporaneously, which is always helpful come time for interview. I can't express enough how touched I am by the support events like this receive. Thank you Debi for getting me involved in the evening's activities.

Chuck Ivins and me

Mr. and Mrs. Gibson and me

Ray Ianni, his son, and me

Till next time...

CHOP Visit

This weekend was two days filled with appearances and one day of rest. Friday afternoon I spent some quality time with Miss New Jersey and Miss Pennsylvania at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for 98.1 WOGL's Radiothon. When we arrived, we were immediately asked sign autographs for the kids and their families. It was great to see so many faces light up because a "princess" was there! People of all ages were there for the event and to volunteer by answering the phones.

Not too long into our autograph signing, none other than Dr. Phil came to talk on air in efforts to bring in more support for this cause. Everyone was star struck and eager to watch him talk to the radio hosts. He then walked around to meet some of the patients and their families with his wife and took pictures with the kids. After that he came to us for a picture. It was pretty exciting to have Dr. Phil want a picture with you!

Next, we had our big crown-making activity. We had glitter glue, gem stones of all different shapes and colors, and paper crowns to put them all on so they could be worn after they dried. All of us had a handful of young girls to work with at a time, so my multitasking skills were really put to the test! It was exciting to see how many kids enjoyed spending time with us.

Part way through we were greeted by the Eagle's Pep Band. They play the fight song at every Eagle's home game! They were an absolute pleasure to meet! They played some background music at the hospital to help make the time we spent there even more fun.

Following that, we briefly talked on the air with 98.1 and took a few pictures crowning the staff! No matter who you are, everyone wants to wear a crown :)

Thank you Caitlin for helping us be a part of this wonderful fundraising event! It is always great to visit CHOP and see the Children's Miracle Network's hard work come to life.

Georgetown Speedway Event

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and caught up on some much needed rest and family time. I did manage to catch up on both of those things, but also had an appearance at the Georgetown Speedway this past Sunday. It was pretty much an all day event that started at 2pm and I got home around 2am. It was a wonderful time though! We raised money for MDSO, MDOT, and CMN. Several members of the Miss Delaware Board were there to help with the table for the Chinese Auction we had, to escort us around the raceway while we sold 50/50 raffle tickets, and to help out in any way we needed assistance. On top of several board members, I also got to spend the day with some of Delaware's loveliest ladies, Shaila, Kristina, Erin, and Katelynn who were all there as local titleholders to help out. Of course, how could I forget my little sis Danielle's company as well for the day! We sold hundreds of 50/50 and auction tickets while raising awareness for each of these organizations. All of us titleholders were able to take pictures with some of the drivers in the pit area before the races and with the drivers that won each race later that night. We were each introduced on the track and had a small interview to help the race fans know a little bit more about us and our cause as well.

The staff at Georgetown Speedway were very welcoming and were a great help with our fundraiser. Throughout the day, I learned how to get in/out of a race car and fire suit with the help of one of the drivers, which for anyone that was there it was quite the funny moment, I did 5 kart wheels in a row to win a racing tee shirt from one of the vendors, and rode around one of the races in the pace truck. It was an amazing experience and yet another one of those Miss Delaware memories I will never forget. There are so many opportunities that I am able to experience and I cherish each of them, because if it were not for this title I may have never had the chance to do them.

Luckily the rain held off for the night, but it became rather chilly as the night went on. Danielle and I had a small autograph signing in the beginning of the race during the qualifyings, and one of the drivers sent over someone with an autographed card of his race car and asked to do a card swap for one of my photo cards! I thought that was pretty neat!

I ran into the guys from Wheel 2 Wheel on CAT Country that night as well. Each of us titleholders were able to choose one car from a specific series to be our representative in the race. Then we waited for their race to come up and whatever car won or was closest to first, that we picked, helped one of us win money towards our platform. Naturally I picked the Wheel 2 Wheel car driven by Kelly number 59! He represented me well, however Shaila's car ended up winning the race. Due to her driver winning the race she had a nice sum of money donated to CMN in her name! How awesome is that?!?!

I want to thank everyone that helped out and donated to these wonderful nonprofit organizations that mean so much to all of us. I know I had a great time being at the race and participating in the event. Jessica and everyone at Georgetown Speedway, thanks again for your help and generosity. Cat Coutry's Wheel 2 Wheel and Cool 101.3, thank you for advertising the event and having me into your studios to talk about it.
As a side note, Rich Hatter was an awesome photographer that night and took over 200 pictures for me so I will not be able to post all of them. If there are any others you would like to see please leave a comment and I will put it up for you. Thanks Rich! Thanks also to everyone that donated an auction item, it was greatly appreciated.

This weekend I will be at CHOP for a radiothon with some other state titleholders within the area. Then on Saturday I will be at the Milford Fall Festival and then the Kent County Meals on Wheels event is later that evening. I look forward to telling you all about them!

Till next time...

Wrapping up the Summer

As summer is slowly coming to an end I wanted to fill you in on the rest of my appearances since I came home from Florida.

After I arrived at home from watching Danielle do an amazing job at MAOT in Florida I met with a wonderful lady named Kim Taylor. We met to help me create lesson plans for Character Counts and begin working on the materials I will be using to advocate for my platform. I am excited to get into schools and other places within the community to spread the message of good character. If anyone is looking for a speaker to come and talk about good character to a group of kids whether it be at schools, Boys and Girls clubs, libraries, after school programs, etc. I would be more than happy to do so. It is my goal to promote my platform in as many places to as many people as humanly possible this year. I think my year as Miss Delaware should be focused on making a difference and impacting the world around me. Please contact me or Susan Collins if you have any questions or would like to have me speak at an event!

Later that week I went with Carol Stevens to attend the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer breakfast in Wilmington. I was so inspired by the speakers that morning and the people there, that I will be walking in the Makings Strides walk on October 18th in Rodney Square up in Wilmington. I encourage everyone to get involved in this walk and help support a cause that is fighting nonstop for a cure through the American Cancer Society. Feel free to ask me about this as well : )

That same day I visited the first annual Delaware Burn Camp at Camp Barnes. I hung out with the campers, got a tour of the facility, and had a wonderful dinner with them and their families. We played tic tac to, we raced wooden school buses and airplanes they made, hung out by the pool, and ate some yummy sweet corn.

This past week I interviewed with Cool 101.3 to talk with Mike Butts about the Georgetown Raceway Fundraiser I am helping with this Sunday. It will be on Sunday Sept. 6th and will be supporting the Miss DE Scholarship Org, Miss DE's Outstanding Teen Scholarship Org, and the Children's Miracle Network. At least 3 races will be held and I will be starting the races by singing the National Anthem. It was my pleasure hanging out with Mike and his staff along with Jessica from Georgetown Raceway that morning.

A few days ago I had the Children's Beach House Fundraiser down in Lewes, DE. It is a beautiful place that raises money to hold camps in the summer and on weekends during the school year for low income children with various learning needs. They do not charge a thing for these kids to come and stay at the Beach House! It was a fantastic evening and I was accompanied by a great guy named Dolph Spain. We talked with all sorts of people and ate delicious food. Mike Butts from Cool 101.3 was the DJ there. The decorations were incredible and the support from the people there was even more incredible.

Earlier that same day I went to Harrington Heritage Day along with Donald, my driver. I was in the parade and then walked around to the various vendors in downtown Harrington. Even though it was very humid there was no rain and everyone was having a great time!

This past Sunday I went with Carol, Debi, and my mom to begin my quest for the perfect Miss America wardrobe. We had a great time and even managed to squeeze in lunch at a small shop where we were searching. We are making progress, but don't expect any details....I'm keeping them a secret until my send off! I love surprises! I know whatever I pick will be worth the wait though so no worries.

Be sure to tune in to Cat Country 97.5/105.9 TONIGHT from 8-9PM for Wheels 2 Wheels where Danielle and I will be talking about the upcoming raceway fundraiser Sept. 6th!

Till next time...