Seeing old friends and making new ones!

One afternoon I visited the Dover Mall Boscov's for another autograph signing. But this time it was for an even better cause! I was there along side several other community groups for Friends Helping Friends day. When a person donated at least $5 they received a fantastic coupon for the store that lasted the whole day, and I think it could be used more than once. So depending on how much you bought you really made out well. Everybody won! I had a small table next to the St. Andrew's Lutheran Church table. They were a great group of people to be placed next to! Everytime I was mentioned over the intercom they would start clapping, and anytime somebody stopped by their table they sent them my way to get an autograph! We had a blast and they really helped make my time there enjoyable.

Of course I couldn't have been there without being welcomed by the wonderful store manager Mr. Mares and one of Boscov's best managers Mr. Mike. They always made sure that I had everything I needed and stopped by to visit me from time to time while I was signing autographs. Thank you very much for letting me visit your store once again!

After making some great new friends, I was able to hang out with some of Miss Delaware's best supporters and volunteers at the Miss DE Bingo where we gave away Vera Bradley bags and Longaberger baskets!! If you missed out be sure to stay tuned to my blog or twitter so you can hear about the next one! I had a great time hanging out with my little sis, Danielle Marshall, MDOT 2009 and the Camden Wyoming Fire Hall employees. It is a beautiful facility and I cannot thank fire companies, like Camden Wyoming, enough for all of the hard work and effort they put in everyday towards keeping our communities safe. They pay for quite a bit on their own, so if you are ever looking for a place to donate that will truly impact your community please keep them in mind!

I got to practice my Vana White skills as I modeled the prizes up and down the aisles during the bingo games. For one game they even had to make the letter H! I don't know if that was meant to stand for Heather but I can always think that it was!

Thanks again to everyone that came out!

Sunday Beach Brunch

It was a gorgeous day down at the beach during the Meals on Wheels Sunday Brunch event down in Dewey at the Ruttertown. It was a silent auction and fine dining event where I ate everything from chocolate covered pretzels to home made meatballs, to pulled pork sandwiches! They had several local restaurants there giving samples of their specialties...and at the end....we were able to take a booklet home with a large portion of recipes in it for dishes we tried that day! Now I doubt any attempts on my behalf to replicate these dishes will turn out nearly as delicious as when they made them, however I will certainly be trying to make a few!

Sandy Soucek, one of our Miss Delaware board members, and I met some amazing people during our time at the brunch. The place was packed full with people all there for the same cause...to make sure as many seniors as possible do not have to go without a nicely cooked meal every week.

Brooke was our contact and the event planner. She did a wonderful job yet again! She was at my first Meals on Wheels event in Kent County (Denim and Diamonds). She is very lovely and I know she puts 110% into everything that she does. It is great to see people working so hard for a such great cause.

Until next time...

Wesley Homecoming Parade and Whitten's Jewelers

I am still working very hard to catch up on sharing all of my appearances from the last couple of weeks. Sorry for the delay in posting about them. I guess this is teaching me time management to prepare me for the title of Miss America! I had a very busy past few weeks, and I am really trying to frequently post here so that you can see what I do all week long.
I had Wesley College's Homecoming Parade not too long ago down in Dover. I believe it was a new experience for Miss Delaware in general so I felt privileged to be a part of the beginning of what will hopefully be a continuous relationship with Wesley and the Miss Delaware Org. Unfortunately, part way through the parade it began to pour! It didn't last too long, but it was just long enough to soak everyone and then stop so that everyone was wet and uncomfortable. Nonetheless, we had a great time and Donald was a trooper! He grabbed an umbrella for me to hold over myself and his convertible as we continued through the parade.

Right after that I trucked up to Wilmington for the Delaware Auto Show. Whitten's Fine Jewelry, a sponsor of Miss Delaware, had a booth at the show where I was able to visit with people and sign a few autographs. Hopefully I attracted people to their table and helped bring a few customers their way! It was a wonderful time. I was able to visit with Craig and Cindy Whitten for a little and I even had my picture taken with Spiderman!!! Everyday is an exciting day for me haha, I never know what will come my way.

Of course I wore my whimsy ring to the event to model while I spoke with people to promote the beautiful jewelry Whitten's has to offer. Thanks again Craig and Cindy for inviting me to share that time with you!

Until next time...

Eleganza- NV Boutique

A little more than a week ago, the Greenville Country Club hosted their annual Eleganza event. It was a beautiful evening event filled with silent auctions and fine dining all raising money for emergency shelters throughout the Wilmington area. At this event there was also live music entertainment and a fashion show featuring local businesses.

I had the privilege of modeling for NV Boutique (right off of Papermill Rd near UD). We chose two amazing outfits for me to model! One was casual wear and the other was a dressy outfit. Everyone loved both outfits, and I did too! It was hard to give them back!

I saw some familiar faces there who were modeling for other stores in the area. It's always nice to share good experiences with good friends. Mr. DE '08 and Mr. DE '09 were there along with Mrs. Delaware United States 2009 and even a few of the Mrs. contestants for the 2010 pageant. We had a blast! I certainly recommend anyone who loves having the latest trend in clothing to go to NV Boutique! The girls that work there are sweet and fully knowledgeable on what's hott right now!

Thank you NV Boutique for asking me to model for you!

Welcome Home!!!

On Wednesday September 30th I was able to welcome home the 261st Delaware National Guard Brigade in Dover outside of the Capital. It was amazing to see so many friends, family members, supporters, and dignitaries there to witness such a beautiful ceremony. They were very proud to announce that every single member of that troop made it home alive! I thought that was something I needed to share with everyone to showcase the remarkable work and commitment this troop displayed. They were gone for nearly a year overseas in Iraq. Even the proud father, Vice President Joe Biden, was there to speak and welcome home his son and the rest of the troop.

I felt privileged to have a seat up front in the VIP section. The troop marched in playing bagpipes and drums as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I know that it is tremendously difficult to go without a loved one for such a long period of time. I have had a couple of my family members be deployed overseas to the Middle East. One is currently still there working very hard for our nation's Army.

Even though I was not welcoming home a family member at this event, it made me think of my family members that have gone or are still out there and everyone else who has ever had to deal with a loved one going off to fight for our country. It is important to never forget those that serve our country and keep us safe! They are doing a job that many of us are so grateful we do not have to do.

So again, Welcome Home 261st! You've done our nation proud!

Miss Diamond State and Miss New Castle County

I was privileged to help out with the Miss NCC and Miss Diamond State pageant this past Sunday where Steffi Holmes was crowned Miss Diamond State 2010 and Nicole Bosso was crowned Miss NCC 2010!

Every girl that evening did a fantastic job! I think it is important to know you should never give up! Who knows where the year can take you! Anything can happen at Miss Delaware and I am always here to help out too. The experience is well worth it and if that wasn't enough, the scholarships given are definitely worth it.

I was able to emcee with my fantastic former sister queen Chrisi and we couldn't have had a better time. It was a great show Dineen and Tom! Good luck to everyone!

The next local is Miss Milford and Coastal Bay this coming Saturday at the Riverfront! Check out the Miss DE website if you are interested!

Saturday of Race Weekend

Saturday of race weekend was a busy day. I started off going to the Dover Mall and signing autographs during their VIP Days. If you missed it, you missed some amazing deals! The store manager, Mr. Mares, and the manager, Mike, were incredibly helpful and accommodating. I started off in front of their shoe department and then part way through switched scenes and sat near the cosmetics department. I met several race fans and even a few employees of Boscov's. It was really nice to have my first official autograph signing at the Dover Mall Boscov's.

After that I met up with Lisa Courtney at Dover Speedway to prepare to sing the national anthem at the NASCAR race. It was my third year singing at Dover Speedway and my second year singing on Saturday....maybe next time I'll get to sing on Sunday. Each time is a wonderful experience. As I get more comfortable singing in front of such a large crowd I am able to enjoy it even more! What a great way to prepare for Miss America. I am so grateful to have the support of Dover Downs and the Dover Speedway. I was able to sit in a skybox during the race, and enjoy some amazing food! It was a bit chillier than I anticipated so I lucked out by being able to sit in an area that didn't have the wind constantly blowing.

Photos By: Dave Chambers

Thank you to everyone that watched me sing or saw me online and let me know that you heard! It is nice to see the great support I have, and that I am in your thoughts. If you managed to miss it you can listen to it on youtube:



We managed to leave just in enough time to miss the rain that day. Everyone was constantly nervous that the race would have to end early due to the rain that was quickly approaching the track, but they were able to get the entire race in and it was awesome to be there.

Billiards Tournament at Dover Downs

Last Friday, during race weekend, Dover Downs held their usual Billiards Tournament. Some celebrities included: Brian Gurry host of American Builder (he was playing for MDSO), Katie Stam (our current Miss America), Russ from the Deadliest Catch (he won the whole thing!), Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, and Casey Mears just to name a few.

Bill and Linda Pusey came with me to the event with their friend Charlie. It was a pleasure to meet Charlie and to get to spend some time with Bill and Linda. Before the tournament started I was able to hang out in the waiting room where all of the players were hanging out. So naturally we took some pictures. Hopefully I can come across other pictures that were taken during that time because I know there were a few cameras flashing.

It was wonderful being able to see Katie Stam again and catch up a little during the event. She looked beautiful as always!

Every player was competing for a charity that they wanted to be able to donate funds to. Like I said earlier, Brian was the MDSO's player. He placed in second the last two years! He was doing a wonderful job and then unfortunately scratched as he put in the winning ball. I felt so bad! He completely dominated the game and then right at the end it didn't work out. We decided we should protest for a rematch...but we didn't.

It was a great event and I want to thank Dover Downs for inviting me to participate in it. It is amazing to see how much support the MDSO receives from places like Dover Downs. We cannot thank you enough!