Second Chances!: Queen Mallard and More!

Lately, Pharmacy School has demanded my attention. However, I have taken the time to do a little work with my platform and some of the organizations that mean so much to me!

Several weeks ago, Paw Paw asked me to be his date to a steak dinner at the Governor’s Mansion to benefit the Arkansas Department of Correction. Before the event, he called to tell me that someone at his table couldn’t make it for dinner and asked if Barrett wanted to come. So, I ended up having two dates to dinner! I enjoyed the evening and met so many new people. When the event was over, the speaker reminded us not to speed on the way home. Haha!

I was honored to speak at the Little Sisters, Big Sisters tea party in Arkadelphia! I was a Big Sister in the Big Brother, Big Sisters organization for two years and was tickled pink when several of the little sisters remembered me! We sipped on hot chocolate, and I spoke about inner beauty. I was particularly amused at some of the things the girls told me. One girl complimented my green eyes and described them as “the color of a Jolly Rancher”! Another girl remembered my etiquette lesson from last year when I spoke at their tea party. I laughingly commented, “That’s important stuff… you never know, you may eat dinner with the President one day!” She quickly responded with a question but first said, “Miss Obama… I mean Miss Arkansas… “ Haha, she was already dreaming of that future dinner!

Saturday was a big day in Stuttgart! My day began with rehearsals for Queen Mallard, a title that I held in 2007. I remain very proud to be a part of that legacy. After rehearsals, I joined students from the UAMS College of Pharmacy for a free health screening at Mack’s Prairie Wings. Because this weekend was the opening of duck season, you can imagine the amount of traffic in my hometown, the Rice and Duck Capital of the World!

I then joined the Queen Mallard crew for dinner at the Stuttgart Country Club before the pageant. Miss Arkansas 2010 Alyse Eady was one of the judges, and Miss Arkansas 2012 Sloane Roberts entertained us with some fabulous tap dances, including her Miss America competition dance! Miss Arkansas 1981 Micki Konecny choreographed the opening number, and I was the emcee! As you can imagine, we had the best time catching up! Of course, we had to get a picture of the Miss Arkansas sisters when the pageant was over!

Miss Arkansas 1981 Micki Konency, Miss Arkansas 2012 Sloane Roberts, Miss Arkansas 2010 Alyse Eady and me!

I was elated to wear this red dress from The Royal We in Conway! I had almost forgotten how fun it is to dress up! We had a full house and delayed the pageant 15 minutes to allow the audience to get seated. We started a new tradition by awarding Miss Arkansas with an RNT duck call. It was probably my favorite moment of the night when Sloane almost blew into the wrong end of the duck call. Then, the audience cheered when she finally made a sound! The pageant ran smoothly, and I was especially proud of our outgoing queens for the dedication they have given to the pageant! Junior Queen Mallard Robin Galloway and Queen Mallard Samantha Spicer were excellent representatives for the Grand Prairie. Thankfully, we have two deserving girls to follow in their footsteps! Congratulations to Queen Mallard LVII Ashley Hopson and Junior Queen Mallard Maraye Tudor. They will participate in the Wings Over the Prairie Festival and World Duck Calling Contests during the Thanksgiving Holidays.