Just call me a businesswoman... Week 37!

I started the week with several sponsor visits!  I am always thankful to visit Anne Hubbard at Beautiful U Aesthetics in North Little Rock.  Because of her microdermabrasion treatments, chemical peels, and skin care, I can have a clear complexion!  I also visited Pinky Punky, a fun clothing boutique in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center in West Little Rock!  I enjoyed modeling several dresses for photos that will soon appear on the store’s website! Another Little Rock sponsor, Advanced Aesthetics, hosted a hat party to promote skin care during the upcoming summer months.  It was wonderful to see the staff and try on lots of hats! 

On Tuesday, I visited Hearts and Hooves in Sherwood (www.heartsandhooves.com).  I knew it would be a great visit when I saw two boys greet each other in the parking lot with a high-five!  The incredibly organized nonprofit is accomplishing many goals that are similar to those of my platform, Second Chances through Mentoring.  They offer horse-riding lessons to people of all ages with disabilities, hippotherapy (with an Occupational Therapist), as well as Cowboy Ethics (an unmounted six-week course) for at-risk teenagers who come from Youth Home.  I am pleased to promote Hearts and Hooves and thank them for the impact they are making in Arkansas! 

Thursday, I headed to Clarendon to attend their Chamber of Commerce Banquet, “Putting on the Glitz!”  They had decorated the room beautifully and ushered in a great crowd!  Clarendon is making significant strides in improving their community, and I was happy to be a part of their annual celebration!  Thanks for allowing me to speak and perform!

 Teach for America teachers in Clarendon!

Traveling to Hot Springs on Friday, I met the Citgo executives for a trade show at the Hot Springs Convention Center.  I enjoyed spending the day with the impressive Citgo team while taking pictures and signing autographs.  I was especially excited to hear that their “Fueling Good” program recently awarded a large grant to Youth Home in Little Rock!  Thanks for leaving a positive footprint in Arkansas, Citgo! 

Joey and Paul are part of the Citgo team!

Ironically, I left the Citgo booth to head to the annual Youth Home fundraiser!  The mission of Youth Home (www.youthhome.org) is to help emotionally troubled adolescents and families become healthier, contributing members of the community. The fundraiser was a spectacular event called “Eggshibition” because they auction off beautifully decorated eggs!  Savannah, a sixth grade artist, painted a remarkable Hunger Games egg.  When I found her at the end of the night to see how much her egg auctioned for, she was squealing with excitement!  Two men bid against each other until her egg went for $710!!  She was so proud of her egg and excited to support a worthy cause such as Youth Home! 

 There is the $710 egg!

Isn't this egg exquisite?  She has been painting eggs for 7 years for this fundraiser! 

Saturday was a fantastic day as I met my best friend, Whitney, in East End to attend the First Baptist Church Women’s Ministry Dinner.  We had so much fun!  They had prepared a feast for dinner, and the dessert table was just as big as the food buffet!  I shared several stories from the Promise House and Big Brothers, Big Sisters while promoting my platform.  Afterward, I had several people come by to take pictures and get an autograph.  It was such an honor to hear, “We are so blessed to have you as our Miss Arkansas!  You are a tribute to our state!”  Thank you!

 Whitney and me!

 These ladies were on the planning team!

Congratulations to two new titleholders!  Chelsea Jones was named Miss Lake Dardanelle, and Molly Jones won the Miss Apple Blossom Pageant!  We have only one more preliminary pageant left to go before our 2012 Miss Arkansas Class is complete!  I hope you can join us on Saturday, April 7, at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock for Miss Sweetheart of Arkansas.  All runners-up from previous preliminary pageants are eligible to compete! 

We have already done so much to prepare for the 2012 Miss Arkansas Pageant!  However, I constantly realize that we could never do any of it without the help of our sponsors!  I enjoy the opportunity to promote the Miss Arkansas sponsors as much as I can!  When you get the chance to meet sponsors and do business with them, please let them know how much we appreciate their support of the Miss Arkansas Organization!