Monday, I headed to Cabot to speak at Westside
Elementary. The counselor
scheduled the assembly differently, but I thought it worked great! I first shared my “How Full is Your
Bucket” assembly on making good choices to 2nd-4th
graders. As I changed into dance
clothes, kindergarten and 1st grade joined everyone in the assembly,
where I danced and answered questions.
Normally, I speak to K-4 all at the same time, but I really appreciated
this set-up.
However, I still had a hard time connecting with the older elementary students
during my assembly. A former Miss
Arkansas taught me the “Miss Arkansas Clap,” which is an interactive clap
sequence that gets the kids’ attention and quiets them on the last clap. In the assembly, I led the Miss
Arkansas Clap more than normal and still couldn’t get all of the kids to
respond. I think the teachers
noticed that I had a hard time keeping the kids under control. After the assembly, the counselor stated
she forgot to tell me that Westside Elementary is the international school in
Cabot. International students from
all over the county are bused in to Westside, and the school has developed an
atmosphere to accommodate 56 different languages! They depend primarily on the students to mentor and
translate for each other so what I thought was inattention was actually the
students translating my message!
Mom and I noticed how friendly and supportive these students were
because we have never received more hugs!
It was a very neat experience!
I spent Tuesday at the Arkansas State Capitol. Of course, PawPaw was there to meet me and celebrate
National Tourism Week with the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department! Bobby Glover, or my PawPaw, served in both
the Arkansas House of Representatives and the Senate until term-limiting
out. One of the accomplishments he
is known for is partnering with the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department to
spread “The Natural State” as our state logo. He was the one to change the Arkansas license plate to read
“The Natural State.” Although I was
there to speak on behalf of Arkansas, they couldn’t help but acknowledge my
PawPaw and his service to the state!
I was so thankful to see Jane White on Wednesday before my
photo shoot in Russellville. Jane
is the Miss Arkansas make-up sponsor and has provided me with cosmetics
throughout the year, along with makeovers for special events. In Russellville, Miss Arkansas
Outstanding Teen Ashton Campbell and I met Dr. Cooper to take pictures for
magazine ads. Dr. Michael Cooper
gave both of us smile make-overs with durathins, extremely thin veneers that do not require filing of the
natural tooth. As you can imagine,
this was a very generous gift, and Ashton and I are always willing to promote
him whenever possible! We also
took some fun photos together … I think you are going to love them! Can’t wait to share!
Friday, I was delighted to return to Danville for the annual
Chamber of Commerce Banquet. I
shared the microphone with Representative Tim Griffin after a delicious
meal! Three people in particular
made the evening very special!
Emily Patton, Danville native and pageant friend, gave me a very
heartfelt introduction to the audience.
Also, I reunited with Kara Hill, who has been following me on Facebook
since last year. She even gave me
a dove necklace to match hers!
Finally, I had a great chaperone, Jim Collins from Arkansas Tech
University. Jim prefers to be
called the “body guard” and kept me laughing throughout the entire night!
I was so thankful to spend Saturday before Mother’s Day with my mom! She drove me to Mountain Home and
suggested that I take motion sickness medicine since we had a long, winding
drive. So … I slept most of the
way. Once we made it to the Baxter
Co. Library in Mountain Home, we enjoyed the afternoon with mothers and
daughters at the tea party! We
played my favorite game, “Name that Tune” with Disney princess songs. I spoke, performed, signed autographs,
and took pictures with the little princesses! Then, my mom drove me home, which made a total of seven hours
in the car. Whew!
Speaking of Mother’s Day, I would like to recognize my mom and grandmother. Both women have always represented selflessness and service. I am so thankful for the loving example they have set!
Next week will be crazy fun! I am heading to Dallas and Washington DC, while also
attending four appearances in Arkansas.
Forgive me if the next blog is a little late, but please pray for my
safe travels! Also, I am looking
forward to the Miss Arkansas contestant meeting on Sunday! We will announce to the girls what to
expect for this year’s pageant, along with a few sponsor secrets! Woohoo!! Then, on Monday we will host the third annual golf
tournament to benefit the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation, the 501(c)3
non-profit foundation that granted over $70,000 in scholarship funds at last
year’s state pageant. Hope to see
you there!
In honor of the upcoming contestant meeting, I will leave
you with advice about paperwork. I
suggest that you submit perfect paperwork because it is the judges’ first
impression of you. Have someone
with advanced English skills double check your paperwork for typing and
grammatical errors. Also, make
sure your resume and platform accurately reflect who you are. Place your proudest accomplishments
first when listing everything.
Then, when you are finally finished with the dozens of documents,
contracts, and releases … treat yourself to chocolate.
1 comments:
Can I just skip the paperwork and jump to the chocolate?
Got a call from Stacey, and I will be there will the girlies in tow! As you know whatever you need we will take care of it!
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