Miss America's Outstanding Teen - August 24 - 28, 2010

“See you in Vegas!” These were my departing words as I said goodbye to all of my Miss America Class of 2011 sisters in Orlando, FL Saturday night after the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant.

It was such an eventful week and it all started on Tuesday when I woke up at the crack of dawn to leave from Pittsburgh with my mom. That evening was the first night of competition and also where I had the chance to meet a few of my fellow competitors for the first time. We were all talking outside of the theater and getting along so well, we ended up missing the entire opening number of the show! The first night I sat beside Miss Oklahoma and Miss Hawaii—AWESOME girls. Then there she was, Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen, Jocelyn Gruber. She was so beautiful and made me so proud to be her “big sister”. The first night she “tickled the ivory” and blew us all away with her piano piece. Following the competition she said, “the hardest part is over—it’s all downhill from here!”

Technically, all of the Miss America contestants did not have to be in Orlando until Thursday afternoon. So Wednesday afternoon my mom and I spent the day shopping at the nearby outlets. Despite the humidity, we had a nice time! That evening more Miss America contestants attended the event and Jocelyn competed in Evening wear and Onstage Question. She was asked to speak about how BP could reimburse the local businesses affected by the oil spill. She was stunning and answered her question with poise and eloquence.

Thursday was when all of the fun started for the Miss contestants. A couple of weeks ago we were told that we would be doing 60 second interviews with the Tall Pony Production Company. There were no limits to what we could do, wear, or say. The only criteria we were given was to address, “Why I should be Miss America”. How we addressed the statement was entirely up to us. We could speak, demonstrate, perform, etc. I, of course, wanted to incorporate my violin into my interview (I am the only violinist/fiddler so I knew no one could steal my idea!!). They told us the interviews would be posted on YouTube and other websites in mid-October. So you’ll have to wait and see before I spill too much!

That evening before the last preliminary the Miss Florida Board and Regalia Magnificent Apparel treated all 53 contestants to dinner at Maggiano’s (My ALL-TIME favorite restaurant!!). At the pageant that night Jocelyn competed in Lifestyle and Fitness in Active Wear. They were all required to do a fitness routine in which they were judged on. They even had to do a push-up and Jocelyn made us all proud when she was one of few that actually did a COMPLETE push-up! Yeah, Jocelyn! J

Friday was the busiest day of all during the week. I woke up at 6 a.m. and spent the entire day at Disney World with all of the Miss America contestants. We were treated like royalty and broke off into groups where we were escorted by a Disney guide to each of the rides that we wanted to go on. In the morning we were in a gated part of the park and met by Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, and Belle. It was a lot of fun having the opportunity to talk with them and get our pictures taken with our favorite Disney characters (not to mention getting their make up secrets for the hot and humid weather).

After Disney World we were taken back to the hotel to get ready for the “Evening with Miss America” Fundraiser at the Siegel Estate. Mr. Siegel owns Planet Hollywood and Windgate Resorts. It was a 90,00 square foot house. That’s right…..Ninety THOUSAND square feet. I did not feel like I was in a house…it felt like a convention center, and I was asked to perform there!!! During the cocktail hour of the event, myself and a few other contestants performed as the guests mingled with the contestants. I played two pieces, one of which was a classical favorite “Canon in D”, and Miss Minnesota even played the piano with me. It was absolutely beautiful! Miss America Caressa Cameron performed later in the evening, too. She is such an amazing singer!

Saturday morning all of the contestants attended our official Contestant Orientation. There was a lot of information, but talking about Las Vegas and hearing about what the pageant will be like got me even more excited for January. I still can’t believe that I am going to MISS AMERICA!!! After the meeting I was getting really antsy and excited for the final night of competition. After watching Jocelyn all week, I knew she would do well. Before finals all of the Miss contestants gathered in the lobby for an autograph signing. My mom even got me all of the contestant’s autographs!

I was so proud of Jocelyn Saturday night. Initially, we all thought there was going to just be a top 10. However, they surprised all of the girls by changing it to a top 15. So now we say that Jocelyn made it into the top 10 twice! I’m secretly glad she didn’t win because I would have been sad to lose her and her family for the remainder of my year! She did SUCH a remarkable job though, and would have made an amazing Miss America’s Outstanding Teen. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful “little sister”. J

I also wanted to mention how excited I was to see so many Miss PA contestants down in Orlando supporting Jocelyn! Ashley Duespohl, Elissa McCracken, Whitney Kerr, and Kaitlynne Kline were all there and I was so happy to be able to spend some time with them

I anticipated blogging from Orlando, but my lack of internet service at the hotel made for a very long blog entry now that I am back home (my apologies). The upcoming week is a little slow for me, as I will be preparing to run a half marathon in Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend. But after that, September is VERY busy. October is too! I am practically booked until Thanksgiving and am hoping I can still squeeze in some Miss America prep! There are a lot of great events coming up and I cannot wait to share them all with you!

Until next time…

With Love,

Courtney Thomas

Miss Pennsylvania 2010

Miss Pennsylvania July 2010 Newsletter - Posted on www.MissPA.org

July 2010 Newsletter
(August 13, 2010)

It has been almost two months since I was crowned ‘Miss Pennsylvania 2010’ and there are some days when I still cannot believe it. When you dream about something for so long and finally accomplish it after all of these years—it is an indescribable feeling. I have been given the opportunity to change a little portion of the world, and the sky is the limit!

I already have so many stories to share with you, and it has only been two months! During the first couple of weeks I was still trying to fathom the fact that I was Miss Pennsylvania, all while planning for the year ahead. I received a shower of cards and congratulatory messages. I was so touched by all of the support that I received from the pageant community, my hometown, and even fans from other states! My hometown even erected a billboard congratulating me on my accomplishment!

My very first appearance was the Union County Veteran’s Day Parade. As soon as I put my crown on I was approached by groups of children and baseball teams all wanting pictures and autographs. It was astounding to see how excited everyone was about the Miss America Organization. Speaking of Miss America, I spent the next weekend in Pittsburgh getting things finalized for January. You wouldn’t believe all of the paperwork and questionnaires that there are! During this time, I had my official headshots taken at Becky Thurner Photography! It was so much fun and I even got to spend the day with our Outstanding Teen, Jocelyn. I cannot wait to spend the week in Orlando cheering her on!

Another event that I really enjoyed was the Miss Pennsylvania Reunion in Altoona. I had the opportunity to meet some of my sorority sisters and reminisce over stories and pictures. Despite the heat, we had loads of fun! Not long after that I revisited Chet’s beautiful farm for an afternoon party. I was given a personal tour of the Llamas (I even got a kiss from “Lilly”) and drove four-wheelers on some trails behind the farm!

An appearance that I was really looking forward to as soon as I heard about it was the “Queen for a Day” event at the Clearfield County Fair. Several fair queens from the surrounding areas got together to offer tips and encouragement to young girls who are interested in competing for the fair queen title in their home counties. I shared my experiences from Miss Pennsylvania week and met many potential MPSO contestants! At the event, I met a little girl named Brooke, who is a poster child for the Children’s Miracle Network. The Clearfield County Fair Queens raise money for CMN every year, and Brooke happened to be a guest of honor at “Queen for a Day”. She is nine-years-old and has already undergone two heart transplants. It was so inspiring to see how driven and motivated she was despite her surgeries. I was honored to meet her and even got her to take a picture with me!

Before the Miss Pennsylvania pageant I was asked to be a spokesperson for the Ensign John R. Elliot HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, because of my work with my platform. It is a great organization that was started because of a tragedy involving a drunk driver. Every year they have a dinner and memorial to celebrate the life of John Elliot, who was killed by a drunk driver. They also take that opportunity to recognize important representatives, sponsors, and supporters of the HERO Campaign. This year was the 10^th anniversary of John’s passing and with an audience of over 500 people, I was asked to share my involvement with the campaign and my goals for the upcoming year. I was honored to speak beside First Lady Laura Bush and Olympic gold medalist, Carl Lewis. It was a life-changing event and I was so blessed that I was not only asked to be in attendance, but to have the opportunity to share the story of my platform.

I have been so busy with appearances the last two months, and each event has had something special about it that I will take with me through my year. I feel so blessed to have received the opportunity to travel across the great state of Pennsylvania advocating my platform and meeting people from all walks of life. I am even more blessed because since I was crowned Miss Pennsylvania, I was able to move back home and have had time to spend time with my grandfather who has been battling cancer for the past year. He just passed away a couple of days ago, and it is because of this title that I was able to be home with him and spend his last days by his side.

Having said that, thank you to all who have shown your sympathy and support to my family and I. My grandfather was a remarkable man, and will be greatly missed. I admit I have been quite distracted by his illness the last few weeks, but look forward to keeping up with my blog and newsletter more consistently now. Unfortunately there were a few appearances that I had to miss because of my grandfather, but the Miss Pennsylvania Board was so kind in allowing me to spend this time with my family. I have such a great support system and I would like to take this time to personally thank Chet, Steve, Mark, Bob, and the rest of the board for everything that they have done for me so far. I promise that I will continue to pour my heart and soul into this job and to make you all proud! Take care, Pennsylvania!

With Love,

Miss Pennsylvania 2010