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 10th 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
Court, I'm so sorry to hear about the lose of your grandfather. I'm sure that he is so proud of the women you've become and the accomplishments that you have achieved. Take some time to heal your heart and then come back to the stage where you belong. Its nice to hear that so far you haven't burned yourself out. With all the traveling you've done I can't believe you even know where you're at some times...
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing the state what an amazing women you are! I can't wait for January when you show the country what it means to be from Pennsylvania. Oh, and come back to philly soon, Samantha Lee misses you :o)