Miss Arizona 2010

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Miss Arizona 2010 Pageant in Gilbert, AZ this past weekend. It's hard to believe that 7 years ago I was standing on the same stage hearing my name as the new Miss Arizona.  Where does time go? 

Congratulations to our new Miss Arizona 2010 Kathryn Bulkley from Tucson.  Kathryn performed a beautiful opera piece in Italian, rocked the stage in swimsuit and was elegant in her cream evening gown.  Congratulations to the remaining local titleholders, you should be so proud of your accomplishment.  There are so many young women who have dreamed of doing what you have accomplished - gracing the stage of Miss Arizona and representing your communities and platforms. I hope to see many of you returning next year!

Of course, attending a pageant isn't complete with photos with other queens!

Elizabeth Stolper, Miss Arizona Outstanding Teen                      

who I had the pleasure of working with as she

prepared to compete in her state pageant!                                     Amanda Houdashel, Ms. Texas and Elisa

My Mrs. AZ gals!

Three weeks down...

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I became Mrs. Arizona America 2010!  Wow, time flies.  The last three weeks have been filled with lots of great activities.  Here is a quick peek into what I've been up to:

• Had a family photo shoot for the national pageant.  Thank you to my mom and photographer Trudy Hill of Cottage Ink for a great job.
• Scheduled an appearance at the Phoenix Children's Hospital where local media will be in attendance documenting the visit.  (I had a cousin who passed away at the age of 15 from cancer, so the Children's Hospital holds a special place in my heart.)
• Scheduled a visit to Houston to look for my competition wardrobe at Pageant Consultants.  Thank you to the ALoft Hotel chain for helping me find a hotel room!
• Have been working on selling national program book ads, collecting sponsorships and organizing other fundraisers to help cover the costs of competition.  Thanks Mike Ahn DDS, Watch Me Grow, Steve Orsak of Wells Fargo Mortgage and Islands for their support.
• Scheduled an appearance at the Runway for a Cure in Tucson.
• Busy working with various groups on appearances and public speaking engagements.
• Starting my national paperwork!!!!

My First 24 hours as Mrs. Arizona

On May 22nd, I went from being an everyday mom juggling work, a baby, and husband to a mom with a crown and sash but still juggling work, baby and a husband.  That evening, I was named Mrs. Arizona America 2010 out of a field of 16 incredible Arizona women. Each of the 16 local titleholders had amazing causes that they were able to bring attention to through the Mrs. Arizona America system. I look forward to spending the next year helping each titleholder promote their personal platform.

As Mrs. Arizona America I will be promoting my personal platform of Breast Cancer: Awareness, Prevention and Recovery.  My mother is a breast cancer survivor and I lost a paternal aunt to breast cancer, so I know first hand how this disease can change a woman's life and that of her family's.

My first 24 hours of being Mrs. Arizona began with attending a post-pageant party at the beautiful Phoenix Aloft hotel near Sky Harbor where I was able to spend time with my new director, my fellow local titleholders, my family and my dear friend Kim who had flown in from Denver to attend the pageant.  The next morning I had my official crown photo shoot with the very talented Vanessa Cheney at the Aloft.  I was incredibly thankful that Kelly Wisniewski was there to work her magic with my hair and makeup.  After only 4 hours of sleep, I wasn't sure how I was going to look "fresh and full of energy", but she made it happen!  After an afternoon of being primped and photographed, I headed home to the role of mommy - that's right grocery shopping, laundry and changing diapers were waiting for me!