On the road again...

Greetings!

Here's the deal...I've been without my computer for the last week! I left it at Mary's house in a state of confusion and have been trying to survive without it...therefore, this post is slightly outdated, but I wanted to put it up anyway. Imagine that it is March 22 and I just returned from the Miss Tampa pageant...

What a wonderful weekend! On Friday, Mom and I drove to Tampa for the Miss Tampa Pageant dress rehearsal. I had the pleasure of meeting all of the contestants and was super excited to see the outgoing Miss Tampa, who was my roomie at Miss Florida last summer!



On Saturday night the girls rocked it! The most thrilling part of the night was getting to co-emcee with Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999, who was one of the judges at Miss America this year! I felt so honored to share the stage with her. She was so sweet and she made the inevitably unpredictable job of hosting so smooth and fun!


Congratulations to the new Miss Tampa, Ashley Panaggio as well as the new Miss Zephyrhills, Ashley Ramsey Baton, who was also crowned last night!


This morning mom and I followed Rob down to Lakewood Ranch where we met Dana Judge for the “Samantha’s Friends” Fundraiser Gala and Brunch. What a neat event! The inspiration for this non-profit organization is a precious young woman named Samantha Bozza. A former pageant girl herself, Samantha experienced a brain aneurism when she was 15 years-old that left her facially deformed and unable to walk. Instead of allowing her disability to stand in her way, she is using her story to as a catalyst to make a difference in the lives of disabled persons by providing selected individuals with DOGS. Meeting Samantha was truly inspirational. What an incredible, joyful, gracious, beautiful woman!

Helping raise the stakes for the live auction!

With model, actor, and soap star, Austin Peck


With actress Patrika Darbo, most recently seen on Desperate Housewives...she was hilarious!


Earlier this week I visited Naples High School where I spoke to the 9th graders about my job as Miss Florida and also shared my platform presentation.


I was invited by a freshman guy named George who selected me as a "professional whose career sounds interesting" for an assignment for one of his classes. How flattering! I had such a great time and felt so honored to have been selected. Later I learned that when George had the initial idea some of his classmates were teasing him and saying that I would never come...I was glad I could prove them wrong!

With my new friend, George!

I spent the following two days giving the “Right Decisions, Right Now” presentation at local middle schools in Fort Myers, one of which was my alma mater! It was so neat to be back there and receive such a warm welcome.



On the 14th I went to Homestead for the South Dade Red Cross Ball. I was accompanied by Ann Marie Griffin and we had a wonderful time!

With Ann Marie, doesn't she look fabulous?!

Lissette Gonzalez, Miss Florida 1998, was the hostess for the evening’s events and we judged the “Dancing With The Stars” style competition together. The dancing couples were volunteers from the community paired with local professionals. The routines were great! The fundraiser was a great success!

Me and Lissette!

The 3 Judges with the fabulous dancing couples!

My computer is on it's way to me! So I will update you with pictures when we are reunited! :) I can't wait to tell you about the Sungoddess Coronation Ball and all of the beautiful candidates I met this past week. Until then, please continue to pray for more opportunities to connect with this great state and for me to open to all of the lessons God is teaching me as Miss Florida!

Thanks and blessings,
Sierra

Miss America's Homecoming!

Hello everyone!

I just got back from Miss America's Homecoming in Indiana! Last Friday I traveled to Indianapolis/Zionsville/Carmel to participate in events celebrating Katie Stam's win. The trip started out great from the start...on my plane from Tampa I made three new friends from the University of Florida who made the plane ride go by really fast! They were on their way to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in California! Best wishes guys!

I left the three musketeers on the plane and was welcomed to Indiana with what the natives call "Hoosier Hospitality". Now I know why they are famous for it! Me and the 10 other State Titleholders were treated like royalty! That afternoon we went to Zionsville High School for the Performing Arts to rehearse for the show that night. It was such a great reunion! We got to see Katie and give her a big hug before the show got started. She was still glowing!

For the first half of the show we sat in the audience with our sashes and crowns and enjoyed the entertainment, which included performances by Miss America, Miss America's Outstanding Teen, Miss Indiana's Outstanding Teen, the 4 runners-up from Miss Indiana 2008, and some professional dancers. What a show!

After intermission we performed our talent pieces from Miss America, which was so much fun!! The audience was really receptive and I always love performing! My MAO 2009 sisters who were there include: Miss Arkansas, Miss California, Miss Illinois, Miss Iowa, Miss Kentucky, Miss Michigan, Miss New York, Miss Oklahoma, Miss Tennessee, and Miss Utah. We had a blast!

After the show were were invited to a reception at the home of a former Miss Indiana. She was a lovely host and had a beautiful house. It was a great time to mingle and of course, munch on the amazing hours d'ouvres she served! At the party I met Miss Indiana's Outstanding Teen 2006 who roomed with our very own Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2006, Sydney Keister, at the 2007 MAOT pageant! I also met Nicole Rash, Miss Indiana 2007, who was 1st runner-up at Miss America 2008!

The following day was full of fun appearances that the Miss Indiana Organization had planned for us. We went to a really neat boutique that the Miss Indiana Contestants always go to called "The Secret Ingredient". They had super cute stuff!

Outside of Nana's Flower Shop (one of the sponsors we visited)

We were then treated to lunch at the Cobblestone Grill before having a 2 hour autograph session at an art gallery called "The Sanctuary". Later we were informed that around 1100 people came through and we signed at least 400 autographs! Whew! I hardly noticed until it was over and I realized how many pictures I had gone through! It sure was fun though...being there with the other girls...getting to see so many people...especially when they recognized you from TV!

One of my favorite memories from that day is of our ride back to the hotel when our fabulous host Michael (aka "TDH" - Tall, Dark, and Handsome) drove us through Wendy's in a 15 passenger van and got us all Frosties!! And they say "pageant girls don't eat"...ha! We couldn't have been happier with our cookie-dough goodness! (YES, they have cookie-dough Frosties now!)

That evening was the Gala where we had a nice dinner and were each given the chance to tell of our favorite "Katie Moment". I shared about the wonderful lunch we had in Tampa after the Super Bowl. I will never forget that day, as everything was still so fresh and it was so neat to hear about all that Katie had done and was getting ready to do as her year was getting started.

With Katie Stam, our 2009 Miss America!

With Miss America's Outstanding Teen, Taylor Fitch - what a sweetheart!!

With our dear Sam Haskell III, Chairman of the Board of MAO

The whole evening was truly beautiful as people shared their hearts and we celebrated Katie and this great Organization. It was an honor to be a part of this very special occasion. Congratulations, again, to Katie, her family, and the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant. Go get 'em girl!!

Well, now that my hands official hurt, I am going to call it a night. But I did want to mention that I was able to stay in Indiana for a few days after the Homecoming and see my extended family I have there! It was a great time of fellowship and memory-making. It was neat how I was able to have that little bonus on the trip. My family was literally in the same city as the Homecoming!

God bless,

Sierra

Fabulous February!

Hello Everyone!!

First off all, I would like to congratulate all of our new local titleholders! This weekend I had the honor of attending the Miss Palm Beach County pageant. As you may know, that was my local title last year, so it was great to be back! The girls looked fabulous and I had a great time getting to spend time with them during rehearsal and the live show. I asked the "On-Stage" Question and also co-emcee'd the Evening Wear competition with Jamie Marineau, the reigning Miss Palm Beach County who I crowned after I won Miss Florida. Two of my beautiful princesses were there and we had so much fun!


Last Wednesday I had a very productive meeting with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. We discussed ways that I can be involved in working with at-risk youth in the area and began planning an event for the Contestants during Miss Florida week this summer. I am excited about our plans and can't wait to get to work!


A few days earlier I went to the University of Florida to support the "Unite" Party in their Student Government elections campaign. I gave a brief speech to "pump up" the crowd! It was so much fun to see all of the school spirit and to support the candidates.

With the candidates running for office
But that's not all...I also got to meet Tim Tebow! He was there supporting Jordan, the candidate for President, and also offered some words of wisdom. We only spent a few minutes together, but it was fun to meet our "Mr. Florida"!


Earlier that day I was in Orlando for a visit to "House of Hope". It's a Christ-centered residential campus for teenagers who are overcoming adversity in their lives. What an incredible place! I was truly energized as I learned about the heart of the organization and how young people's lives are being transformed through this ministry. I had the opportunity to share my testimony with the residents and even heard some of their personal stories. It was a privilege to share the afternoon with them and I look forward to another visit!


On February 21 I participated in the "Edison Festival of Light" parade in my hometown of Fort Myers. I was outfitted by White House Black Market "from head to toe" and rode in a white Mustang convertible with two of my Princesses. We had a blast!!


I saw lots of familiar faces as we cruised through downtown and made our way to my high school where we were announced and did one lap around the track before heading back to the starting point. It was an honor to participate and I know I made my city proud!


This journey just keeps getting better! Since Miss America, I have been able to embrace my job as Miss Florida more fully and I am going to keep making the most of the rest of my reign. I am excited about the plans for Miss Florida 2009, although I can't even believe we're thinking about that already! I wish the best of luck to the ladies who have yet to compete in a local and I can't wait to see you all on the road soon!

Love and blessings,
Sierra