Busy, busy!

Hi!

Our 2009 Contestant Orientation and Miss Florida Salute is right around the corner...which means these past couple of weeks have been super busy! In addition to making my usual appearances I've been preparing for our exciting weekend ahead.

Recently I traveled to Lakeland to continue the "Right Decisions, Right Now" tour. I visited four middle schools in two days and had a blast! I owe a special thank-you to Cathy Asbridge, a former Miss Tampa, for arranging the schools and hosting me.


After my trip to Lakeland I headed down to Boynton Beach to speak at an event for women of all ages hosted by Boynton Beach Community Church. It was held at the historic Boynton Beach Women's Club and was absolutely beautiful! Two of my Princesses were able to attend and we all had a great time enjoying the fellowship and the hand-made cupcakes!

From there I went down to Mary's house in Miami to work on some details for this weekend and also to meet with our TV producers (the Miss Florida pageant is going to be televised this year!!). While I was there, Mary took me to South Beach for the first time during my reign and we enjoyed a delicious lunch on Lincoln Road. It was a perfect beach day, so it was super crowded, but tons of fun!

On my way out of town on Tuesday morning I got to go to the filming of Regis and Kelly LIVE! at the Fountain Bleu hotel on Miami Beach. It was so neat!!


Edward, one of our producers, introduced me to Regis and Kelly and they were so nice! Very down-to-earth and really excited to be in Florida. :)


I sat through the majority of the show, but then had to get on the road to West Palm Beach to sing the National Anthem at the "Women in Leadership Awards" at the Convention Center. It was a great success and I got to see a lot of familiar PBA faces!!

From West Palm I headed back to St. Pete for the 3rd Annual "Women of History Tea" at Coachman Middle School. The girls came dressed up as women in history who were the "first" in their field. I spoke to the girls about the Miss America pageant and how it empowers young women, just like the women they were dressed up as.

Can you spot Miss Florida? :)I also spoke about self-respect and respecting and supporting each other as females. The girls and moms really responded when I emphasized how valuable each of them were and how they deserve the best! I shared with them my commitment to absitence and explained the reasoning behind it - you are worth the wait!

With my 'host-mom' Barbie, who helped arrange the appearance and came with me to enjoy the festivities

On Saturday I teamed up with Andrea Stephens, Ayiesha Woods, and other local performers and spoke to over 500 young girls on the "Perks of Being Single" at the B.A.B.E. 2 "Boyland" Event in Fort Myers. There was so much energy and enthusiasm, it was great! The whole event flowed really well and the girls soaked up every minute of it.

Well, time marches on! Although I don't want to admit it, today starts the 2-month countdown to the 2009 Miss Florida crown! Crazy! But I am excited for all of the new girls and I just say a prayer that I will make the transition back to normal life smoothly. ;)

God bless,
Sierra