My month of October!

My first official duty as Miss Tarrant County was to help at the Miss Keller/Miss Carrollton pageant.  I was so fortunate to be able to perform a few fun songs and share about my platform as I cheered on my friends and welcomed Kaylee Killingsworth (Miss Keller), Brittney Bennett (Miss Carrollton), and Jacy Etter (Miss Carrollton’s Outstanding Teen) into our MFWSO family.  Considering they are all young ladies I highly respect and have been fortunate to get close to prior to our reigning together, I was beyond thrilled.  I also was able to cheer a few of my closest pageant friends at the same time.  Here I am with the beautiful Megan Clark, who eventually went on to win Miss Plano!

I also had the opportunity to judge my first pageant (Great Peanut Butter Festival Pageant)!  Ken Prachtar, a good friend, actually recommended me to judge the Great Peanut Butter Festival pageant.  This was such a well-run and upbeat pageant with boys and girls ranging from infants to my age.  I loved seeing the little girls who were genuinely enjoying themselves on the stage!

This month I gave up my title as Miss Northeast Texas at the Miss Arlington/Miss Kaufman County pageant and was very blessed to be co-emcee with one of my closest and best friends Meghan Miller (yes, the very first Miss America’s Outstanding Teen).  I’ll be honest, we were pretty cheesy at this pageant as we divulged on our love and commitment for this organization and as we silently cheered on some of our other great friends, including our other best friend, Michelle Hanson, who happened to be crowned Miss Arlington that night.  Congrats to Michelle and the beautiful Emily Falkenberg (Miss Kaufman County)!!

Later that week, I was able to attend the Texas State Fair for the first time ever!! The incredible Bruce Wallace invited Anna Combrink and me and was nice enough to give me a historical tour, which included the walk to the Vietnam memorial.  I had an absolute blast meeting all the children and riding in the parade.  I even saw a college friend of mine as I rode on the parade!

Brittney, Rachel, Ivana, and I had the privilege to attend the DIFFA event - Burgundy & Burgers.  I am an avid supporter of DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) and am so thankful to Miss Bobbie Scott for involving me in so many of their events.

I loved being part of the Tarrant County Buddy Walk.  This event promoted awareness for children with down syndrome.  Here is a picture of me with my beautiful little buddy Brooke Garbe.  Her mother, Mrs. Lisa Garbe, is not only part of the Cinderella family that I was once a part of but was also one of my sorority advisors in college!  That means this little angel is an Alpha Chi Omega legacy (and a total sweet one too)!

SPONSOR SHOUT OUT! – I got to go in for my very first appointment with Lash Lounge in Fort Worth to get my new eyelash extensions!! Thank you so much Lash Lounge!!

Round table! Though I don’t have pictures from this event, I loved getting together with my entire MFWSO family as well as our board members for training and mock interviews.  Anytime we get together is a blast!

After the training, I actually met up with my beautiful pageant sisters Meghan and Michelle as well as Bruce Wallace to play around at the Texas State Fair.  What a great time we had together!

ClubCorp Charity Classic benefiting Mothers Against Bullying – I cannot express how humbled I was to be asked to attend the ClubCorp Charity Classic benefiting Mothers Against Bullying.  I had one of my pageant heroes (Faith Bates) as my traveling companion.  At the end of the night, I received a thank you note from the man who requested an appearance from the Miss Texas Organization asking if I would be willing to attend another event in the future.  The fact that he requested me again really humbled me and made me feel like I had done my job!

Spoke at Natalie’s School – The fourth strand of the “wolf pack” (the name we call our best friends) is Natalie Baker, who also happens to be a member of my MFWSO board and last year’s 2^nd runner up at Miss Texas as Miss Fort Worth.  She happens to be a middle school teacher so I took the day off and came and spoke to her classes to do my school program “Owning You”.   Her critiques were beyond helpful as this was the first time I had done my program after revamping my points.  I can’t wait to do more! (P.S. In between two of her classes she asked me to sing at her wedding!  I could barely hold back the tears!)

Awareness in the Workplace

THOSE ASTOUNDING MOMENTS…

When you realize what you’re doing is important.

Last month for October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), I wanted to make sure everyone in my law firm knew about my platform and the importance of this month.  DVAM has a tendency to be overlooked due to the other admirable and important causes that are illuminated this month, such as Breast Cancer Awareness and Anti-Bullying Awareness.

As a new member of the staff at Modjarrad & Abusaad Law firm, I was just beginning my endeavor of letting people know about my pageant life and platform, and I felt this month was the perfect opportunity to share with them why exactly I am so involved in the Miss Texas Organization.  Many of my coworkers bring in snacks and baked goods (not so great for my pageant diet) to share so I figured this was a great way to assimilate in the firm while spreading awareness.

Thus, I bought purple cookies to signify the month, put them in little bags, left them on each desk in the office and sent out the following email:

Hello everyone!  I have put a purple cookie on all of your desks, and yes, I am wearing purple also.  It is intentional and here is why:

OCTOBER IS PURPLE MONTH:

Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but not everyone knows that it is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Still, domestic violence is a major issue that plagues every community.

One in four women (25%) has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime.  3.5 million children in America every year experience abuse in their homes, either as victims or witnesses.  My platform as Miss Tarrant County is L.O.V.E.: Learning to Overcome Violent Environments, which is focused on raising awareness and support for former victims and witnesses of domestic violence as they try to remake their lives after their traumatic experiences.

Most people do not know that this month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month because domestic violence has historically been thought of as a private, family matter.  This month is dedicated to raising awareness and concern in communities to reach out and support the fight against domestic violence.

That is why I got you purple cookies.  Please keep this in mind this month and enjoy the cookie!

The responses I got were overwhelming, and quite frankly, reminded me how important it is to constantly be spreading awareness about domestic violence, even if it’s through small actions or a short email.

I not only received emails in massive support of this cause, but also received emails from a few coworkers, women AND men, telling me about their experiences throughout their lives dealing with domestic violence and thanking me for adopting this cause as my passion.  It made me realize how important it is to support one another.  We share these horrible experiences, and it is so difficult for those who have not endured domestic violence to understand the bond we have with other survivors.

Even in my firm in Richardson, there are several of us who have been impacted directly by domestic violence.  How many in your workplace have had to live through these experiences?  Domestic violence is not an issue that plagues one class, race, or religion.  Any friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker may have had to live through domestic violence or may be living through it right now.

“If the numbers we see in domestic violence were applied to terrorism or gang violence, the entire country would be up in arms, and it would be the lead story on the news every night.” - Mark Green

April in the Community

April with the Mayor of Arlington Sen Wendy Davis and Deborah Ferguson of Channel 5

Last month April had the privilege of partnering with Safe Haven of Tarrant County for several events during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Here she is at their "Build Day" for a new playground for the shelter.

Crowning

                The past month since I was crowned Miss Tarrant County 2013 on September 28^th 2012 has been a whirlwind of new experiences.  Competition night set the stage for the incredible year that will follow.

THE NIGHT I BECAME MISS TARRANT COUNTY 2013:

                Despite the fact that this is my third year to be a part of the Miss Texas Organization, this preliminary competition marked a first for me.  Though I have held two previous local titles, the Miss Fort Worth/Miss Tarrant County pageant was the first time my parents, who live in Florida, were able to see me compete in a local pageant.  The morning of the pageant, I was unable to get ahold of my father and stepmother.  Although everyone else was able to talk through their prep with their parents prior to their interviews, I went through current events and listened to my calming music alone.

                My interview went great as we spoke about the hot topics of the previous week’s U.N. World Summit and my platform L.O.V.E.: Learning to Overcome Violent Environments.  As I walked out, I looked over at my good friend and competitor, Ivana Hall, who pointed over to the couches across the hall.  Sitting on the couch were my father and stepmother, who had flown in to surprise me and cheer me on that night.  I teared up as I ran squeeling over to them.

                The rest of the competition day went smoothly as I had one of my best friends competing with me, another best friend in the audience cheering me on, and our other best friend giving up her title as Miss Fort Worth 2012 that night.  Backstage, my close friends were surrounding me as we supported each other through the night.  Onstage, I felt like I beamed knowing that my parents were in the audience sending good vibes my way.  At the end of the night, I was blessed to be crowned Miss Tarrant County 2013 with the INCREDIBLE Bates family as my executive directors and the AMAZING and hardworking Lynn Alexander as my Associate Director.  I could not be more thrilled to have Holly Morgan as my Miss Tarrant County’s Outstanding Teen and Mallory Fuller, who I have grown very close to the last couple years, as the Miss Fort Worth’s Outstanding Teen.  That night started an amazing year as we all joined together that evening at a pancake restaurant for our huge family celebration.

                The next day, we all got together to go through our contracts, the expectations of the year, and to understand the organization and its direction.  The extent to which the Bates and the entire Fort Worth Organization is organized and efficient astounds me.  I am so proud to be a part of such a passionate and hardworking group, though I know the return can only equal what I put in, which this year will be my whole heart, mind, and energy.  I spent some great time with my beautiful pageant sisters, their families, and our board members and even received some new gifts with my title on them!

                Immediately, we got to work.  My amazing AD, Lynn, has worked tediously to start figuring out my schedule and Miss Texas competition details to make sure we hit the ground running.  Additionally, knowing that Tarrant County is such an eclectic and active community, I began developing relationships with organizations the following week.  I am beyond excited to be named a partner and spokesperson for the Safehaven of Tarrant County, which has a women and children’s shelter in Arlington and one in Fort Worth.  From the moment I contacted them, they enthusiastically began scheduling me for events to help support their cause.                Even my coworkers at Modjarrad & Abusaad Law Firm were thrilled when they found out about my success at the pageant.  This was the first competition I had since I started working there so I was excited to bring back the good news.  It was also neat to know that many of our clients and business associates are from Tarrant County so sharing the news was that much sweeter.  My boss, Mr. Sean Modjarrad, as well as the firm as a whole is highly involved in the community so I think he was happy to know that I would be dedicating my time outside of work to helping others and participating in volunteer work.

                I could not wait to put that crown and sash on and begin representing the community of Tarrant County.   I know I am surrounded by not just a prep group but a family of people who love me and want to see me touch the skies and have an impactful year.

Ready to head to the after-pageant restaurant!

With my beautiful step-mother, Carolyn, when her and my father flew in to surprise me!  She is such a blessing.

With our incredible Executive Directors, Shelli and Dan Bates!

With our entire Miss Fort Worth Organization Board

With our amazing judges!

With one of my close friends Ivana backstage.  She was Miss Tarrant County 2012 and that night was crowned Miss North Texas 2013 so we will spend our year together!!