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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
http://ure.uncg.edu/inspirechange/2009/12/at-your-service/
Check out this link to UNCG Inspire Change website to see the story that was done on my volunteer work as Miss North Carolina International and as a spartan! It was so well written by Andrea Spencer, and it was a great story! Hopefully more people with go and volunteer, be the change you want to see in the world! Enjoy the story-more pictures to come!
Finally some new pictures and posts from Nov./Dec.!!!
I am so sorry for the delay in posting some of my November and December events!!
I just finished my undergraduate career on December 17th! I graduated with the December class at 10am at the Greensboro coliseum complex, and was a member of the platform party! I was honored to be representing the Class of 2009 by ringing the bell at the end of the ceremony as a part of the UNCG tradition! It has been a long semester, long hours, and lots of finals and papers! I had a great final semester at UNCG, and now it was time to celebrate! Enjoy those photos and looking back at the past two months and my events as Miss NC International!
11-21-09
My Birthday! Family Volunteer Day with Hands on Network! I put on my HON/POL shirt and went out to support family volunteer day! My great friend Mandy was in charge of the RMS 5K spirit walk, so I went out to help her and support the event! I was the guest speaker at the awards ceremony, and was able to cheer on the runners and help kick off the race! It was a great event and she did a wonderful job! As I spoke about the importance of volunteering, I saw so many great families who came out to volunteer and help with the event, as well as participate! After I finished they presented me with flowers and I was so blessed to have a couple hundred of my new friends sing "happy birthday" to me! It was so sweet!
Later that evening I was able to light the Summerfield Christmas tree with Congressman Howard Coble and Mayor Brown. I spoke briefly on my life in the Summerfield area and remembering the first tree lighting years ago as a little girl! Then- we lit the big, beautiful tree and they sang Christmas carols and "happy birthday!" Wow- two times and a great dinner with my family and closest friends to end the evening and a wonderful day!
Sunday 11-22-09 marked 2500 wishes for Make A Wish of NC, they celebrated with a party and send off party at PTI (Piedmont Triad International Airport) as they sent their 2500th wish to Disney World! Great Job to all the dedicated, selfless, volunteers and staff at NC MAW!
For Thanksgiving 2009, I traveled with my family to the coast! We had a wonderful time with friends and family at Topsail Island, NC for the thanksgiving holiday! We are so blessed and thankful to have these people in our lives! We had a big weekend! Thanksgiving lunch and dinner with friends, we celebrated my birthday again with the beach folks and my sister (in from Alabama), watched Crimson Tide beat Auburn, celebrated a dedicated Marine, and had an annual oyster roast with all our wonderful South Enders and a holiday flotilla! Most importantly my Dad and I were blessed to be able to go to Jacksonville, NC and serve the Marines at the USO center right off base. We were able to be there for a few hours and serve the men and women and their families who serve our country. It was an honor to be there and help the USO and all the great volunteers in Jacksonville!
UNCG had the inaugural men's basketball game at the new location- Greensboro Coliseum! I went to represent the spartan student body as Miss NC International and saw many of my great friends and fabulous spartan fans all decked out in their blue and gold for the game! My Mom was able to go with me, and they announced me at half time! Thanks G!
12-5-2009
USO Event honoring families at the NC National Guard in Raleigh, NC
A holiday event for all the NC families sponsored by the USO of NC, with help from neighboring locations and places. It was a great day and event for all the soldiers and their families! The beginning was spent in a moment of silence for fallen soldiers, who we are forever grateful to. The rest was spent honoring the men and women still serving their country at home and away. We had great food and fellowship! I worked with Sergent Scott on the events, and we sang Christmas carols with the kids before Santa came out and read to them! The day was complete with a cake walk and presents and stockings for all the kids! As always everyone with the USO NC does a great job at honoring the soldiers and their families, until everyone comes home....thank you for all you do.
12-10-09
End of the year and holiday party for Make A Wish foundation of NC! I saw my good friend Stacey and her mother, Stacey is working to sponsor a wish for her senior project at Northwest High School-she is doing a great job! Keep up the good work Stacey!
12-11-2009
PMI Christmas/Holiday party for all the employees! Happy holidays to all my PMI/Groundworks family! Love you guys!
12-12-2009
I went out to Archdale, NC to support Miss Teen NC Christina Roach and her work with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Her work has grown into so much more and she works to remember her sister, Cora, who passed away earlier this year. She is dedicated to helping all the children affected by disease and cancer and she works to find a cure and to bring happiness to them and to their families. She is doing wonderful things with her year as a state titleholder, and I am so proud of her! I was able to go and sing the National Anthem at the rodeo at Davis arena in Archdale for Team Austin. Austin is a 18 year old with Leukemia, and in need of a bone marrow transplant. This rodeo was for him. They had a great team their working for him and for his cause. The announcer was great, and despite the freezing temperatures there were lots of people out to support Austin! Thanks Christina for having me at this event, and all my prayers and love for Austin in his fight!
12-15-2009
Tuesday the 15th the RDU USO Center had 395 marines through their center and men and women from the Air force as well. They were using the new temporary center in the new terminal 2 and the old center in terminal 1. I was there in support of the USO NC and all my favorite volunteers with the RDU area, most importantly though I was there in support of the troops and the young men and women who are dedicated to fighting for our country and our freedom. I took lots of pictures with them and talked to them about their journey! It was great to see Georgina, Meg and Matt, Sandy, Larry, and Michael! Thanks you guys for having me out to RDU USO NC! They do amazing things as volunteers for the USO, and I am proud to know them and work with them! I came home that evening to go to the sponsors holiday party for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, another great season with PMI, Guilford, and the Grasshoppers!
I want to wish everyone a very blessed holiday season this year. May you cherish the time with family and friends and always remember our men and women in the military during these special times each year. Thank you to EVERYONE who has made this year such a special year, and I wish all of you the merriest of holidays this year. Peace and love to all! See you next year: 2010! Cheers to a new year and a memorable 2009!
Johnnie-O in town!
http://www.johnnie-o.com/index.php/
Visiting Greensboro, NC from LA and the West Coast, John O'Donnell came to see us and show us his new stuff! It was great to see a sneak peak at his new line and catch up! His stuff is super cute, visit his website (above) for more info!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
USO Events in November
Veteran’s Day Parade & Ceremony
Raleigh, NC
November 7, 2009
I was honored to ride alongside the USO of North Carolina for the Veteran’s Day Parade! Thank you Mr. Yates for the invitation! Mr. Don Cooper was driving me in a beautiful 1950’s model Chevrolet convertible! It was a classic car! There was a lot of support for the Veterans, and the USO NC was great- I saw so many of my wonderful friends and dedicated USO volunteers there! In honor of our Vets we rode and waved American and USO flags, we are also riding today in support of our service men and women who are fighting and serving our country, here and abroad. We pray for their safety and their safe return home, to the home they are fighting for, America. It was such a great day, beautiful weather, and to be alongside all of these amazing people, I felt so patriotic! I love this country, and it was such an honor to be on stage during the Ceremony as well to help commemorate the lives of the fallen and the lives of the fighters and defenders of freedom. I am forever grateful to our all of our men and women who have served our country. They are true American heroes, and I simply cannot express how honored and blessed I felt to be a part of the Veteran’s Day Celebration, words cannot express my gratitude to all of them, past and present. Thank you, so much. Then, I was lucky enough to go with my wonderful friends from the USO, Michael, Dawn, & Brinson to meet with the NC National Guard about a Christmas party for the kids of soldiers all over the state of NC! I look forward to that event on December 5th!
“I thank God for my life, for the stars and stripes, may freedom forever fly, let it reign. Salute the ones who die, the ones who give their life, so we don’t have to sacrifice- we are forever grateful.”
I have been keeping a journal, and writing about all of my amazing appearances and volunteer work, so Wednesday on Veteran’s day was my 100th appearance, I was going to travel to the Use’s flag raising ceremony and read for the USO flag in Raleigh; however, unfortunately Tropical Storm Ida hit our state and it poured rain! I was unable to make the event because of flooding! But I made up for missing the event by heading to the USO Variety Show on Saturday November 14, in Cary at the Koka Booth Amphitheater! They had all kinds of acts-musical groups, bands, a Nashville star, the American Belles, a magician, and special demonstrations by the men and women there in uniform! It was a great day! I went on stage with the President of the USO NC and several great soldiers, and Miss NC MAO. I wore my came high heels to go with the great looking camo jacket I got to get dressed up in! The acts were great, but the best part was that I spent the day with all of my amazing USO friends! I also got to play with some big guns and try on the equipment that these soldiers where everyday. It really was amazing to see their gear up close, as well as hear from them how much they love our country, I couldn’t agree more-how could you not love this country!?! Great music, great food, great company-including my favorite “little bro” Brinson!- all around it was another terrific day supporting the USO!
NC USA Pageant, High Point
November 13-14, 2009
I headed from Cary, to High Point to meet my wonderful Director and my sister queens and great sponsors to go watch our friends compete for the title of Miss & Teen North Carolina USA! Congrats to the new winners of the crown- all of you ladies did an amazing job! Paula always puts on a wonderful show-this years theme was Egyptian! WOW! We had a really fun night!
Make A Wish
Make A Wish Reception honoring Dr. Jerry Clark, the founder of the NC Chapter, was at Flemings Restaurant in Greensboro, NC! It was a great night, with all my favorite MAW volunteers and several of the wonderful Wish Kids I have come to know and love over the past year! It was a great night, we shared wonderful stories and tributes and most importantly we thanked Dr. Clark, because of him- NC has granted over 2500 wishes for children with life threatening illnesses! Tuesday we were so excited to be invited to the Ruth’s Chris reception, where we met with the NFL Coordinator about some great volunteer opportunities for the near future, he was there with some great people! Thanks to Ruth’s Chris in Greensboro for a great night, and a thank you to George for always, being so hospitable!
Reading Day at Linley Elementary
November 5th, I was asked as a leader in the Greensboro Community to be a reader at a local elementary school as they taught the children the importance of reading and education! I read to a third grade class, where I saw many familiar faces, and I read to them the book: DUCK FOR PRESIDENT! I told them I chose that book, because of the wonderful election last year with record voters and the historical importance as well as the fact I was a White House Intern in 2008! Thank you Ms. Jarrell for letting me be a part of your class for the day! UNCG photographers came out to capture some great moments for a story for their website (coming soon!) on the importance of service learning and volunteering in the community! Those pictures will be coming soon!
November 3rd, 2009
On November 3rd was Election Day in Greensboro, NC! It was a big day for us, and I love Election Day, every year! We spent the evening watching the election night results in the Greensboro-Guilford Courthouse! Congrats to Bill Knight, our new mayor and my friend Robbie Perkins, council member at large! I saw my beautiful friends the Perkins sisters there and we took some great pictures as we congratulated all the new winners and winning incumbents! We there in support of the Natural Science Center-Vote Yes campaign! Which passed, and we were so thrilled to celebrate that on Wednesday at the Natural Science Center in Greensboro! A one a kind facility that has a full zoo, and on the way- a state of the art aquarium!
October 30 & October 31
Thank you to Stacey and Savannah for having me out to their Halloween Party for Make A Wish foundation! They are raising money for a wish this year as their Senior Project! The girls did a great job, and I was able to announce the winner of the Pirate Costume Contest, I danced to some great Michael Jackson songs, and most importantly I told the group of high school students the importance of the Make A Wish foundation!
Halloween, I spent time with family & friends, and did some great trick-or-treating! Later that evening I was Britney Spears-I went with dark hair! It was an interesting look for me! Saw some great costumes!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Make A Difference Day
Saturday, October 24th, was Make A Difference Day! It was Make a Difference day and I was helping the wonderful organizations of HANDS ON NETWORK AND POINTS OF LIGHT by participating in this volunteer day and spreading the project ideas and my commitment to volunteer work throughout the great state of NC! I worked with Hands On to coordinate a project area, event, and time, and although there were so many great ones to choose from I was so thrilled to be traveling to Research Triangle Park, Chapel Hill area to the SECU Family House and the Ronald McDonald House to help with all kinds of great volunteer projects! I was joined by the amazing UNC MBA students! They told me they do projects, like this one, throughout their semester! They had about 80 MBA students spread throughout the area helping with all kinds of HON projects! I met so many wonderful people and we cleaned, baked, iced cakes, and worked on stocking pantries! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this day very special, and a huge thanks to Leigh for helping make this day happen! A big thank you also to the SECU family house for having us, and the great, hardworking, UNC MBA students who were there all day! Last but not least, a big thank you to Hands On and Points of Light: These organizations are dedicated to making a difference in this world, one volunteer at a time! They help actions centers throughout the USA and internationally to inspire people to volunteer as well as help connect them with the right volunteer opportunity. For more information on all they do or service projects in your area visit www.handsonnetwork.org
Thanks to all the volunteers who made Make A Difference Day a huge success and who are always teaching others the power they have to make a difference! Always remember its the small things that make the biggest difference, and we can ALL Volunteer!
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This month has been filled with Pink! I was lucky enough to help with the Luncheon for FRIENDS for an Earlier Detection with special guest speaker Elizabeth Edwards, who was a breast cancer survivor. Great lunch and great friends! Thank you Martha Kaley for being such an amazing inspiration and for the founding of this wonderful organization, which has raised millions for research for an earlier test (which one day could save my life and yours!!)! WoW!! Not only did we have the amazing lunch with almost ONE THOUSAND people at Koury Convention Center, but we had the event SHOP FOR A CAUSE at SIMPLY MEG'S in Greensboro at Friendly Center! Meg had a great party and shopping event and 10% of the evening's proceeds went to FRIENDS!! Thanks Meg and all the WONDERFUL, SWEET people at SIMPLY MEGS!
One more to mention, you can join us for BLAST FOR BOOBS on Nov. 1st! Sponsored by in part by REMINGTON COUNTRY and proceeds go to FRIENDS!! For more information on FRIENDS or the event visit their website: www.earlier.org
David Cook Concert and Meet & Greet
Opening Act Ryan Star
My Great Friends, Natalie and Drew! Congrats on your Engagement!!!
I was so excited to meet David Cook, the American Idol winner last week! He had a great opening act, Ryan Star. And David was an amazing performer and thanks to my friends at the NCLUB I was able to meet the David after the show! He was so nice, and I plan on going to see him perform in Charlotte in December!
I was so excited to meet David Cook, the American Idol winner last week! He had a great opening act, Ryan Star. And David was an amazing performer and thanks to my friends at the NCLUB I was able to meet the David after the show! He was so nice, and I plan on going to see him perform in Charlotte in December!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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