Slideshow from Send off Party in Greensboro, NC with my wonderful Family and Friends, thank you all for all your love and support!

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Miss International 2009

Hello from Chicago!!!  We made it safe and sound, and have unpacked everything and ready to go!!!  First day was fun, we spent time with LaDaria, the Mrs. NC International, who represented NC very well at her finals on Saturday night!  I spent time with Joy, and we are ready for the Pageant week to kick off tomorrow with Orientation!! Tomorrow we also are excited to welcome our teen titleholder, Christina, to her national competition!    I will keep all up to date on here as soon as I am able to post!  We have a very fun-filled week ahead of us and I am looking forward to meeting the other contestants tomorrow!  I am so honored to be competing for the title of Miss International 2009!  The reigning Miss International 2008, Jayna, is an amazing title holder, so I am so excited to meet her as well!  Whomever the lucky lady  crowned this Saturday night may be, I wish everyone the best of luck and look forward to a wonderful week!  Stay tuned for more updates as the Pageant week progresses!!  

Thank you to all my friends and family for all of the good luck wishes and the best send off party on friday night (those pictures are coming soon)!!!!   Enjoy the pictures of our first day here in Chicago, and Skokie at the Double tree hotel (the host of the International Pageants of 2009)!!!!!!!  

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Here: Pictured with Ashley of LUSH Designs and MEG, owner of SIMPLY MEGS boutique in Greensboro, NC!  
Thank You to Ashley of LUSH Designs, and Simply Megs for helping me get together my jewelry for the pageant week!!!  Ashley you did an amazing job designing my earrings!!! WOW~ 

More pictures of the earrings coming soon!

Thank You Jaime, Reign Fine Apparel was a perfect place to throw a beautiful send off party!  Crystal and Danelle, thank you for joining my Mom and I while welcoming us to Charlotte to get the last of my wardrobe for Miss International 2009!  We had a great time, and we are ready for Chicago!  

More Pictures/slideshows to come from my Family and Friends send off party in Greensboro, NC soon!!!  

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More Pictures from Victory Junction Camp

Lila's Princess Party with MAW

Make A Wish Foundation

Sunday July 12^th, 2009

 

Today was a very special day for me.  I was asked to help grant a wish for a beautiful little girl names Lila.  Lila has a terminal condition, but by the smiles on her face today, she was one of the happiest and jovial children I have ever met.  I was so excited to help Make A Wish with this wish for her.  She wanted to be a Princess, and was she ever!!!  I was her Personal Princess at her Royal Ball!  Her Royal Ball was at Graylyn Manor in Winston Salem, NC!  She arrived by limo at 3pm and from there the party began!  She had a presentation with trumpets as she came into the castle and she was greeted with pink roses and gifts.  She had other Disney Princesses sing and dance for her with songs of her favorite Disney movies!  She even got to go down to the swimming pool to see “THE LITTLE MERMAID” ARIAL and her mermaid friends swimming in the pool.  And since Cinderella was her favorite Disney character she had Cinderella’s carriage in the garden outside.  She had a tea party and left to everyone throwing confetti for her.  It was beautiful to see her friends and family there, and to share this fun and joyous occasion with such a courageous and beautiful little Princess.  I had a wonderful day with Princess Lila, and since I was Princess Barbie I gave her a special gift full of Princess things and A Princess Barbie doll and DVD!  Thank you to everyone at Make a Wish (they are one amazing non profit organization); all the volunteers; Don Timmons (Regional Director); The Graylyn Conference Center; Winston Salem Festival Ballet ( Dancers-you were all amazing!!!)  (Singers-You all were amazing as well!!!!!)  High Point Ballet; and to everyone who worked with photography and video and the food!  It was such an amazing day, which turned out to be a WISH come true.  Lila- you and your family are in our constant thoughts and prayers, you all touched my heart so much.  

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Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Tour and Independence Day Picnic

July 2^nd, 2009

I don’t know where to begin with this event, it was one of the most memorable appearances I have ever had! I have never felt so welcome or honored! When we arrived at the Base in Goldsboro, we were greeted at the Visitor’s Center by Captain Andy Ladd (Our guide for our trip to SJAFB). When we went through the gates, the entrance sign read WELCOME MISS NC JULIE TESH! We were told that only the rank of a visiting General gets on that sign, so I was pretty high up! I was so thrilled and we felt so welcome! I went with my Mom and Dad to the base! We got a tour of the base; it was like its own separate city (it had everything)! Our first stop was going to the control tower at the base and the landing strip! We saw the simulator for the tower and took the flights up to the tower and saw the view and the 3,000+ acres of the air force base! Seymour Johnson is the largest Air Force Base in the country! It was pretty amazing seeing how they run the planes from the tower and from the control room. Seeing how new people are trained in the simulator with everything was just like the actual control tower! Our second stop was taking a tour of the 333^rd’ fighter squadron. This was the squadron that our Captain was a part of. We got to see the room with all their equipment, and where their flying schedules are. In this unit we sat in on an unclassified briefing on fighter jets (F-15E Strike Eagles) and learned about all of the abilities of these amazing fighter planes. We learned that our Captain had been in Afghanistan for one tour, and that the 334^th Fighter wing had just been deployed to Iraq, this was the wing he was a part of before he joined with the 333^rd to teach and instruct use of the Strike Eagle and not just fly them in combat. We had a life support tour, and the brief was very educational. We then took a tour of the F-15E static on the 4RW ramp. Seymour Johnson has over 90 F-15E Jets, which are each about 50 million dollars, it was the most amazing feeling of security and pride to see all of these Strike Eagles on the ramps surrounded by Air Force pilots and maintenance fighting for our country in the air! Their mission is “Providing Air Power, On-Target, On-Time for America.” Seymour Johnson was established right after WWII in honor of Navy Lt. Seymour Johnson in 1942. The base has been home to many bombers, tankers and aircrafts, who are all on active duty. After learning about the F-15E and sitting on the side of the STRIKE EAGLE, and seeing the courage and bravery of these young men and women I was escorted to the Independence Day Picnic in the Park on Base. Many of the Air Force Men and Women were there with their families and even pets! So many tents were set up with all kinds of things (hot dogs, corn dogs, cotton candy, drinks, candy bars). I kicked off the festivities at about 5pm. There were 3 band acts that were there in support of our troops. The bands and Stephen (the main act) were amazing! Most of them were previous war heroes back from service to our country with an inspiring story to tell. After walking around and talking more with Captain Ladd, I went up on stage and thanked everyone at SJAFB for an amazing afternoon, one I would never forget. I was so honored to be there with amazing men and women fighting for our freedom and independence. I wished everyone there a Happy 4^th of July, and said how proud I am to be an American. I had learned so much, and I continued to learn through all of the people I had met throughout the evening and the wonderful job Captain Ladd (and all the other LT. and COL.) had done to make us feel so welcome and for my family to have this opportunity. An even bigger opportunity for me to be able to learn about the Military service in our country and to share it to everyone and teach others the importance of their continued service and dedication. I was incredibly humbled to speak at this event because I am very patriotic and I strongly believe in and support the work our military is doing domestically and abroad. So to be among these men and women of duty and honor to our country was the greatest honor. These humans are doing the highest level of service to our country, I am volunteering and serving my country in that way, but their service is so important to our democracy and existence. One of the stories that Captain Ladd told us as we learned about him was that he tries to help through volunteering when he can. In Afghanistan he said the people and children over there were so poor and controlled by the Taliban, they had nothing, no shoes on their feet. So when our troops would receive care packages they would give them to the people of the country who needed those things more than they did. In fact they started telling people back home what they could send these people to help them, when it came in, they hand delivered these items to kids who so desperately needed things we all take for granted. It was a very emotional story, one of many we heard throughout the day. I left in tears of joy, and to top off a most incredible day, I was given one of the most remarkable, honorable gifts from Captain Ladd. He gave me an American Flag that was flown over Afghanistan in My honor during Project Enduring Freedom on his mission, in his Strike Eagle F-15E Fighter plane. He gave me that along with arm patches like the Airmen and women wear as well as a T-shirt, and other mementos of my trip, as well as a very detailed book on the base. He also put together stories from his missions and tours over seas to help me better understand what he went through and what we were fighting for as a country. He had put these stories together for his old high school alma mater in Texas and thought it would help me to read them. I am still so honored to have had this opportunity and looking back through all the wonderful pictures reminds me of a wonderful learning experience and making so many new friends at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base! Thank you to everyone there for making this trip so special for my family and me!

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SEYMOUR JOHNSON PART TWO

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SEYMOUR JOHNSON PART ONE

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Topsail Island Events

July 2009

 

During my stay at Topsail Beach, NC I was able to explore some of the great historical features as well as some very neat attractions on the island!!  I was down with my family, and together we made a visit at the Sea Turtle Hospital, which is a Sea Turtle rescue facility that helps endangered sea turtles on the Atlantic Coast to be rehabilitated and released back into the ocean!  It was an amazing facility and it brings in tourists from all over the eastern seaboard and even lots of tourists from up North!  We also visited the Topsail Island assembly building and Museum, which tells about the Island’s unique history and how it played a part in several wars!  Still, you can see fighter planes on practice runs and in training flying up and down the island and going on the horizon to the Atlantic Ocean!  I have been lucky enough to be a native of TI; I have been going there since I was about 7 years old and have grown up with other TI beach goers!  There is a group of us (neighbors) who call ourselves the TI SOUTHENDERS!  We have had a tradition on the 4^th of July every year to have a parade and a big 4^th celebration BBQ!!  The Easter family host’s it every year and all of the neighbors pitch in and help out.  This parade started with about 20 people and the grand Marshall leading the parade with a wheelbarrow and a boom box, I am so pleased to say that this year our 4^th of July South end parade had over 200 people behind the grand Marshall!!  So, as Miss North Carolina International, I walked in the parade with all my friends and family and even my Yellow Lab Remington (she was also decked out in Red, White, and Blue)!!!  After the parade at 10am, we spent the rest of the day lying out on the beach, the weather was beautiful!   The guys had lots of good luck fishing, so we ate lots of Shrimp!  We got ready and the BBQ kick off was at 5pm with games, I was in the sack race and the egg toss!  I am pleased to say I came in 2^nd place out of 3 teams in the sack race, but on the egg toss there were about 20 different pairs of partners and my partner (Tyler) and I came in 3^rd place!  I was sooo worried about the egg splattering on my dress that I caught it too high and it splattered my face and hair!!! (Oh NO!)  But it was a lot of fun, thank you Brenda for always making the games soooo much fun for the kids, big kids and adults!!  Miss Lois made the most beautiful 4^th of July cake I have ever seen and it was HUGE!!  They also did a great job; the food (as always) was soooo fabulous!  After we ate, and played in corn hole championships we started dancing and singing karaoke till about 1am with about 100 of our closest friends!!   We shagged to some good beach music and Lauren and I sang GOD BLESS THE USA.   We had several young men and women who are dedicated to being a vital part of our Military, one who had been in Iraq, one who is being deployed to Iraq next August for the Army and a Marine who was stationed in Japan for 2 years, that’s just to say only a few of their accomplishments fighting for the United States of America.  I really want to take this time to thank everyone who fights for the freedom of our country and who has fought for the freedom of our country.  We are all so blessed to live in this great land, and we have our soldiers, marines and Air force to thank for their continued service.  I am always so humbled to see their courage and bravery as we continue to fight for our freedom and independence.  So on this Fourth of July among the fireworks, food and fun, I will never forget those who have given us the freedom we have today and those who are still fighting for our freedom.  Their service to our country is heroic, and we can celebrate them, our country and our independence on this day that means so much to our country and our nation’s history!  I am honored and so proud to call America home, and to live in this great land! 

 

Enjoy the pictures from my Trip to Topsail Island and all the good pictures we took celebrating our Independence Day!  Happy 4^th of July everyone, I hope it was a safe and blessed holiday! 

 

 

“We also have essential responsibilities here at home, the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and the promise of liberty. The greatest strength of America is the heart and soul of the American people. Every time a volunteer reaches out to a neighbor in need, our nation grows stronger and more hopeful.”

“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.”

 

-President George W. Bush

MORE PICS COMING AFTER CHICAGO, and MISS INTERNATIONAL

The Beautiful Heather Carter!!!  
The New Ad for the State Pageant Next year!!!  Great Photo by Carter Studios!  

Carter Studios Photo Shoot

6/25/2009

 

I traveled to Myrtle Beach to visit the dynamic duo that did such an amazing job on the last set of headshots I had them do!!!  I went to get some headshots, and crown shots made in their studio!  It was great to see Heather and Jonathan again, and I am sure the pictures are going to come out amazing!!! I cannot wait to see them!!! The new studio is awesome too!!!  Thank you both so much for helping me!!!  Can’t wait to see you again very soon!  

NEW PICS!!!

CARTER STUDIOS, PHOTO BY JONATHAN CARTER, HEATHER CARTER MAKEUP AND HAIR

THEY ARE AN AMAZING DUO!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR AN AMAZING SHOOT AND PICTURES!  

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