The newest Mrs. Arizona is .......... ME!!!!

On May 22nd, I earned the title of Mrs. Arizona America!  I'm still in shock and wouldn't believe that it happened except for the fact that my feet are still killing me!

This morning I completed my first official task as Mrs. Arizona America - a photo shoot with Vanessa Cheney.  Kelly Wisniewski did an amazing job with my makeup, you never would have guessed I only had about 4 hours of sleep.  Vanessa Cheney did a beautiful job with the photos.  I'm thrilled with the results - I will post the pictures as soon as I can. 

For the next few months, I will be preparing for the Mrs. America Pageant which will be held in Tucson in September. I'll be busy determing my new "look", finding a gown, fine-tuning my interview, shopping for my appearance wardrobe and of course working in the community. 

We had an amazing group of contestants this year.  Each woman would have been a great Mrs. Arizona.  Congratulations to Jennifer Rivers (1st RU, Best Evening Gown, Best Swimsuit), Saraih Bechtel (2nd RU, Best Interview Tie), Nicole Koester (3rd RU), Rachelle Youngberg (4th RU, Best Interview Tie), Bobbie "Sissie" Ahn (Mrs. Congeniality), Stacy Ramierz (Mrs. Photogenic), Rachel Mack (Best Smile), and Melissa Triano-Williams (Director's Award).

Tri for the Cure

This past Sunday, I participated in the 4th Annual Tri for the Cure, an all female sprint triathlong benefitting Susan G. Komen.  What an unbelievable experience.  I competed in the Denver Tri for the Cure in 2007 and I couldn't wait to participate again.  After completing 8 laps of swimming, biking over 8 miles and running 2.5 miles I completed my 2nd triathlon in 1 hour and 2 minutes.  I was amazed about the amount of women who took on such a physically challenging event to benefit breast cancer research.  There were women of all ages and physical abilities competing.  Despite my somewhat competive nature, I found myself being a cheerleader to almost every women I came across.  What an empowering experience.  I can't wait for next year's Tri for the Cure!!! 

Bon Vivant Culinary Judge

On Sunday, March 28th, I was asked to be a Culinary Judge at the Bon Vivant Food & Wine Tasting Event held at Rawhide.  This event benefits the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley.  I, of course loving food, gladly accepted the invitation to judge.  Upon arriving, I was assigned the category of Desserts.  Wahoo, I was hoping I would get this category!!!  I, along with Dinna Higgins from the Mesa City Council, judged over 8 different restaurants and caterers selected desserts.  We had everything from truffles, fondue, bread pudding, key lime tart, flan and many more.  The winner was the fruit flatbread - flatbread topped with warm chocolate syrup, fresh raspberries, strawberries and bananas!!  Unfortunately, the restaurant or caterer was kept from us when selecting the winner, so I am not sure which restaurant/caterer produced this heavenly dessert!!!  After judging the desserts, I was asked to judge the best booth at the event. This single-handedly was Rawhide.  What a great booth - wonderful presentation, great service and amazing food! 

My husband Greg had the opportunity to attend this event, for a change.  What an event to attend. He was able to sample food, wine, beverages, and liquor while I was fulfilling my judging duties! 

I am suprised to say... I think I can have had enough dessert for awhile!!

Cystic Fibrosis 65 Roses & Fine Wine Dinner

I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's 65 Roses and Fine Wine Dinner held at the Montelucia in Paradise Valley.  The event earned it's name "65 Roses" because children often have difficulty pronouncing Cystic Fibrosis, so they say "65 roses". 

What an amazing event - beautiful setting, great people, over 100 wines, fantastic food and a great cause. I had a blast with the 3 CFF employees that I was paired with that night.  I was personally in charge of selling "prize boxes".  We had a table full of over 60 "prizes", each box contained a description of the prize you won.  Boxes sold for $100 or 3 for $250.  Let me just tell you I think it might be easier selling prize boxes at a charity event, than it is selling checking accounts!  I managed to sell all but 12 boxes by the end of the cocktail hour.  Not too bad considering the current economy. 

Thank you Lori Wray for putting on such a beautiful event.

Stuff the Pig Cupid Event

On February 11th, I emceed a Cupid themed "Stuff the Pig" Event at the Montelucia Resort from 6-11 pm.  

This was an exciting, fun event to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley "Change 4 Kids" program. BGC helps over 30,000 kids throughout the valley and has been named one of the nations top kid's charities.  This event was complete with cupid stations, live music by PHEED and Angela Anne, silent auctions and more.

Thank you Jennifer Jackson of Rock Me Arizona Events for putting on a fantastic event!

London's Run Charity 10K

On January 30th, I laced up my running shoes and headed out to Queen Creek at 6 am in the morning to participate in London's Run.  I decided last minute that I needed to support such a wonderful cause, even if I had not been training for the 10K distance.  London was just like any other 6 year old girl until she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia.  She spent 7 1/2 months in Phoenix Children’s Hospital undergoing five rounds of intense chemotherapy with only a few trips home to visit family and friends.  In December 2005, while in her fifth round of chemo, she developed an infection her weakened body could not fight and she passed away December 21st. Throughout the entire race, I used London's story of courage, determination and passion to spur me on.  I managed to complete the race without stopping once.  In fact, a small group of us were misguided on the route and we ended up running an extra 1.5 miles.  Apparently, right after our group passed by a checkpoint, the remaining runners were guided to the correct route.  Oh well, it was for charity!  I have to admit, now I have the bug to compete in a 1/2 marathon next year. 

Appearances, Photoshoots and More

Now that the new year is here my Mrs. Arizona preparations are in full swing.  First, lining up community appearances, speaking engagements and more.  So far, I have lined up appearances or volunteer work at the PF Changs Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, Hope for Animals Luncheon, Pat's Run and several other community events.  If you know of an organization that could benefit from my service, please let me know.  I am willing to do anything from event planning, emceeing, selling raffle tickets, manual labor (setting up and tearing down), public speaking and more.  

My husband surprised me with the best Christmas gift - a photoshoot with Benizo for my new headshots.  Somehow, I don't think my Miss Arizona 2003 headshots will work - after all they are 7 years old!  And all of my Colorado Crush Girls headshots simply were taken with a totally different style in mind.  I'll be sure to post the results of my January 23rd photoshoot.