Kidney Walk

In October a dear friend of mine; Tammy Atwood; asked me to help out with the annual Kidney walk. She runs the Kidney Foundation here in Maine. I was so thrilled to be part of this event. As a registered nurse, I have seen first hand the devastation of kidney disease. This walk was to benefit kidney transplant recipients, kidney dialysis patients, donors and families that have been touched by kidney disease. The day was perfect for it and there was a great turn out. It was heart warming as the kidney donors, recipients and dialysis patients were all honored on stage. It was such a worthy event and I was proud to be part of it.

Barbara Bush Childrens Hospital

October has been such a busy month. I was asked to come and talk at the telethon to raise money for BBCH. My oldest so had spent quite a bit of time at MMC as a baby and it was a good opportunity to tell our story. I was so proud of my son Edward who is 11. He spoke on the 2 radio stations and with the TV station like a pro. We were able to spend some time in the playroom with some of the patients. It was a good time and the telethon was a great success.

Dinner with Miss America Katie Stam

In September I had the opportunity to join the Miss America organization and meet Miss America Katie Stam in Framingham Massachusetts. It was such a blast. All of the New England delegates for Miss America 2010 were present along with the Outstanding Teens. They all performed their talents and it was just breathtaking. Not being biased or anything but Miss Maine Susie Stauble....was amazing. She was so far above and beyond the competition present and I really think that Maine could be the home of the next Miss America!!! Also got to meet Sam Haskell and pick up his book "Promises I made my mother". He is a wonderful speaker and his book is so inspiring. Once you start reading you can't put it down. What a wonderful opportunity it was to attend....stay tuned and be ready to cheer Susie on in January as she competes for Miss America.

Maine Childrens Cancer Program

In September I headed to the south to Sanford Maine to help out with the Annual Elks Chili Cookoff and Auction to benefit the Maine Childrens Cancer Program. It was a chilly night but perfect for Chili. I helped register all the attendees and got to meet some wonderful people. Sanford is really a close knit community and it amazed me how many people knew each other. It was a great time. It was wonderful to try all the different kinds of chili that were entered into the contest. The auction was a big success. It was nice to have such a big showing for a really great cause. Thanks to the Elks for having me...It was definately an honor to be among so many amazing people.

Apple Queen Pageant

Back in September I was asked by Jennifer Webber to judge the Apple Queen Pageant at the Windsor Fair. I had never been to the fair so it was a great opportunity. It was a beautiful day and I was joined by two wonderful women as judges. One was the first Apple Queen and the other was from the Dept of Agriculture. This was a wonderful little pageant for teenage girls with great scholarships available. Jenn Webber put on a great pageant and it was a nice night for it. I got to meet John Remy who choreographed the pageant and he is a lot of fun. I had a great time and a big congrats goes out to the Maine Apple Queen Courtney Hammond!!

Where has the summer gone....

WOW....I must apologize...its been a while since I updated this blog. I traveled out to Las Vegas at the end of July for the National Pageant. It was such an amazing experience. I met some fabulous women. It was a week filled with action. I was exhausted at the end of the week. We were able to mingle out and about in Vegas and I made some lasting friendships. Mrs South Carolina was crowned our new Mrs United States. My husband Eddie and my boys were able to join me to help cheer me on. My husband and I had celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary in April and have been kicking around the idea of renewing our vows for a while now. So we did it Vegas style. We visited the Elvis Chapel and had the King renew our vows for us. It was a blast for all of us and the boys enjoyed it as well. With Elvis's blessing we are sure to have many more happy years!!

After I returned back to Maine...I had to rest my cheeks from all the smiling I did for the pictures in Las Vegas. I got back into the swing of things....I had an event at the Baileys Island Tuna Tourney Awards Night. I helped hand out the awards to all the winners. Let me tell you there were LOTS of awards! Had a beautiful evening out at Cooks Resturant on Baileys Island. I was happy to help out and honored that they had me.

I then helped out with an auction to help benefit the Southern Maine Community College Scholarship Fund. The auction was put on by the Sturdavent Island Tuna Tourney and the amount of money that was raised was pretty impressive. It was nice to see people being so generous for a good cause. It was a lot of fun....my feet were screaming by the end from all the walking in my heels!!

In the next coming weeks I will be making appearances at schools throughout the state. I hope to spread my message to the youth and to those in the position to make a difference in youths at risk lives. Remember...I was one of those kids that struggled at home with two parents that battled addiction and mental illness. It was largely due to the guidance that my teacher/coach gave me that made me so much of who I am today. My friends parents also took me under their wings and let me know that I could break the cycle with the choices that I made for my life. I am sooo thankful that I was able to break out. I want to do that for a child that needs the encouragement to take the right path and be successful in life.

I have had a fun summer with my family and representing Maine as Mrs Maine United States. I hope that everyone understands that I will do my best to keep up with this blog. My family will ALWAYS come first though and when time allows, I promise to update as to what is going on in the day and life or Mrs Maine United States!!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

This has been a busy month. Full of preparations for Nationals and getting my message out here in Maine. I leave in 4 days for Las Vegas and things are coming together. Suitcase is just about packed, dresses are hanging and excitement is brewing!! I have been blessed with a lot of support from the community, family and friends. Along with my other sponsors I also recieved sponsorship money from Central Distributors (a wine distributor that services our store) and also from Oakhurst Dairy here in Portland. Thank you so much for generosity!!

Last weekend I attended the Mrs Massachusetts America Pageant in Newton, Massachusetts. The delegates were all beautiful and represented Massachusetts well. I received a very warm welcome and it was much appreciated. Tomorrow morning I will head into South Portland to hangout with the Coast Morning Shows (93.1)Tim and Eva. I am looking forward to it and I am sure it will be a lot of fun!!

The local papers www.inthecourier.com wrote a really nice article about my journey last week. It has been so much fun preparing for the "Big Stage" in Las Vegas. I hope to make Maine proud and to not let down all of those that have supported me and stood behind me. Thank you all.....xoxo!!

I went and cheered my softball team on last week also. It was so nice to see the girls. We were trying to figure out how long the Radleys team has been around and I think we figured around 10 years. They are a wonderful group of ladies and I consider them all friends...and I cant wait to get back on the field and join them.

Thats about all I have to write before heading to "Sin City". I am looking forward to this experience and to meeting some amazing women.

Stay tuned..................

Sponsors

I have been blessed with an amazing amount of support. Please patronage these businesses. They have supported me beyond my wildest dreams.....Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope to make you proud!!

Preparations and having fun.....

It has been such a busy few weeks for me. Not just with preparations for nationals but with end of school events for my kids and our family vacation...its been crazy. I was able to visit my youngest sons classroom as "Mrs Maine" last week. I volunteer in their often but the kids hadnt seen my crown yet. They were so cute and excited. I brought the little girls tiaras and the boys crowns. They ate some cookies I brought while I read a story to them. They asked lots of questions about being Mrs Maine. This is truly one of the funnest things to do....just being able to be up close and personal with the kids is great!! Thanks Mrs. Ly at Blue Point for having me.

Last night I attended the Miss Maine America pageant in Brunswick. Wow, it was a great show. I am new to pageants and don't have a lot of experience...but it was a great production with wonderful delegates. The talent portion was just amazing!! It was fun to meet other title holders also. The new Miss Maine Susanna Stauble is a student from the school where I teach....Westbrook High School. Actually, I am at Westbrook Regional Vocational Center that is attached to WHS.....just to clarify :) She was amazing and she will have a wonderful year...I am sure.

Preparations for Nationals are coming together. It is just about a month away. I received emails that my opening number dress as well as my evening gown have been shipped. I am anxious to get them....and hope they fit!! This week I hope to finalize travel arrangements for both my family as well as myself and tie up some loose ends. I am actually glad that the National pageant is held in Las Vegas...we may be able to stay dry for more than a day!!! It has been raining nonstop here forever!!! Until next time!!!

Memorial Day Parade Old Orchard Beach

So the ladies at my favorite bank (Saco and Biddeford Savings) had asked me to ride in the parade with them. I wasnt sure how I felt about it. Our business is in Old Orchard and I didnt want people to get the wrong idea of me. I was afraid of people just thinking I thought that I was just a pretty lady and was good to look at. That isn't my reason for this journey. I have such an important message that I want to share. But, anyway...there I sat on the back of Bernice's car as her and Carolyn drove me through the streets of Old Orchard Beach. It was pretty cool. Everyone was very receptive and yelling my name!! It was a lot of fun!! We had a few laughs as Bernice a few times stepped on the gas a little too aggressively and almost put me in the trunk!! We ended up at Memorial Park where there was a ceremony. Chris Cash who was killed in Iraq was honored by his mom. She has done such a great job in preserving his memory. It was all and all a great day. A bonus was the sun was shining!!!

Foster Family Fun Day

New to this blogging stuff......

There have been so many new things that I have recently done. First, would have to be becoming Mrs. Maine United States. A few years ago a few of my students had told me I should try for Mrs. Maine.....it took me a few years but I decided to give it a shot. It turned out pretty good too!! :) I have never even read a blog; never mind write one so you will have to bear with me. I hope to accomplish some great things this year and will try my darndest to keep up with this "blogging".

I am busy preparing for the nationals in Las Vegas. They are coming up in July and there is so much to do before then......pictures, shopping, sponsors, shopping, applications, shopping, travel arrangements, shopping........ :) Along with all that I will be making some appearances, being a wife and mom and hopefully making some memories along the way.

My first appearance was last weekend and was a lot of fun. I traveled all the way to Prospect Maine. If you don't know where that is....it's ok...I didn't either. Anyway, I went to take part in the Foster Family Fun Day at Fort Knox. It was an absolute blast. I loved being with the kids and families. I signed lots of pictures, hammered together a toolbox and shared lots of smiles with so many amazing children. I even got to fire a cannon at the Fort. Lots in a days work!! There are so many children out there that need safe homes to grow up in. Thank god there are so many wonderful people willing to open their homes and hearts. With that being said....there is always room for more families to step up and help a child in need!!

My next appearance will be this Monday at the Memorial Day Parade in OOB. I am not sure how I feel about this but I am up for the experience. I will be riding with the gang from our bank...Saco and Biddeford Savings. I should be fun and its supposed to be sunny!!

Here's to ending my first blog entry.......this isn't that bad huh?

Until next time...............
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