Festival of Trees

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Today I was a model for the Optimist Club "Festival of Trees". This was a charity lunch, with all proceeds benefiting the Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services. Optimist Clubs from all over Southern California were asked to decorate a tabletop Christmas tree in whatever theme they wanted. Then we had the chance to purchase tickets to try and win our favorite tree!!! Of course I didn't put tickets in just one, I had to diversify my odds!

They had a wonderful lunch along with a fashion show which featured clothes from Damon and Draper! I had the chance to model a day and night look....and the runway was SUPER long!!!

After I modeled in the fashion show, it was time to see who won the trees! And to my surprise, I won the VERY first tree announced...."Return to Tuscany!!" SO COOL!!!!! Not only did my tree come with an array of gifts including an Olive Garden gift card (yum yum), I also got to keep the decorated tabletop tree. I had such a fun time today!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and yummy Thanksgiving!! Hope the holiday surrounds you with wonderful memories, family and friends.

Food Share: Tackling Hunger!

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Today was the Kick-Off for the 2008 Holiday food drive season! Food Share of Ventura County has teamed up with Vons grocery store and PODS across the county to tackle hunger. Vons started the food drive by donating $60,000 in non-perishable foods, which is an incredible contribution. The goal of Food Share is to get 250,000 lbs. of food donated. In attendance was NFL mom Berna Colbert, local press, and radio station B95.1 with Bo Jackson....so cool!

Food Share will be hosting a joint food and bone marrow drive for Heart2Heart in December...more info to come on that! To make a donation online or to read more about how you can help please visit: http://www.foodshare.com

Bakersfield Pageants

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Tonight I had the honor of judging the Teen, Miss, and Mrs. Bakersfield Pageants. The pageant had 34 wonderful contestants, and every single contestant brought something unique to the table. The director, Gayle Tape, really puts on a fabulous production. Not only did the show run smooth, but the contestants were certainly prepared to put their best foot forward! Gayle and her production team really outdid themselves this year.

Many awards were handed out including Miss Congeniality, Photogenic, Interview winner, and Fitness Winner. Here are the final results!

Miss Teen Bakersfield (also Fitness winner): Erica George
Miss Bakersfield (also Interview winner): Angelica August
Mrs. Bakersfield (also Interview winner): Rhenana Grimes

I met so many kind-hearted people at this pageant, including fellow judges and Miss California International hopefuls. I truly felt that I walked away with new friends, and new opportunities. Seeing some old pageant friends was fun as well! Congratulations to the new Teen, Miss, and Mrs. Bakersfield!!!

http://www.thebakersfieldpageant.com

Empower2Purpose "Girl Power" Conference

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First I'd like to say I can't believe it's November already! Today was definitely the first sign that fall was here....it rained all day! Even though I miss the warm weather, Southern California definitely needed some wet weather.

Today I was a featured speaker at the Empower2Purpose "Girl Power" Conference. The seminar had the theme of inspiring girls to go after their dreams; teaching them to be assertive, in control of their destiny, and community minded. I spoke during the dinner portion of the day! I really enjoyed talking about how I've gone after my own dreams, the obstacles I've overcome, and my plans for the future. I had such a wonderful time talking to the girls in attendance one-on-one, and I hope my words inspired them to make their own dreams come true! The founder of Empower2Purpose, Tamala Kelly, presented myself and the other speakers with GORGEOUS flowers and a commemorative award for attending "Girl Power." That was so unexpected and very thoughtful!

Empower2Purpose is truly an incredible organization. I found their mission statement so relevant to what girls today need, and that Empower2Purpose really takes into account what each and every girl has to say. Thank you so much for a wonderful day, it was something I will remember for a long time to come. For more information, or to make a donation to them, please visit: http://www.empower2purpose.com

AM 1400 KKZZ Interview

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Today I was a guest on the show "Locals Only" with Kelli McKay here in Ventura County on AM 1400! Kelli had contacted me through my non-profit organization's website, wanting me to be a guest on her show to discuss Heart2Heart. I thought that this was an incredible opportunity so I jumped at it! Not only did we discuss Heart2Heart, we also talked about my year as Miss California International and the International pageant system.

I also ran into a friend from high school who is a DJ and host on LIVE 105.5 FM. He actually had me do a couple of sounds clips, which was so much fun! Thanks to DJ Skitz and Kelli McKay for being so hospitable!

Birthday Celebration!

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Not only did we have the 5K today, it was also my sister Keri's 30th birthday! As a surprise, Eddie and Dennis made the trip out to Ventura County to celebrate with us! It was so much fun to have the family, Shawn, Eddie and Dennis all together. We did a really fun progressive dinner, with a twist. It was in the harbor, and a boat shuttled us from restaurant to restaurant! We had a lovely tour of the harbor, got to see the sunset, and had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday. Love you Keri....and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Start! Ventura County Heart Walk

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This morning was the 5K Start! Heart Walk for the American Heart Association in Simi Valley, CA! The weather was gorgeous....nice and sunny! Not only did I get my work-out by walking, I was also asked to meet and greet at the Go Red For Women booth!! They had a HUGE poster up with my picture, talking about my own heart abnormality. What a great keepsake! During the awards segment, I gave a short speech thanking the walkers for raising money as well as awareness. Thanks to the American Heart Association for asking me to be a part of this great event!

Light the Night Walk!

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Tonight, in Woodland Hills, was the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society "Light the Night Walk." For anyone that hasn't done this event before, it is really unique! The walk is at night, because every walker carries either a red or white balloon that LIGHTS UP in honor or in memory of a loved one that battled a blood-related cancer. I have done this walk before, but it was the first time that my organization, Heart2Heart, had a team!

Team Heart2Heart had 13 walkers. Not only did my family walk with our team, but we had a couple local International titleholders that joined us!!! As a team we raised about $1,000 which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

It was a beautiful night tonight, and great to know that all of the fundraising Team Heart2Heart did contributes to bringing us one step closer to saving lives.

USO Celebrity Golf Tournament and Web-A-Thon

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What a beautiful 1st day of October! I had the opportunity today to attend the Celebrity Golf Tournament and 1st ever web-a-thon benefiting the USO! It was held at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The golf course literally sat right above the ocean water, and it was clear, warm day. I was waiting to find where the actual web-a-thon was being held, when I heard someone yell "I want my picture with Miss California!" The golfer took out his own camera and had a friend take a picture of the two of us. I had one taken also because it was JEREMY RACTCHFORD of "Cold Case" which is one of my absolute favorite tv shows! I found it hysterical that he wanted his picture with me, and I was definitely star-struck!

Inside the clubhouse was the web-a-thon. What a cool experience! There was 4 tv cameras there that were rolling, but for the Internet and not tv! I had about a 5 minute chat live on-air and web with the host of the event, radio station KEARTH 101's very own Gary Bryan. After that they let me answer the phone lines for to take pledges! It was so much fun!

Thanks to the USO of Greater Los Angeles for having me, and I hope that the donations you received today exceeded the expectation!!