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Miss Nashville @ Miss America 2009
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| Miss America 2000 Heather French Henry |
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| She let me try the crown! |
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| Tommy Climer with Miss Madison County '07 and '06 |
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| Tommy, Ellen Carrington Miss TN 2008, and me |
| Fall Fest ED Tammy Sparks and Emily Sparks |
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| They raised, and awarded me $2000 when I was Miss Fall Fest 2008 |
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| Miss America Competition 2009 Las Vegas |
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| With Jerry Alford who ALWAYS takes such great pictures for all the girls |
| Opening Number at Miss Americas 2009 |
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| GLAM IT UP DIVA Fashion Show - Sherry Hill |
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| Sherry Hill Cocktail Dress - Lauren Nelson wore this dress in blue on Saturday night! |
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| Tampa E.D. Bob Clark or "Mr. Bob" as I call him. |
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| He raised and awarded me a $3000 scholarship as Miss Tampa 2005 |
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| My fairy godmother - Billinda Borden - she has |
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| showered my sister and me with so many gifts during our years as titleholders |
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| Union University - Past and Present |
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| @ Miss America 2009 to support Ellen |
| I was so proud of what Ellen accomplished |
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| and how she represented TN and Union |
| SAT Finals Past & Present Teen & Miss Titleholders |
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| @ Miss America 2009 to support Ellen (and we had to have Bradford and Chris in the pic) |
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| Ericka Dunlap Miss America 2004 - I first met her |
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| when I was 6 and she was 10. She competed with my older sister Rebekah |
| TN ED Jane Aldeson and her TN 'cheerleaders' |
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| Wed. Night Prelim |
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| In Vegas you never know WHO you are going |
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| to run into! |
| TN O.T. 2008 Madyson Foster |
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| Only in Vegas can you see the Eiffel Tower |
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| from the Brooklyn Bridge |
| "Liberty" in the palm of your hand. |
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| Sights along Las Vegas Blvd |
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| Only in Vegas would a giant Coca Cola bottle |
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| be the elevator to Outback on the 4th floor. |
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| You can 'travel' all over in Vegas |
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| "New York Harbor" |
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| Tuesday prelim cheering squad. |
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| Tuesday night visitation. |
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| These guys created a scene pretending to fight |
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| over me. You would not believe the stir a crown causes. |
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Sunday, January 25, 2009
Viva Las Vegas! Miss America 2009 Days 3-5
Hello Everyone! I am so sorry that I neglected to blog over the past few days. I did not anticipate how exhausted I
would be at the end of each night! I am home now, and finally have the opportunity to sit down and share all of the fun and
interesting things that I was able to do while in Vegas. On
Thursday, Mom and I decided to see some of the sights surrounding our hotel (the MGM Grand). We spent the first part
of the day taking pictures and sight seeing. We went to the fountain outside of our hotel, the New York New York building,
the M & M Factory and saw the MGM lions inside the hotel. I put my crown and banner on for all of the pictures,
and let me tell you that it caused quite a stir! I was surprised at how many people wanted to take their picture with me.
I guess that is just a very small taste of what it is like to be Miss TN or Miss America. Following our site seeing,
we went back to the hotel and got ready for the Thursday night preliminary competition. Fortunately, this was Ellen's
on-stage question night, so we had nothing to be stressed about! She did a great job with her question and proved that
she is very well-spoken. I enjoyed this final night of competition and am so grateful that I was able to see all that
goes into the one night of Miss America that we usually watch on television. In a way, it made this goal seem so much
more realistic and attainable. There was no competition
on Friday, but that did not mean we were not busy! Friday night I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the
Glam It Up! Divas to the Runway fashion show featuring the designs of Sherri Hill, Jamie Shaw, and Alisha Hill. I got
to wear the cutest little pink cocktail dress as I strutted my stuff along the catwalk at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone.
Prior to the actual show, I spent the day trying on gowns for the show and rehearsing. At rehearsal, I met two wonderful
girls that are competing in their state pageants this upcoming year. Their names were Cherise and Kimberly, and I am
so excited that we were able to become friends. We would love to be able to compete together at next year's Miss
America pageant! As you all know, Saturday was the big
night. It was so surreal being a part of the live audience at Miss America! We were able to see the TV crews,
hear the announcements, and witness a lot of the backstage action that makes the live show possible. It was so much
fun getting to see everything in person, but it was also twice as nerve-wracking! We were on the edge of our seats as
they called out the top 15, but we knew Ellen was in when the TV crews ran toward our section right before she was announced!
I am so proud of how she performed that night. She was under so much pressure and stress, not knowing when her talent would
be performed or if she would get asked one of the on-stage questions, but she handled it beautifully! I think it is
incredible that she made it to the top 7 finalists. She should be very proud! Aside from the fact that I was excited that Ellen was doing so well, I must also say that I was
excited to be in the same room as Clinton Kelly and MARIO LOPEZ! If you had told me as a kid that I would ever
see A.C. Slater in person, I would have thought you were nuts :-) I'm not exactly the "swoon around the celebrity"
type, but I will say that I was very excited to see them! It was also wonderful being in the room with so many former
Miss Americas. Seeing these women and being able to witness all that they have done with their lives since being crowned
was just another reminder of why I am involved in this organization. All in all, I had a wonderful trip. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to experience
the Miss America competition in person, and am more committed than ever to work as hard as I can to become a contestant on
that stage. Whether that happens or not, I know that I am involved in a wonderful organization that is shaping me into
a successful, well-rounded woman that is unafraid to chase after her wildest dreams. I hope that you are all well. Thank you for supporting me and for letting me share these
experiences with you. Blessings, Victoria
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Viva Las Vegas! Miss America 2009: Day 1
Hello! I cannot believe that I am actually here in Las Vegas to see Miss
America. I have only been here for a little under 24 hours, but I have already seen so much that makes me proud and
excited to be a part of this wonderful organization.
My mom and I landed in Vegas yesterday evening at 6:20
p.m. (40 minutes early thank goodness!) and made it to the Planet Hollywood Theater just in time to view the first night of
preliminary competition. The talent competition was first, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching as each of these women
put all of their hard work on the Miss America stage. Miss Delaware, a very talented pianist, won the preliminary award
for talent. She gave a wonderful performance, as did Miss Maine, my personal favorite, on the violin.
Following the first half of talent was the swimsuit competition. Our very own Miss Tennessee, Ellen Carrington, represented
the state well. She was beautiful and fit, and she did a wonderful job! Ellen also competed in the eveningwear
competition in a soft and feminine light blue gown that was very elegant indeed! Both of these phases of competition
were very tough. It is easy to see that all of the state titleholders have been working very hard. Miss Indiana
was awarded the preliminary swimsuit award for the evening, and no award was given for evenginwear or onstage question.
Today was our first full day in Vegas. We began the day by sitting in on the Sigma group's talent rehearsals.
Sitting in on the rehearsal was very interesting. It is so helpful to see how things work at this level of competition
and to see what I am working for! Following the rehearsal, we went upstairs to the trade show and had fun looking at
all of the merchandise for sale by some of the pageant industries top vendors. While we were there, I was able to meet
Miss America 2000, Heather French Henry. She has started her own line of formalwear and was so sweet and easy to talk
with. We discussed the shocking lack of coffee makers in Vegas hotel rooms (sad day!) and she encouraged me to continue
working towards my dream of competiting at Miss America. She also took a picture with me and let me try on her crown!
She said it was good luck (Jennifer Berry tried it on the year before she won Miss America) and I'm hoping she's right
:-).
After I finished talking to Heather, I had the opportunity to meet with Sherri Hill to decide on what dresses I will
be modeling in Friday night's Glam It Up! Fashion Show. I had so much fun getting to try on all those dresses (what
girl wouldn't?) and am looking forward to meeting with her again tomorrow.
The day is not over yet, and we
will soon be heading to this evening's preliminary competition to cheer on Ellen as she performs her talent. We
will hope for the best and I will be back to give you all a full update tomorrow!
Love and Blessings,
Victoria *MINI UPDATE* Tonight's
preliminary competitions were wonderful. The emcee was especially hilarious and really made the evening even more enjoyable. Ellen competed in the talent competition tonight and did a FABULOUS job.
She should be so proud of the way that she is holding her own in this competition. She looks great and you can tell that she
has been working very hard. Other notable talents that I really enjoyed were Miss Georgia (vocal-prelim winner), Miss Arizona
(beautiful dancer), and Miss Utah (very impressive on the piano!) Those were my personal favorites, but all of the girls
did an amazing job. The swimsuit competition was very
tough tonight, but I completely agreed with the judges on their pick of Miss Mississippi as tonight's preliminary winner.
This phase of competition was followed by the on-stage question portion. All of the questions were platform based, which
in my opinion is wonderful. We all choose our platforms because they mean something to us and because we believe that
they are causes that need the world's attention. I am so glad that these girls were able to promote their platforms
publicly, and that we as the audience were able to hear about the ways that they are each making a difference in our society. Eveningwear was beautiful as always, but it was given a little extra touch of
elegance by it's very special emcee, Lee Meriweather, Miss America 1955. Altogether, it was a great night. I had a wonderful time, and I promise I will share a
little more tomorrow after I've gotten some sleep! Blessings, Victoria
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Miss America 2009 - Las Vegas 1/20 - 1/24
Sun, January 18, 2009 | link
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2009.01.25
2009.01.18
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