Spring is a Many Splendid Thing!

This Spring has been a wonderfully busy season! During the month of March, the versatility of this position was more apparent than ever. I have traveled to schools, spoken at state conferences, modeled beautiful clothes, performed at community events, and participated in our very own Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. To be Miss Alabama or any titleholder in the Miss America Organization, one must be a well-rounded individual. Your year-of-service will be spent in varying capacities in ever-changing surroundings.

On March 1^st, I traveled to Eclectic for Read Across America! The school, students, and parents welcomed me with such warmth and I was honored to serve as a celebrity reader. It was so refreshing to see parents, teachers, and students so committed to fostering an atmosphere where the importance of reading is never lost! I read to students and got to watch the 6^th grade play based on famous literary characters that recently had been making cameos in films. Throughout the production the chorus would reiterate the motto “BOOKS ARE BETTER THAN MOVIES!”

The first weekend in March was very exciting and eventful! This is the traditional time for the Miss Alabama Contestant Orientation. On March 5^th, 48 women converged on Samford University’s Campus in Birmingham to kick-off the Miss Alabama Pageant Season. It was surreal to not be sitting among them, but exciting to see their eagerness and focus. We began the morning with contestant orientation, were treated to an orientation to the Miss America Duke of Edinburgh Awards Partnership by Josh Randall, and ate lunch with influential women from around the state at the Alabama Federation of Women’s Club Headquarters. The coming months will be filled with countless honors of preparation, selfless platform work, and a stream of deadlines.  All of these women have a great love for this organization and represent it well and in June, one of them will become Miss Alabama 2011!

That weekend was also filled with another exciting Miss Alabama event-the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant! Now, the young ladies that compete in the MAOT Pageant in Sylacauga are truly remarkable and I can remember sitting in the audience as a local titleholder among the other Miss Alabama contestants and knowing that the general consensus among us was “Thank Goodness these girls aren’t old enough for the Miss Program yet!” They are so talented, beautiful, and intelligent and are wonderful role models.  I have been incredibly proud to serve alongside Scarlett Walker, Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen 2010 and am continually amazed by her spirit. We began as friends and have grown to love each other! Our new MAOT, Mi’a Callens is yet another amazing young lady who is wise and talented beyond her years and I cannot wait to see what she does for this program.

Another exciting adventure was modeling in a fashion show benefiting The Foundry and The Lovelady Center, two worthy community programs. The show was hosted by Christopher from Project Runway! It was a fabulous day and all of the models showcased consignment fashions. I modeled a series of vintage looks, a brown sundress with white polka dots (very Pretty Woman) and a black sequined cocktail look that could have easily been worn during the Roaring 20s!

Also last month, I traveled to Montgomery for the FCCLA State Conference. There I spoke to Alabama high school students about the importance of their work with Children’s Miracle Network and stressed the value of leading a life of service.  I was honored to attend the Annual Center Point Mayer’s Prayer Breakfast, where our very own Miss Alabama local director, Mr. Tim Gann, is a pillar of the community. I sang one of my favorite Nat King Cole classics that morning, “Paper Moon,” a song that basically says that faith is what gives life meaning!

The UAB March for Babies Committee, the flagship of my platform Marching Toward a Brighter Future for Babies, was also very busy during March. The committee has been meeting to recruit volunteers for the March for Babies, has been publicizing the March on campus, and has been raising money for the March of Dimes. We hosted the Bake Sale for Babies on UAB’s campus on the 10^th-a great success!

On a personal note, one of my best friends got married at the end of last month. My dear Alice Watts is now Alice Watts Myers. It was such a wonderful weekend and Alice was absolutely stunning. She and Paul were married in Central Presbyterian Church in Huntsville and then we all proceeded to the Huntsville Country Club. To see Alice and Paul so happy and to have the chance to stand up there as a member of her bridal party gave me such great joy!

March was, for lack of a better word, FABULOUS! This is all going so fast, but I have been blessed during every second of it!

See you all next time!

Ashley

 

Are YOU Water Smarter than a 5th Grader?

One of the most incredible things an individual can do is have an impact in a child’s life. During the month of March, I was given the opportunity to spend time with elementary students from around Jefferson County during the Birmingham Water Works education campaign “Are You Water Smarter than a 5^th Grader?”

This program reached out to local elementary schools, implemented a science curriculum centered around water education, and culminated with a school program where I, Miss Alabama, tested my water smarts during our game show. I was so excited about the initiative taken by the Birmingham Water Works to educate our students at an early age. Fifth graders in Jefferson County were taught about the importance of water in our community and our world, taught where the water in our community comes from, and taught how to treat our water with respect and use it in an efficient way

Now, I studied the material hard…it was a lot of pressure… “Am I Water Smarter than a 5^th Grader?!?” I made flashcards, read every chapter, and used the worksheets for every section. But these 5^th Graders were tough! I was so impressed with how engaged these student were and with their enthusiasm. I visited 5 elementary schools: W.J Christian, Gardendale, Bluff Park, Vestavia Hill Central, and Glen Oaks in Fairfield!

The game show was hosted every week by a member of the Birmingham Water Works Board. I was the contestant and every week I faced off against a panel of 5th graders. We were also honored with the presence of a very special guest- WILLIE WATER DROP! Just like the TV show, the competition consisted of 10 questions from categories of my choosing and a bonus question! Now in the event that I did not (a) answer all ten questions correctly or (b) missed the bonus question, I was required to face the fifth grade audience and utter the pride-shattering phrase "I am NOT water smarter than a 5th grader." Regretfully, on more than one occasion, I had to say these words, BUT I still learned a great deal about how water affects our daily lives!

Spending time with these students, stressing the importance of Water Education, and talking to them about scholarship, success, style, and service has been one of the most rewarding opportunities during the past 10 months. I am so thankful to the Birmingham Water Works for including me in this program and so thankful to the schools for hosting me!

Flippin' Flap Jacks for Miracles

One of the most exciting aspects of participating in the Miss America Organization is the partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In addition to each contestant’s personal platform, she works on behalf of making miracles happen for over 17 million children every year. We are champions for over 170 children’s hospitals. Right here in Birmingham, we have the incredible opportunity to see just a little bit of what it means to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

I have been supremely blessed to spend a great deal of time with the wonderful patients and staff of Children’s Hospital during my year of service. Furthermore, every year I am filled with pride when Miss Alabama contestants around the state volunteer at their local IHOP for National Pancake Day! National Pancake Day is a wonderful fundraiser for the CMN mission and every penny raised in IHOPs across Alabama stays right here in our state and benefits our Children’s Hospital-a shining beacon in the south for innovative care and compassion!

Over 600 women compete in the Miss America Pageant system in the State of Alabama, with 48 state titleholders. An overwhelming number from this group came out this year for the National Pancake Day. All contestants raise money throughout the year for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and in January, the Miss Alabama Pageant was honored with the Miracle Maker Award for the most CMN funds raised by a state program.

Our commitment to CMN Hospitals is a legacy of which we are very proud and I cannot thank our volunteers and contestants enough for giving so much to this important mission!