February 2008
February has been a very busy month for me, with the continuation of “Busy Season” for work, but I was able to spend some time away from my laptop, and “squeeze in” a few appearances!
During the first weekend of the month, I was able to travel to Central Pennsylvania to take part in two events; the 2008 Eastern Outdoor Sports Show, held at the State Fairgrounds, and the Miss MidState Pageant.
At the Eastern Outdoor Sports Show, I was there on behalf of the Pennsylvania Fur Trappers Association, who is a sponsor to the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization each year, as they provide a beautiful fur coat to the newly crowned Miss Pennsylvania, following the Pageant at the Awards Breakfast, of course, only if she agrees to accept the extended offer, along with our Miss Pennsylvania, Miss Rachel Brooks, and Miss Keystone, Miss Courtney Harris. First, it was a great time, as I was see Rachel, after her return from Las Vegas for the Miss America Pageant, and congratulate her in person! In addition, it was a special day as it was Rachel’s 25th Birthday, so it was nice for Courtney and I to be able to spend some time with her on her special day and marking a “quarter century of existence” as she had laughed about. : )
Immediately following, my parents and I headed back into the car, so that we could make our way to the Hershey Area Playhouse, for the 2008 Miss MidState Scholarship Pageant. Many titleholders were in attendance, so it was nice to “catch up” with everyone in the New Year, and of course, at the culmination of the pageant, congratulate the newly crowned titleholders including Rachel Henry, the new Miss MidState, and Sophia Medairy, the new Miss MidState Outstanding Teen on a job well done!
February was a month of pageants for the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization, so the following weekend, my family and I were headed to Kittanning for the Miss Armstrong County Scholarship Pageant, wherein three new titleholders were crowned including Miss Armstrong County, Kendria Perry, Miss Allegheny Valley, Courtney Blackhurst, and Miss Southwestern Pennsylvania, Shannon Doyle. Congratulations girls!
To close out the month, we had our “Big for a Day” Program at Carnegie Mellon University, including myself and Pittsburgh Cares. This month’s activities were featured around “Leadership” and provided exercises to help continue the development of leadership, and in addition, team building techniques. It was very interesting, because there is always the question if leadership to innate or if it is something learned and developed – and our exercises truly demonstrated how each explanation is prevalent today, as some of the children, even at a young age, had the “leader” in them, coming out, but then others, grew into leaders throughout the time spent matched. Overall, the program displayed how remarkable the act of mentoring can be, and how it does help children to feel more confident and continue in the pursuit of reaching their full potential, as we watched everyone’s inner leader throughout the afternoon.
Following the “Big for a Day”, it was time to venture to Butler County, for the 25th Annual, Miss Butler County Scholarship Pageant, and visit my first “Pageant Family” as my first local title, within the Miss America Organization, was Miss Moraine State in 2004. The pageant was entertaining as always, as it featured the outgoing titleholders and Miss Lee’s Dancers throughout the show, and at the end of the evening, included the announcement of the new Miss Butler County, Brooke Miller, and the new Miss Moraine State, Courtney Thomas. All of the contestants performed beautifully and congratulations to the new titleholders, Brooke and Courtney!
Despite becoming sick during this month, one of the few things that kept me going was the fact that there were only a few weeks of “Busy Season” left, and I was past the mid-point. With this in mind, I look forward to writing next month, to announce that it is officially over!
Warmly,
Jessica Megliss
Miss Three Rivers 2007-2008