Confidence & Humility- Building Tomorrow's Leaders Chat

I was invited to be a panelist in the live discussion Confidence & Humility- Building Tomorrow's Leaders. There is a monthly chat held by Maryanne, a Macomb Daily reporter, as well as Teresa, Parenting Specialist at CARE of Macomb. There were several other panelists and numerous 'lurkers' in the chat. We talked about being involved in different activities, being able to talk to your parents about issues, and having self confidence- all of which helps kids stay away from drugs and other bad decisions. I had a wonderful time in the chat! I've attached a screen shot from part of our conversation. The chat is held with www.coveritlive.com and the link to our conversation can be found here: http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2011/06/08/lifestyles/doc4def84114decf004051624.txt

Leaving for Miss Michigan TODAY! I'm all packed and ready to go. Hair done, nails done, spray tan about to be done...I'm off to practice my talent and take a minute to RELAX before the craziness starts. I'm so excited!

xoxo, Ang

Special Olympics Summer Games

What a wonderful experience it was to take part in the Special Olympics Summer Games held on Central Michigan U's campus in Mt. Pleasant this weekend! I fell in love with the Special Olympics when I first volunteered at the summer games last year. This is an uplifting and overall fun group to be around!

The athletes are incredible. I had a great time hanging out with them (there were about 3,000 there) and watching their competitions. I also helped at some of the awards ceremonies, and found myself getting emotional throughout the experience. The only way to describe the athletes and their reactions to receiving awards is the word heartwarming. It was an incredible experience!

I also had a lot of fun hanging out with my fellow contestants. As Miss MI week is drawing nearer by the second (!) it was fun to get my mind off of the heavy preparation and just chill with some of the other girls. Miss MI... HERE WE COME! :)

Also--I had my 'good luck'/send off party on Saturday. I felt overwhelmed and overjoyed at the love and support that was (and continues to be) shown to me from my family and friends. I couldn't do this without the support of my family. Thank you everyone!

XOXO, Ang

Sterling Heights Memorial Day Parade

I ran into a few of my dance students!

Today I was in the Sterling Heights Memorial Day Parade with my friend Brenna O'Malley, Miss St. Clair Shores. We had so much fun and it was a beautiful (hot) day! It was great seeing so many of my former dance students and all along the 2 mile parade route heard kids yelling 'MISS ANGELA!!!' Thank you to all who serve our country and Happy Memorial Day!

xoxo, Angela

T3- Teens Talking Truth 8th Annual Conference

I was invited to be a guest speaker at the 8th annual T3- Teens Talking Truth conference, which was held today. T3 is an organization I was involved with as a teen and I was proud to return and speak to the group of 300 high school students. T3 is a group of of teens from Macomb County dedicated to empowering their fellow youth to live healthy lifestyles. They plan various drug-free events around the county and this is one of them. The entire conference is planned by the T3 group and they did a wonderful job!

The theme of this year's conference was 'Life of a Teen...' and I was asked to speak about my own life as a teen and how I've chosen to stay drug free. I had a great time speaking to this group about having goals and holding on to them and also shared a few personal stories from my life about friends that I've lost from destructive decisions. I am glad that I am able to speak to groups like this and use my stories in a way that connects with people. I'm so happy to give back to T3 and CARE, two organizations that have given me so much.

Hugs, not drugs!

XOXO, Angela

96.3 DVD Cares for Kids Radiothon & Freedom Walk

My past few weeks have been insanely busy! On 4/30 I graduated from Oakland University with my Communication degree and on 5/10 and 5/11 I had my last dance recitals! Wooooooo-hooo I have been busy, but I love it.

Sister/best friend on graduation day with me :)

One of my classes, Witch Doctor

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. I will miss being a dance teacher!

On Thursday, 5/12 I attended the 96.3 WDVD Cares for Kids Radiothon to benefit Children's Miracle Network, our Miss America National Platform. I answered phones & gathered donations for a few hours and also go to visit with pediatric patients at Beaumont Royal Oak (my favorite part of the day.) I found the experience to be heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time and walked away feeling appreciative for being blessed with good health. This year I've raised over $1000 for CMN through the CMN/MAO partnership! :)

With my good friend Brenna, Miss SCS

I've been able to do several visits in the past 2 years and each time I feel grateful for organizations like Children's Miracle Network, which help local families at our 4 CMN hospitals in Michigan alone.

On Saturday, 5/14 I attended the Freedom Walk to benefit the Kirsten Haglund Foundation. As a former Miss Oakland County, I am extra proud to support the Kirsten Haglund Foundation--Kirsten is Miss America 2008 and a former Miss Oakland County as well. Her foundation provides resources & hope to women struggling with eating disorders. For more info, check out her site: http://www.kirstenhaglund.org/

Just stretching with Miss SCS and Miss LOL

Moi, Ashlee (Miss MI 08), Kirsten (Miss America 08) & Brenna (Miss SCS)

After the walk, I met with my awesome ED Shelby & her husband Kevin to do a mock interview. Thanks Shelby, Kevin & Veets for all of your help and insight!

XOXO, Angela

Children's Miracle Network Silent Auction

On Saturday 4/24 I attended a silent auction (put on by former Miss Saginaw Alyssa Bedford!) and the event raised over $2,000! Alyssa did a great job organizing this fundraiser and I'm so happy to have been a part of it. Our own Miss Michigan was there, along with Drew, the one-and-only awesome CMN kid. I had so much fun with my Miss MI sisters!

Doug King, one of our Miss MI field directors, is one of my biggest inspirations. His love for all of the girls and Miss America is palpable and he's one of the best people I have ever met.

XXOO, Ang

Kids & Cops Day at the Boys & Girls Club of SE Michigan

I volunteered at the Kids & Cops day at the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Michigan on Saturday and had so much fun with the kids! We played jeopardy (my team came in 2nd...that's not losing, it's just 2nd place :p ) and played a little dodgeball...and sharks & minnows.

Boys & Girls Club is a wonderful organization that helps kids stay away from drugs--they provide various after-school development programs and many resources to families! Check out the site for more info: http://www.bgcsm.org/AboutUs/

XOXO, Ang

CMN Bake Sale & Stiletto Sweets Photo Shoot

I held a bake sale on 3/30 at my school with a few of my friends... all of the profits benefited the Children's MiracleNetwork/ MAO! We made $70 for our National Platform.

On Saturday 4/10 I had the opportunity to be a part of the photo shoot for Stiletto Sweets by our very own Noddea Skidmore, director of Miss Spirit of the State! She invited a group of Miss MI sisters to take part in this shoot that will be used for her promotions and web site. I had so much fun hanging out with everyone and her cakes are AWESOME!!! I am a sweets lover myself and take it from me, these cupcakes were outstanding. A+++++ for Noddea.

Oh... just being photographed with miss Morgan Lind...also known as the F4ce of West Michigan!

My Miss Michigan gown came in the mail yesterday and I LOVE IT! I'm continuing to prepare to compete for the title with diligence. You know what they say...the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle!

I have to give a shout out to my director, Shelby. She's so great! She's helping me stay organized and focused in my Miss MI prep. Between my 3 jobs, pending graduation and involvement on American Marketing Association's E-Board, I find myself quite busy but I love it and I choose not to take this opportunity for granted. I owe it to myself, my family and everyone who's been there for me to prepare with everything I have. Thanks everyone for your love and support!

XOXOX, Ang

March is (still) reading month!

Cuties! Every last one of 'em

I know it's almost the end of March but hey, it's still reading month! I didn't want to leave March without hitting up a few classrooms. Today I read The Mixed Up Chamelion to two preschool classes at Our World of Fours. It's a great book about the importance being yourself! :p The kids even presented me with a bouquet, it was so sweet!

Kid Quotes of the Day:

Kid: What's that...thing on your head? Me: It's a crown! Kid: Oh. Are those...real diamonds?

I loved this poster in one of the classrooms:

XOXO, Ang

Miss Lighthouse Coast 2011!

I'm so excited to be the final contestant selected to compete at Miss Michigan! I was named Miss Lighthouse Coast on March 4th, 2011. I want to give a big shout-out to all of my girls competing with me that night and those of you meeting me on the Frauenthal stage in June. I commend every one of you for putting yourself out there.

A few gorgeous members of Miss MI class of 2010 backstage before Miss Lighthouse Coast

I have just a few short months to prepare for the Miss Michigan pageant this June, and there's a lot to be done! I've already hit the ground running by dissecting my paperwork, narrowing down my talent ideas and of course the workout schedule. I have quite a few Children's Miracle Network appearances planned for the next two months and even more platform events. I'm excited to share with you my journey to Miss Michigan!

Thanks for stopping by-

Angela