Shifting focus...

Wow! So much has happened since I posted last and many of you are friends with me on Facebook so I know you are aware of most of it. Therefore, I will streamline this entry with the most important item on my current agenda.

Several factors have played a role in this decision and subsequent announcement, and I will explain those shortly. Most importantly, be assured that this choice was not made easily. Despite that, I am looking forward to what's ahead with eager anticipation and vigor.

I decided to shift my primary community service focus to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

First things first, Operation Smile is not going away for me. I am set to chair a junior committee of student leaders who I will guide on mobilization efforts in high schools and on college campuses. Since I attended the trainings of chairpersons in similar roles while advocating for Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood in college, I feel both well-qualified and of course excited about this opportunity.

HOWEVER, my event planning/fund-raising, advocacy, and otherwise grassroots organizing efforts will be re-focused on the work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

To come to this decision, I had to consider my priorities in community service. A few thoughts came to mind:

1. Of utmost importance is my commitment to bettering the lives of children. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. These are progressive, degenerative, or malignant conditions that place a child's life in jeopardy. Granting a wish gives a child the strength, hope, and joy needed to enrich his or her life experience.

2. Coming in a close second is my desire to directly benefit children who live in the area which I represent. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia is the largest and most active chapter in the world, granting over 11,200 wishes since 1983. Of those 11,200 wishes, 1,025 have been granted by the Pottsville Regional Office of the Greater PA & Southern WV chapter. Last year alone, the Pottsville Regional Office granted the wishes of 107 children, of which 45 were from the Lehigh Valley.

3. Paired with strong grassroots organization is an astounding network that spans not just nationally, but internationally. The work I'll do with Make-A-Wish can span as far and wide as I desire. Should I be blessed with the opportunity to serve as Mrs. Pennsylvania this year, I can work across the state. Should I be blessed with the opportunity to be a national titleholder, I can work across the nation, etc. etc.

4. Finally, inherent in such a strong local presence are many varied, "hands-on" opportunities for involvement, including serving as a wish-granting volunteer, volunteering at other sponsors' events, wish ambassadorships, AND the opportunity to plan and host my own fund-raising events (like my golf tournament, which is already in the works for 2011!).

I hope you will support me in this new and exciting endeavor. One more thing--Make-A-Wish Foundation isn't exactly new to me (so this isn't coming entirely out of left field!). My beloved sorority, Chi Omega, is a Cause Champion for the Foundation, raising over $500,000+ annually through the work of their collegiate chapters. The Phi Mu chapter at Lehigh University participated in these efforts during our existence by creating craft items for wish kids during recruitment week's philanthropy day and also by adopting a wish kid and raising funds to grant her wish--so the organization not only meets my current priorities for community service, but also carries a special place in my heart as well. :)

Dream big!
KAM

Who will be next?

In case you are unaware, part of the reason I am competing to obtain a state title in MRS pageant systems is in order to eventually begin a local MRS competition and crown a successor to my local title. In turn, there are a few reasons I want to start a local; first, as part of the competition, contestants would take part in a signature fundraising event to benefit Operation Smile (yes, that is always at the forefront of my mind!). Second, I want to bring pageantry back to the Lehigh Valley. As a competitor in state competitions, I think to myself how many wonderful, beautiful married women live in the Lehigh area and would so enjoy the opportunity to do what I am doing now. Consider that Bethlehem was the home to the Miss Pennsylvania pageant in the mid-90s and what this did for Historic Bethlehem. The boutiques on Main Street opened for exclusive shopping events with the contestants, who stayed at the Hotel Bethlehem along with their family and friends who came to cheer them on, and this generated tons of positive publicity for our area in addition to stimulating the economy. I want that for our area again, and I want to spotlight married women this time around!

With summer rapidly approaching and my schedule at school thereby lightening (I'm still teaching summer school so I'm not COMPLETELY free!), I'm drawing up some proverbial blueprints to make a local competition happen. Starting small, I just posted on my Facebook about the actual name of the title. Thanks to ALL who offered feedback! What I've determined is that in order to reach the greatest number of folks possible, Mrs. Greater Lehigh COUNTY will be a more appropriate title. A short geography lesson: "Greater" in the title means that any resident in any county touching Lehigh on the map could participate; that includes Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Berks, Montgomery, and Bucks. Since I am a stickler for specified boundaries and can more easily put a number on potential contestants using that specification, MRS. GREATER LEHIGH COUNTY it is! HURRAH! Step one (of fourteen million) is complete!

So now what? I'm meeting with a few leaders in the area who organize similar events to get a sense of how to go about doing this. In the interim time, I am researching venues, potential sponsors, associated costs, etc. Throughout the process, I'll be asking all of you: Who are the beautiful, well-rounded, married women you know? Is one of them you? Will YOU be the next Mrs. Greater Lehigh County? PLEASE FEEL FREE to contact me if you see what I'm doing and think to yourself, "Hey! That could be me!"

Dream big,
KAM

New changes!

I feel like J.Hud in Dreamgirls when she sings "I Am Changing" since everything in pageant world moves so quickly! After a lovely show last night, I placed first runner-up (Again--thank you, judges!) and relinquished my title of Mrs. Greater Lehigh County AMERICA 2010. By default, I retain my title of Mrs. Greater Lehigh County UNITED STATES 2010 until the end of the year. My best personal achievement in this round of competition was the opportunity to speak on-stage about Operation Smile, as I was asked about my work with the organization for my first question. A few thank you notes: Kate, who was AMAZING to work with for production, Rosemarie, who very patiently answered ALL of my many questions in the month prior to competition, and of course Fred, who undoubtedly deserved his Director of the Year honor from Mrs. America 2009. Last but certainly not least, CONGRATULATIONS to Summer Wise, the new Mrs. Pennsylvania America 2010! Please enjoy these amateur photos until I receive the professional photos from the show.

Dream big!
KAM

Sometimes it's the little things...

In the midst of very quickly transitioning from one pageant system to another, time proximity can make it difficult to maintain focus on my platform. Since I can't at this time make a concerted effort on any larger projects, I've looked for little ways to show my support. For example, it is the first birthday of Liam, my inspiration to support Operation Smile, and instead of a traditional present, I donated special feeding bottles to three babies, found in the Operation Smile Gift Catalog, in Liam's name.

I am also making special mention in this post to the effort of hotelscombined, which donates to your specified cause by simply becoming a Facebook fan ($5), tweeting ($10), and spreading the word via a blog post (like this one, $20). Cumulatively, hotelscombined will donate $35 to my OneSmile Page simply for following these three simple steps.

For more information about the hotelscombined initiative and for the specific requirements to obtain their support for YOUR cause, click here or on the badge below.

I recommend HotelsCombined.com and sent $35 to Operation Smile!

You can shout and help too.

Dream big!
KAM