Hello everyone, and welcome to MissDerry.org!  On June 26^th, 2009 I was crowned the 23rd Miss Greater Derry at the Adams Memorial Opera House.  I was blessed in that I not only won the title, but was also named the recipient of the Brenda E. Keith Interview Award for a total of $7,550.00 in scholarships!!  Not only was I shaking with excitement, but tears were streaming down my face in the shock of it all.  As they announced my name I looked into the audience and saw my mother, my father, and my best friend all looking at me with proud faces that I will never be able to forget.  When I began taking my first walk as the new Miss Greater Derry I heard singing from the audience.  It was from fellow titleholders who were singing Happy Birthday to me because on June 27^th I was turning twenty.  I could not have asked for a better birthday present or to spend it with better people.  I then went to the after-party at the Pinkerton Tavern where we announced the non-finalist awards, dined with contestants, volunteers, and judges.  It was then that it really hit me that I was in for an amazing year.  I could not wait to begin to spread the word of my platform, Volunteerism: “Be the Change You Wish to see in the World”

                My first appearance was at the Miss Massachusetts state pageant.  I was so excited to represent my title at another state pageant.  I was invited onstage to share with the audience my title and the platform I am devoting my year of service to.  It was an amazing show and made me even more excited for my opportunity to be on the Miss New Hampshire stage in April.  I’ve had the chance to make many other pageant appearances during my year so far, including the opportunity to judge for a dear friend of mine in the Miss U.S. of America pageant.  Ashley Glenn, a former state titleholder in Connecticut, was a fellow judge and she was not only a pleasure to judge with, but an inspiration.  I have also attended nearly every preliminary competition in New Hampshire. I love supporting our state and supporting all of the girls with whom I have become such great friends.

                Apart from supporting the girls, it is important to me to support the program that has provided me with so many wonderful opportunities and that I am so thrilled to be a part of, as well. One occasion was the 6^th Annual Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Fund Charity Golf Tournament.  I was able to spend the day making hot dogs for the golfers in between holes.  I found out that bees and golfers absolutely love the hot dog stand.  Some of the golfers even came back for thirds!  Later in the evening, I had the opportunity to dine with some of the participants and had a great time getting to know them and what they are all about.  It was great to talk to people about what I do for the program and what I intend to do for the program.  It was a long day but truly a lot of fun.  We even broke fundraising efforts and raised $28,000 dollars!  Another fun appearance was the Miss New Hampshire Cruise in support of Lindsey Graham and the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program.  We had fun dancing the day away on the beautiful M/S Mt. Washington on Lake Winnipesaukee listening to Lindsey speak, and even doing karaoke with all of the girls.  I’ve also participated in several Gillette Stadium fundraisers for the Miss NH state program.  My mom attended them with me and we had a ball helping serve the customers at the game.  The last game I went to was absolutely freezing and snowing the whole time.  We all had a great time though, jumping around trying to stay warm.  During the warmer months, I helped wash cars to raise money for the Miss Monadnock Area local scholarship program and attended a Miss New Hampshire Bingo! I know absolutely nothing about bingo and was surprised at all the different games there were. Thankfully, there were some great people from the program there to help me out when I got lost along the way.                

                I have had many opportunities in the town of Derry to be a role model in the community.  I had the pleasure of being at the ribbon cutting ceremony of The Goddard School in Derry.  The facility was absolutely gorgeous with a beautiful mural in the front when you walk in.  The director, Suzanne Mailhiot, was wonderful and gave me a tour of the whole school.  The staff was so passionate about educating children and I was so proud to be able to be a part of it all.  I even got a flat tire when I was there!  The staff was so helpful and actually changed my tire for me.  I also had the opportunity to sell raffle tickets at the first ever “Derry’s Got Talent”, which was a fundraiser to benefit the Derryfest Fund.  The show was exciting and full of many talented performers of all different ages and talents.  It was great to be back at the Adams Opera House because I hadn’t been there since I was crowned.  The next day I attended Derryfest and showcased the winners of the night before.  I got to spend time there with a very special little girl who was full of life and thought being Miss Greater Derry was the best thing in the world!  She really opened my eyes to how much of a role model I really am within the community and reminded me how lucky I am to be able to leave a mark on younger generations throughout my year. I even let her put on my crown and she instantly ran to show her father.  I also ran into some of the Derry firefighters and took a shot at the dunk tank.  I quickly learned that it’s a good thing I never took up softball!  Don’t worry, even though I couldn’t hit the target, I went up and hit the target with my hand anyway!  Recently, I got to attend the Annual Chamber of Commerce dinner with Miss Greater Derry Executive Director and Vice-President, Danielle Jean-Cowan and Webmaster and Board President, Gary Kittredge.  We had a great time dining with residents of Derry, business owners and community leaders and learning what they do for our community.

                One of my favorite opportunities was getting to connect with volunteers and contestants in the Miss America Organization at the New England States’ Conference.  I loved attending all of the workshops and meeting everyone there.  It was truly a learning experience not just to prepare me for Miss New Hampshire, but to prepare me for life.  Listening to Sam Haskell speak was truly inspirational and moving.  He gave me some great advice that I have applied to my daily life ever since we met.  I also had the opportunity to talk with Katie Stam, Miss America.  She is an amazing woman and we had such great conversation.  We got into talking about the organization and also the platform we both are dedicated to.  Talking to her about community service and involvement gave me even more drive and confidence.  I also got the opportunity to dine and hangout with Lindsey Graham (Miss New Hampshire), Amanda Kelly (Miss Massachusetts), Tony Bowls (famous evening wear designer), Ashley Glenn (a former Connecticut state titleholder), volunteers, and contestants from various states. This was a wonderful experience and I want to thank FOURPOINTS magazine for being the signature sponsor of the event that made it all possible, and of course, all of the committee members who put this event together, including Miss New Hampshire’s own Bill Haggerty!

                As your reigning Miss Greater Derry I have been spending most of my time planning for an event I have created called the “CrockPot Cook-Off” which I just hosted on November 8^th.  We had about 25 cooks cook 37 different dishes in a crock pot.  We had a great team of volunteers helping to sell admission tickets to taste the dishes, tickets to vote for your favorite dishes and choose the winner and raffle tickets for the attendees.  A kielbasa dish won the ultimate prize of a Trio Crock Pot, donated by BJ’s Wholesale Club of Nashua.  We awarded a $100 raffle prize, which was quickly donated back to the fund by the winner, and many others went home with iPod docks, cookbooks, and all sorts of fun gifts!  We had many different kinds of live music, including several hours of wonderful music by Troy & Tramack, a fantastic set performed by the award-winning Showcase Quartet and even Danielle and I joined the fun by performing “Imagine”.  It was such a fun afternoon and we had outstanding results.  We had a goal of raising $1,000 dollars and we actually raised $1,663!  My favorite part about this fundraiser was that it was for The Children’s Miracle Network which has been partnered with the Miss America Organization for years now. I’m so glad we were so successful in giving back to this wonderful organization that helps so many young people in need.

                Currently, I am in the process of creating a volunteer website and program to educate children in how to stay active in their communities. The programs are set up to teach kids and young adults why volunteering is important, how they can get involved, and how they can stay involved.  With volunteerism on such a steady decline as of late, it is extremely important to me that I encourage volunteerism in people of all ages, but particularly children as they will continue with a lifetime of volunteerism once they’ve learned how rewarding and fun it can be.   I really want to be an outlet for finding volunteer experiences for them to be involved with because if children had that outlet I strongly believe they would be more active in their communities.  It’s worked out great because I am actually taking a course currently on how to create lessons plans directed to different age categories and how to evaluate the success of your teaching! I’m also preparing to visit a variety of different schools where I’ll speak to as many children as I have the opportunity to, and share with them all of the wonderful experiences you can have through volunteerism and encourage them to participate.

                                I am so passionate about my platform, and one of the great things about promoting volunteerism is that I get to be involved in a variety of different causes and activities.  Since June, I have helped out by handing out water at The Thomas Cash Memorial Nashua HIV/AIDS Walk, handing out water at the Tanger Outlet’s 5k Run/Walk for Breast Cancer, and even running in the CIGNA 5K in Manchester with my Director Danielle.  I mentioned earlier that I also had the opportunity to judge a pageant in Connecticut, but it doesn’t stop there.  I also had the opportunity to judge the teen pageants for both Miss Gate City and Miss Berlin-Gorham here in New Hampshire. Just this past week, I had the wonderful experience of traveling to New York City to attend a taping of Good Morning America with other titleholders.  I was on ABC as your Miss Greater Derry, and during this experience, was able to see Rihanna perform, speak at length with her publicist about the benefits of the Miss America Organization, and see four-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson interviewed. From working for Operation Write Home creating cards for our troops overseas to singing our National Anthem multiple times at the New England Velodrome I have been having the time of my life.  Apart from volunteering, I am busy studying at the University of New Hampshire. My semester is full of writing and it definitely keeps me busy.  In my free time I also enjoy spending quality time with my family, in particular my baby sister, Siena.  I could honestly write a book if I wrote down all of the fun experiences volunteering I have had and all of the appearances I have made.  I had such a good time at all of them and really can’t wait to see what the rest of my year brings!  I am so excited to actually get involved with the school systems and the children within.  Until next time, I wish you all the best and wish you and your loved ones Happy Holidays.