photos by the Monroe News-Star photo by the Monroe News-Star

photo by the Monroe News-Star

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above left, with Katie Hall Smith, former Miss Dixie Gem Peach. above: making good on a bet with her dad!)

photo by Terry Atwood

The Miss America organization has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. My mother was a local director when I was a young girl. I remember going to the Miss Louisiana Pageant each year. Life has come full circle for me. Now, I am the contestant, the young woman who wears the crown, hoping to influence lives by participating in the Miss Louisiana and Miss America organizations. The first night of preliminary competition in 2003 when I arrived at the Civic Center and saw the fountains in the front, I remembered thinking, "Wow, I am a contestant"! I reminisced about all the years I came to see Patricia Brant, Maria Pitre, Toni Mundy, Linnea Fayard, Sondra Cloud, Stacy Allen, Elizabeth Haynes, Christi Page, Katie Hall, Michelle Ploue, and many, many more. I am thrilled to be a part of an organization that has such a great legacy and has made such a lasting impression on my life.

As you look through my pictures in this section one picture needs explanation. In 2003, as I was preparing for my first appearance in the Miss Louisiana pageant, I had asked my dad to shave his moustache since I had never seen him without it. I just happened to be working out when we were having this conversation. He told me if I worked hard and won the swimsuit competition he would shave it. Now, keep in mind he has had this moustache since the 70's!!! When I did win the swimsuit competition, I told the newspaper and the TV about the bet so he could not get out of it. After the ball on Saturday night we went back to my parents hotel room and had a moustache shaving party!!! Wouldn't you like to know what the bets are for this year????