Photos: Miss Florida 2007, Behind the Scenes

Last night a new Miss Florida was crowned---congratulations to Miss Tallahassee Kylie Williams!  She has tried each year for the past 6 or 7 years to win Miss Florida and she finally did it! Great job! I think she will be a great representative of our state at Miss America.  As for me, I obviously did not win the crown, but I did gain a lot of experience and memories that will last a lifetime.  Like I said before, it’s not about the outcome- it’s about the journey.  I am so thankful for all of my amazing friends and family and not to mention my Miss Tampa Board for all of their help along the way! I am so lucky to have you all.  I am still Miss Tampa until next March!! I have so much I still want to accomplish as Miss Tampa and will be working hard to be the best Miss Tampa ever!  Thank you for all of you constant support and kind words! It helped me so much this week! 

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Last night was our last night of preliminary competitions.  I competed in Swimwear and evening gown while others competed in talent and on-stage question.  It was a lot of fun and congratulations to Denisha Jenkins-Miss UCF for winning evening gown, Kristin Murphy Miss Ocala Marion County for winning Swimsuit and Brooke Helvie Miss South Florida Fair for winning talent preliminaries.  Everyone did a fantastic job!!! Tonight we find out who makes top 10 and then the top 10 competes in everything over again!  We will also find out the who the new Miss Florida is tonight!!! Exciting!! Stay tuned!

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Last night was our second night of preliminary competition.  Some girls competed in their swimsuit and evening wear while others competed in their talents.  For my group, we had our on stage question.  We drew a question out of a fish bowl and then have to answer it.  The questions they chose to ask us were...interesting.  They were questions like: If you could have any super power what would it be and why?  and...What is more important--Intelligence or common sense?  Or, What even would you like to attend and why?  I personally would have liked some more in depth questions about current events or current controversial issues....however, I think some of the questions were thought provoking.  Congratulations to Kylie William- Miss Tallahassee for her preliminary awards in Swimsuits, Evening wear, and talent.  And to Miss Orange Blossom, Erin Lancaster for her award in preliminary talent Wednesday night.  Also, Congrats to Miss City Beautiful, Rachel Potter for her preliminary awards in Swimsuit and evening wear last night! This is a great group of beautiful and talented girls and I can’t wait to see what is left to come! Today, we have a brunch at the St. Pete Vinoy Hotel with Miss America 2006-Lauren Nelson.  I met her for the first time night last night--she is really sweet.  Well--Stay tuned!

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Last night was the first night of competition preliminaries.  I performed my talent, “Defying Gravity” and was really pleased with the entire show.  I think that everyone worked so very hard and it was amazing to see all of the hard work pay off!  Before we arrived at the theater, we went to All Children’s Hospital for a visit and tour.  It was really exciting to see all of the people in the hospital get smiles on thier faces when they see us.  Making a difference is what this pageant system is all about and I am very fortunate to be a part of it.  Today we will be getting a tour of the Sunken Gardens and then back to the theater for more rehearsal and then our next night of preliminaries...I will be competiting in On Stage Question.  Well, I will keep blogging for you!! Stay tuned!!

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All of us have been really busy the past couple days.  We have been at rehearsals, we had our interviews and some appearances too.  Today, we went to rehearsal all day and some girls had thier interviews.  We then came back to the dorms and got ready for our dinner cruise on the yacht star ship!!!!  First we went to the pier and all of the contestants got introduced. It was so much fun! A night full of dinner and dancing!  Tomorrow we are going to the All Childrens Hospital for a visit and then we have our first competition preliminaries tomorrow night.  I will be performing my talent!  I will update you with pictures soon! Have a great day and stay tuned!!

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Well, the preparation time flew by and now I am here in St. Pete for the Miss Florida Pageant week!  The excitement fills the room when all 40 contestants are present!  We had a very busy day today.  We checked into our dorm rooms at the USF St. Pete campus and we unpacked our stuff into our new rooms for the week.  We went straight to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and to sign autographs before their game with the LA Dodgers...which I was very excited about because I LOVE Baseball.  We watched the game and then sang God Bless America before the 7th Inning.  It was really exciting!  We then went to the Pier where we ate dinner at the Columbia Restaurant (which is one of my favorites! We came back to our dorms and we had a production meeting with the Miss Florida board on what to expect this week.  We have a busy week ahead of us and I will update you all every day.  I will also be adding pictures from each event in our Snap! Gallery.  Stay Tuned!!!

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The days seem shorter as I try to fit in some last minute pageant preparation details.  I have been working out 4 days a week with my personal trainer Mark Meisner at Body By Design and I have been staying up to date with current events for interview.  I have also been finishing packing and gathering my wardrobe. I picked up my Miss Florida week wardrobe from La Pink Boutique today--they have helped me with my wardrobe for all of my appearances and for the whole Miss Florida week.  I also got my hair trimmed today so it looks nice and healthy!  I am getting excited more than anything and can’t wait to be there!  I will be updating my blog everyday and filling my Snap! Gallery with pictures from the whole week.  So keep checking in and stay tuned! Thank you for all of your support and messages! They mean so much to me and I really appreciate it! 

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PLEASE VOTE FOR MY EYES!

Miss Florida is also having a “Most Beautiful Eyes Contest” and YOU can be the judge! I would love your vote!  I am #14!  Tell your friends and family!! You can Vote online and it really only takes about 2 seconds to do.

Just go to http://www.mostbeautifuleyes.com/

And I am Number 14!!!!!!!!

Thank you VERY Much!! I will be updating again soon!

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Only one more week until contestants report to St. Petersburg for the Miss Florida pageant. It will be a week filled with activities, events and excitement, not to mention the competition itself.

The preparation has been quite an experience already, and I can’t imagine what is still to come. I have been working out with my personal trainer four days a week, preparing for the swimsuit competition. I meet with my vocal coach every week to work on my song for the talent competition. It’s “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked.”

I am also gathering my wardrobe and accessories for the week and getting my evening dresses altered.

I am focused on staying true to myself and not changing or getting caught up in the hype of pageantry. Sometimes girls might change themselves toward what they think the judges want for the job of Miss Florida. For me, I want the satisfaction of knowing I can win Miss Florida by being me and no one else.

I look forward to taking readers with me each day through my “Quest for the Crown” blog updates on TBO.com and filling a Snap! gallery with many photos during pageant week, June 25-30.

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Well they always say time flies when you are having fun and that is exactly how it feels right now as I am getting ready for pageant week.  I have been non-stop with appointments, appearances, and wardrobe planning!  Every once in a while I can find the time to squeeze in a second to breathe!  Haha!  Yesterday, I was very excited to see my Baylife front-page debut in the Tampa Tribune!  I had so much fun writing the article and can’t wait to write more!  One of my “Miss Tampa” board members, Ashley, and I also found the perfect swimsuit for the “Miss Florida” competition.  I don’t want to give it away… but it’s a very unique color that screams Florida!  I also have been continuing to work with my personal trainer.  Today I had a “Miss Tampa” appearance at the 21st Annual Meeting and Luncheon for the Tampa Downtown Business Partnership.  It was interesting to listen to the guest speakers as they spoke about the new plans for our city including the River Walk and improving the Tampa Museum of Art.  Pam Iorio was in attendance along with many other Tampa business representatives. It is so refreshing to see the motivation and excitement of the people who work for our wonderful city of Tampa!  I have another jam-packed week and can’t wait to fill you in again soon!  Take care!

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Another day of pageant preparation and more to come! I worked out with my personal trainer this morning and then was off to meet one of my “Miss Tampa” Board members, Ashley, to discuss wardrobe for pageant week.  La Pink Boutique in New Tampa has been helping provide my wardrobe for appearances and for pageant week! They are amazing and have helped me so much! Thank you to the owners Lori and Amy!  When I won the title of “Miss Tampa” I also won an amazing board.  This is a board of dedicated volunteers that help me prepare for “Miss Florida” and schedule all of my appearances during my “Miss Tampa” reign. I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of people who really help me be my best and who are all very supportive.  Tomorrow we are working on finding the perfect swimsuit for competition!  Only a few more weeks to go!! It’s crunch time!

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Today was a very busy day jam packed with pageant preparation.  First I went to the mall to shop for some pageant accessories—tough job but someone’s gotta do it! Next, I went to see my personal trainer located on Davis Islands, Body By Design. Finally, I went to get my evening gown fitted so it would be altered in time for the competition… I don’t want to give too much away, but my evening gown is amazing! I love it and I really feel like myself wearing it, which is very important. If you don’t feel comfortable and yourself on stage—it is noticeable. Tomorrow I have planned more tasks to complete and will continue pageant preparation! Stay tuned! Take Care!

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My quest for the crown at the 2007 Miss Florida pageant is not about the result. It’s about the journey.

The pageant takes place June 27-30 at the Mahaffey Theatre, returning to St. Petersburg for the first time since 2003. I competed last summer in Miami, and am looking forward to experiencing the excitement in our own backyard.

I hope to take readers with me on the journey by updating a blog each day on TBO.com, and writing an update for the Tribune each week leading up to the big event - a preliminary to the “Miss America” scholarship pageant. I’ll make updates about what goes into preparing for such a pageant. And I’ll keep my digital camera handy for an ongoing Snap photo gallery, giving you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the preparation and pageant week.

A little bit about myself: I am 22 and a recent graduate of the University of South Florida. I obtained my degree in Telecommunications-News with aspirations of becoming a fair, accurate and trusted news reporter. I used to be a live-in nanny for three girls and was also a performer at Walt Disney World, claiming Snow White and Belle as “friends.” I also used to be the catcher for an all-boys baseball team.

My “Miss Tampa” platform is “Moving to Prevent Childhood Obesity.” I currently volunteer with MORE Health Inc., and work to educate children and families about how to prevent childhood obesity through healthy eating habits and exercise.

I am so very excited to show you the behind the scenes of pageant preparation and pageant week. Thank you all for your support, and I can’t wait to tell you more!

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