Govenor's Award

On 1/7/11 I had the honor of attending the Governor and First Lady's Service Awards Luncheon and being one of the recipients of this special Award.  There were over 300 Californians in attendance that were honored at this event for their volunteer work within their communities.  The award included a limited edition certificate signed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver. The event was hosted by Susan Jeske and the Ms America pageant which recommended me for this award. 

I was unfortunately a little late to this event due to forgetting my crown and banner at home but nevertheless I put the pedal to the metal went home to grab it and made it just in time for the main course.  There was such a variety of organizations that had volunteers in attendance from earth day organizations to meals on wheels to doctors and chiropractors who have donated their services to the poor and 3rd world countries.  Jeff Timmons (of the group 98 Degrees) was the special guest speaker and performer whom gave us a little insight into his world of service while telling us that the little things we do can make an impact that will last a lifetime.  It was such a wonderful feeling to be in the presence of so many Californians who felt it was their duty, honor, and privilege to help others in need.

Now of course there were pageant queens in attendance from several different local and national pageant systems, because what better way to use your title than to give to back as so many of us do (with or with the crown).  All of the titleholders were being honored for completing at least 50 hours of service to an organization or 25 hours for ages 5 to 14.  One of the pageant systems in attendance was the Teen Achieve Pageant. The Miss Teen Achieve Pageant is an achievement based pageant that includes an art presentation or speech portion on what make a leader.  I had an opportunity to meet the director Marlena Martin (Ms California US Continental) and some of her queens pictured here below (Korinna Kaplanis-Miss Southern California Teen Achieve 2011, Mercedes Harvey-Miss California Teen Achieve 2010, Rebekah Burger-Miss Regional Teen Achieve).

It was just another busy day in the life of Ms Earth, not only was it a day where volunteerism was the focus but a day where service was the unifying factor for a large group of citizens who care.

Next stop Las Vegas and the Miss America Pageant ............