Ontario 4th of July Parade

Happy 235th Birthday United States!  As a bicentennial baby (I was born in 1976), I always look forward to the 4th of July festivities.  My 4th of July holiday started out in the city of Ontario with the city sponsored Independence Day Parade.  The parade is broadcast live on cable TV and replayed throughout the day/week. Even though the weather forecast predicted rain and monsoonal thunderstorms it was a clear and blistering hot morning.  I tried my best not to completely melt during the parade route although I swear I lost about a pound or two from all the sweating i did.  Here are my photos before the parade (when my hair was still holding up well) and afterwards with some local pageant queens.

After the parade was finished we were off to the movies and a big fireworks show in the city of Redlands.  And of course we got to enjoy the fireworks from the back of the convertible with the top down while chowing down on ice cream and other snacks.  What a nice conclusion to a beautiful summer day.

Local 685 Probation Officers Awards Banquet

It's time for the annual Awards Banquet for Los Angeles County's Deputy Probation Officers Union local 685.  Every year awards and scholarships are given to a honor a few special individuals as we celebrate our professions to protect and serve.  Los Angeles county's first probation officer ever was appointed back in 1903, more than 100 years later the county now has over 5000 officers hard at work every day serving our communities. So what better way than to honor them with this celebration for commitment and achievement.

Each year there are several different categories such as retiree of the year (my grandmother won this in 2009), rookie of the year, activist award, lifetime achievement, as well as categories for individuals outside the department including responsible journalist, business foundation award, teacher of the year, legislator of the year and more.  One of the highlights of this evenings events are the scholarship awards which are given to local high seniors and college students.  One particular scholarship recipient this year that impressed me was Keyon Lee.  Keyon is a college freshman who is very passionate about helping others.  At a recent food drive he donated over 100 cans of food in addition to other food products such as beans, rice, and milk.  Keyon decided years ago on his own to take a trip to skid row at the age of ten for thanksgiving to feed the homeless.  This all started as a way to show his appreciation for being blessed and many years later he still  is going strong in his efforts to make a difference.  Another accomplishment to Kenyons credit is starting his own business called 2 Tone Cleat Covers.  His business sprouted from an idea he and his brother had at the age of nine while playing pop warner football.  They designed these cloth cleat covers as a unique alternative to spatting your cleats, which prevents shoe laces from becoming untied while giving extra added ankle support.  These cleat covers come in many different colors and designs and there is even a cover designed especially to support breast cancer awareness month. With sales of more 100,000 Keyon has made sure that some of his profits are donated right back to the organizations and purchasing teams as just one more way to give back.  You can check out the Cleat Covers at  http://www.2tonecleatcovers.com/ or on facebook http://www.facebook.com/2tonecleatcover

Kenyon Lee Scholarship Recipient

Always in attendance at the banquet are various media outlets, legislators, high ranking officials and administrators.  One in particular who was in attendance this year was Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas who actually went to elementary school with my mom.  Also in attendance was the president of the probation officers union for the state of Wisconsin.  He gave us an update on all of their legal battles that have been all over the news and how state legislators are trying to do away with collective bargaining which would put an end to all the good that unions do for their members.  I tell you I am happy that I work here and not in Wisconsin right about now. I am now entering my 16th year of public service to Los Angeles County, and my 13 year as a probation officer.  Not only am I a member of Local 685 but every year I am also the featured singer for the awards festivities. Each year I start off the ceremony with the Star Spangled Banner and this year I was on program to sing another inspirational song however time ran short so I will have to save it for next year!

Supervisor Mark-Ridely Thomas

Miss USA 2011 Weekend

I had a BLAST in Las Vegas for Miss USA 2011 Pageant.   My adventure started out Friday night at "All that Glitters" which is a reception meet and greet with the Teen USA contestants.  My sister and my daughter came along to accompany me to the gathering of beauties.  The ballroom was certainly filled with lots of sparkling and couture fashions that night.  Not only were the Teen contestants introduced but also in attendance were the reigning Miss Teen USA Kamie Crawford, Miss USA Rima Fakih, and Miss Universe Ximena.  Many other pageant queens were in attendance too, including the Miss & Teen California Earth queens.  Needless to say my daughter made a lot of special friends that night including the reigning Miss Teen USA, Miss North Carolina Teen USA Vanessa Mc Clelland and several other state queens.  I even found a "Cinderella Girl" in the crowd the 2010 International Teen and now Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2011 Savannah Schechter.

Saturday morning our day started out with a little bit of history as we went to a meet and greet with various former Miss USA titleholders.  This is Miss USA's 60th anniversary and we had the chance to meet former titleholders dating all the way back to the 1950's.  While some of my favorites didn't make it to the meet and greet I did get to meet so many wonderful women including former California girl Shannon Marketic and the beautiful Shandi Finnessey.  I also had a moment to chat with Kenya Moore who just fell in love with my daughter.  Kenya even made sure she got some pictures for herself on her own camera with miss Bianca.  Also a part of the meet and greet were some of the crowns, banners, and competitions clothes worn by the ladies during their reign.  Did you know that the first swimsuits were made from wool?  I know those suits never ever saw water!

Myrna Hansen Miss USA 1953, Miriam Stevenson Miss Universe 1954

Miss USA 1963 Marite Ozers, Miss USA 1964 Bobbie Johnson

Wendy Dascomb Miss USA 1969, Tanya Wilson Miss USA 1972

Karen Morrison Miss USA 1974, Barbara Peterson Miss USA 1976

Julie Hayek Miss USA 1983

Carole Gist Miss USA 1990

Shannon Marketic Miss USA 1992

Kenya Moore Miss USA 1993, Brandi Sherwood 1997

Shandi Finessey Miss USA 2004

Chelsea Cooley Miss USA 2005, Tara Conner Miss USA 2006

After stopping by to browse and shop at the Mc Duggal and Sheri Hill suites it was time to go to the "True Beauty Rocks" event.  This event had a fashion show featuring gowns by Mc Duggal, autographs and photos with the reigning queens and a dance club.  Needless to say miss Bianca ending up being the star of this evening.  She danced the night away with all the Teen USA delegates. and ended up in the middle of a big circle dancing while the DJ was giving her shot outs (“Bianca the tiniest dancing queen”) and all the paparazzi snapping pictures.  It was the funniest thing to see her out there getting her groove on as the center of attention with all these beautiful young women having a blast with her.  She was a little celebrity, so many of the delegates and former titleholders took photos with her that have ended up all over facebook.  She even took photos with the La Casa Hermosa Celebrity Polo team.

On my final day in Vegas it was showtime.  I'm sure you all saw the pageant and watched the exquisitely beautiful Miss California Alyssa Campanella get crowned Miss USA 2011, well I was there live and in person.  I was so proud of her I only wished I hadn't had my car accident last year the weekend of the Miss California USA pageant because I could have met her in person before this triumphant night.  Congratulations Alyssa, I know you will do a fantastic job as Miss Universe, I mean Miss USA :).

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this trip and this is one of my best Vegas trips to date (next to my Vegas trip winning Ms Earth of course).  This was definitely well worth the 3 hour drive from home.  Good bye Vegas, until we meet again!

(Bianca as Miss USA)