Seems like a fitting title for my weekend, right? It has been an exceptional past 3 days, traveling 530.23 miles from McMinnville to Union City to Jackson back to McMinnville. Friday, a trip was made up to Joann's Of Union City for an always-exciting visit with Paige Carlton and Jared Hamlin. They are such incredible people and gracious sponsors of the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant. After finishing up in Union City, we checked into our hotel, went out for a yummy dinner, and visited with my sister queens, Camille Gear (Country Sunshine's Outstanding Teen) and Kristen Perry (Country Sunshine's Teen Princess). More on their pageants later! :) 
Alarm was set early Saturday morning to get up and ready for the annual Miss Tennessee Workshop at Carl Perkins Civic Center (pictured below), where the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageants will be held this summer. The purpose of the workshop is to allow all of the contestants to meet one another, be informed on all of our upcoming pageant plans for June, receive our contestant numbers and groups, find out roommates, and basically get geared up for our big week of June 17-23! Since I am a first time contestant, I didn't really know what to expect, but I can definitely say that I was so pleased with the way Ms. Jane, Mr. Chris, and Mr. Tim, along with the whole pageant board, conducted the workshop. All questions were answered in a very clear manner, and from 9 AM-3 PM we were absorbing all of the information that I know we had all been wondering about since receiving local crowns.
By the way, I must brag on our own Miss Country Sunshine Organization. We received the Community Support Award, along with the MTSU/MTBR Organization!
Towards the end of the workshop, we had the Contestant Lottery. Each contestant's name is drawn from a bowl, and, one by one, each girl is allowed to choose a number in the line-up. The numbers are distributed until each girl has a spot, ranging from #1-#36. I had my sights set on Group C (numbers 25-36), which competes in Swimsuit Wednedsay night, Evening Gown Thursday night, & Talent Friday night. Well, St. Patty's Day luck must have been in my favor because my name was drawn about midway through and I chose to be #25.
After numbers were assigned, Allison Alderson DeMarcus announced the roommate list. I learned I will be rooming with Miss Bristol Amy Flynn. Ironic, because we were actually sitting two people away from each other in meetings, anyway! It's always exciting to find out who you will be sharing a room with during a high-energy, yet exhausting glamour week! Now to decide who will bring what... :)
Once the contestant workshop was over, first-time state contestants and parents were encouraged to attend a Judges Seminar Workshop. Mr. Chris Chambers did a fantastic job presenting all of the ins and outs of how a MAO pageant is to be judged. It really puts things in perspective!
Mom and I had about an hour and a half to recharge our batteries a little before the Tennessee Outstanding Teen & Tennessee Teen Princess pageants that night at 6 PM. As I said earlier, my two "sisters" Camille (OT) and Kristen (TP) competed in each pageant, respectively, and truly represented the Country Sunshine Organization with talent and grace. They both rocked it on stage, and Camille even brought home 3rd Runner-up! So proud of she and Kristen! Also, I must give a congratulations to the new TN Outstanding Teen Haley Butler and TN Teen Princess Hope Parker! All of these girls are an asset to the Miss Tennessee Organization.
The Teen & Princess pageants also gave us, as Miss TN contestants, an opportunity introduce ourselves on-stage and also give the audience a "preview" of who is competing in June.
The pageant concluded, and back to the hotel I went. The bed was surely calling my name!
Sunday (today), we made the haul back to McMinnville and are now back home safe and sound. (Props to daddy for being such a good sport this weekend, driving us women around!)
The next 3 months will surely fly by and I am so excited to do my best at the Miss Tennessee Pageant. I hope to bring McMinnville a sense of pride and accomplishment home. I am so thankful for all the supporters, family, and friends I have in my life. I would not be where I am today without them, and, of course, God. I will be relying on my favorite scripture for the months to come.... "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
xoxo-C
Lauren, Emily, mom, and I can't wait to be there and support you! You are gonna be great:)!
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