Miss Louisiana 2012

Well hello there, readers! Before I begin showing off all of my jibber jabber, I am excited to say that my blog has had 500 views! I gasped when I saw the number of views I have obtained! So exciting! Now, onto a more interesting topic. Where to begin? Hmm... How about.. Miss Louisiana 2012!?

The week started off with moving in at the Bayou Suites, going to the press conference, and of course the DANCE REHEARSALS. For those of you who are unaware, singing is my talent for a reason. God wanted me to be a singer, not a dancer. BUT considering that I am aware of my stumbling feet and lack of "dance move memory", I can laugh it off, and SOMEHOW pull off the dance by Thursday night.

On Monday, we also went to Brookshires to raise money for Children's Miracle Network. Now before you go imagining a bunch of queens smiling at the front doors of a supermarket and batting our long eye lashes to get money, let me tell you what actually happened. All of the contestants were split up amongst numerous Brookshires in West Monroe and Monroe. We bagged groceries for, took pictures with, and chatted with many customers. Now, not to toot our own horn, but my local Brookshires DID win the award for raising the most money!

Now, for Tuesday. There are three very exciting events that happen this day. One - the ULM luncheon. As you ALL know, I have great pride in the University that has given me so many opportunities. Especially considering that ULM is the reason I compete in the Miss America Organization. ULM always feeds us the best possible meal, thanks to Chef Joe :)



Secondly - the Dillard's Style Show.

What beauty queen do you know that would deny wanting to be in a style show? Most likely none. When I go to the mall, I NEVER make it past Dillard's. All of the money I have to spend on shopping immediately goes into Mr. Dillard's pocket. So, I loooooove the style show. My princesses and I definitely made a splash, though. As soon as we got in line, one of us knocked over a perfume sampler table. After we all made an effort to clean it up before we got caught, one of us knocked it over again! We all laughed so hard, that it was worth knocking over the table not once, but twice.



Lastly, everyone knows that on Tuesday night the contestants go to Dr. Jarrell's home for the current Miss Louisiana's farewell party. We know ahead of time that Miss Louisiana will have many guests there, and we all knew who five of them would be. Who you ask? The Miss Louisiana judges, of course! So, we all dressed our best, and headed off to Dr. Jarrell's where we hoped to make an impression on the five people holding the next year of one of our lives in their hands.

Now, for the dreaded Wednesday. Wednesday = Interviews. Interviews are bittersweet. On the bright side, you finally get competition kicked off and let the judges get to know you. The bitter side? You have to hope and pray that they will fully get to know you and your goals. There are two interview groups on Wednesday. Also, very bittersweet. If you are the morning group, you can get your interview over with by noon, but you must get up before the break of dawn to be ready and truly awake in time. So, take the afternoon interview you say? Sounds simple except for the fact that your stomach is in total knots all morning, and everyone in your group is silent the entire morning at rehearsals. After weighing out the pros and cons, I chose morning nausea and had my interview LAST. Sorry, but no pictures of interview. The judges got a little ahead of schedule, and well, girls were running around like crazy people.

After all of the stress of interviews is over, the contestants had a red carpet event at Orange Leaf frozen yogurt! We were are all exhausted by Wednesday night, but we were more than willing to lap up some yogurt!

Now, on to Thursday - Princess party and preliminaries began.

The princess party is one of my favorite events all week! Those girls mean the world to me, and I learn more from them that I ever thought I could! Each of them is so special in her own way.  I would do anything for them, and can't wait to spend time with them again next year.

Thursday at Miss Louisiana was nothing but excitement for me. The pressure was there, but I couldn't wait to get on that stage! I competed in swimsuit and evening gown that night, and loved every minute of it!

Friday...Preliminary night 2. On Friday, I competed in talent and on stage question. This year for my talent I sang "I Will Never Pass This Way Again" by Glenn Campbell. I was very lucky because I got to work with some amazing people who helped me make this song....ME! Singing is the reason I competed in my very first pageant where I was crowned Miss ULM.

On Friday night, I was also presented with two awards. One was the Duke of Edinburgh award that many of the contestants received. We were required to go on an "adventurous journey" in order to obtain the award. Now, imagine about twenty pageant girls camping, and that was us. It was a blast getting to spend the weekend with the girls, and worth every second when each of us received a medal.

I also received an award that means more to me that any award I have ever obtained. I was Louisiana's 2012 Miracle Maker Award winner. I was able to raise $6400.00 for CMN. Many people do not believe that the Miss America Organization contestants should be required to raise money for CMN, and by that, I am amazed. Those people have obviously never seen a child suffering with cancer in person. Maybe I just have too much experience with child sickness and cancer. Let me tell you. For starters, one of my childhood friends was diagnosed with cancer when she was in the fourth grade. You can imagine how traumatizing it is for a fourth grader to find out that one of her best friends has kidney cancer. Luckily, today she is 19 and cancer free. About two months ago my uncle passed away from cancer. While I was at M. D. Anderson I saw a young child walk out of the hospital room. I immediately began to cry and told my boyfriend that the reason I want to be not only Miss Louisiana, but Miss America, is because of children like him. Imagine being ten and helpless. We should all strive to be like those children who are fighting for their lives - strong and courageous. I can't understand why contestants who are wanting to be a role model and a leader do not want to help children who can not help themselves. We should ALL remember that being Miss America is not only about the clothes, the crown, and meeting people, but it is about using all of these resources as an outlet to reach out and help others. That being said, I was privileged to have had the opportunity to have been the CMN Miracle Maker award winner.

Saturday can be described with only one word - stressful. The contestants spend all day hoping and praying to have their named called as a finalist. At about 8:15, I was called out as a semi-finalist! I strutted my stuff in a swimsuit, performed my talent, and walked as elegantly as possible in an evening gown. Then, at approximately 9:15, I was called out as a top 5 Finalist. I was privileged to be called 2nd Runner-up to the incredible woman, Lauren Vizza.

Not to sound cliche, but the girls I competed with this year are some of the most intelligent, sweetest, genuine, and confident women I know. I have learned so much from each of them, and would stand by any one of them on any given day. Thank you so much, to all of you contestants who have been such loyal friends.

Since Miss Louisiana ended, many more things have happened. I was crowned Miss Spirit of the Ouachita, and I will represent my hometown of West Monroe at the 2013 Miss Louisiana pageant. The next blog post will have all of the details up the Miss Spirit of the Ouachita pageant and my future appearances. The last few months have been busy, busy, and.......BUSY, and the next few will only be busier. Can't wait!

LOVE,

Jaden Leach

Miss Spirit of the Ouachita 2013

Many Days Later...

Well, a full two months after my first post, and here I am! 

Fashion Fusion - Steven Palowsky Photography

Sometimes people assume that being in Miss Louisiana is all about one thing - the CROWN. However, for most of us, that is not the main reason for participating. There are so many other rewarding reasons to compete than just going to Miss America. It is a steady reminder of how blessed all of us are. Over the past two blogless months I have done some very rewarding community service projects, one of which was the Cerebral Palsy telethon in Monroe with Miss Monroe, Christiana Hayward, Miss ULM, Jessica Gilbert, Miss Louisiana Port City, Tiffany Sandifer, and Miss Ouachita Parish's Outstanding Teen, Katie Lee. Plus, the ONE & ONLY...Tonya Kidd! Let me begin by saying that I had a bet going with Wayne Gentry that I could raise $1,000. He said I couldn't, but I proved him wrong by raising $1,080! I'm not sure what was more satisfying, though, the fact that I did, indeed, raise the money or getting to hear Wayne sing Thank Heaven for Little Girls! :) Either way, I got to raise money for children who will never know what it is like to run around on the playground at school with the other kids. That in itself is heartbreaking. I also had the opportunity to model in Fashion Fusion with Miss Louisiana, Hope Anderson, Miss Acadiana, Julianne Tippen, and Miss Fleur de Lis, Scarlett Britt. I wore an outfit sponsored by Herringstones along with Julianne! All of the proceeds went to the Northeast Children's Coalition! Both of these events were so much fun, and I look forward to doing both of them again next year!

Now, besides volunteering, another eventful weekend took place in March. It was....STATE MEETING! Everyone knows that state meeting is a bittersweet feeling. One half of you loves knowing that you get to turn in all of the ads, paperwork, etc. However, the other half of you knows that before you can get that warm, fuzzy, no more paperwork feeling, you must first do the paperwork! So, once all of that "fun" stuff is done, you get to enjoy a weekend catching up with all of your...family.



I must say, though, that one of my favorite parts about state meeting is the food. I don't know which was better between the baked potato soup, the chicken, the roast beef sandwich, the red potatoes, or the cheese cake. Either way, Chef Joe always knows exactly what I like. Just one more reason to love the University of Louisiana at Monroe!



 
As many of you may know, I am a political guru. My idea of a relaxing night is turning the TV onto the national news channel and listening to the multiple problems of the world that not one person can seem to figure out how to fix. However, my favorite aspect of FOX news is...the election. So, since I got to meet 2 presidential candidates in less than three days, I was on cloud 9! First, I met Newt Gingrich. I was disappointed at how I was literally pushed away after taking a picture with him. He seemed plastic and as if his smile was permanently tattooed without the ability to say anything other than, "Thanks for coming." I was disappointed to say the least. However, Friday rolled around, and I got to meet the man that actually won Louisiana, Rick Santorum. I spoke with him for a minute, and he was in no hurry to get to the next person. I was relieved. Right after meeting Rick Santorum, I was also interviewed by KNOE about how I felt about Rick Santorum coming to West Monroe. That, too, was a pretty amazing feeling.

Just because March was eventful does not mean that April, May, and June will not be. I am rounding up the troops for my CMN fundraiser, Coins for Kids, where children from all across Ouachita Parish will be contributing to Children's Miracle Network. I will also be singing the National Anthem at Relay for Life, working at the CMN - Lake Charles telethon, and speaking at local elementary schools. I can't wait!!

Where Do I Even Begin?

Let me begin by saying that I have not written a blog since the 8th grade when "Xanga" was bringing in the mega bucks! My blogs consisted of what I made on a pre-algebra test, what I ate for dinner, and what TV show I was watching while writing (most likely Spongebob.) Needless to say, blogging may not be my forte, but I sure am going to give it a go!

I am going to start off a new blog with what has happened since the new year, and what a better way to start a new year than to go to LAS VEGAS?! I got the honor of seeing Hope, along with 52 other contestants, compete for the title of Miss America! I gained so much experience just from watching. I was told my numerous people that I would come back home with a whole new outlook than what I left home with. Little did I know how correct they actually were. I have come back with a much bigger look at the BIG picture. My goal was always to win Miss Louisiana, and then work to be Miss America. However, now my goal is to win Miss America. Every day that I work out, shop for dresses, go to singing lessons, etc., I am preparing to become Miss America, not only Miss Louisiana. In Jesus name that dream will come true! Now, along from the mental mind set I got from Las Vegas, I got to spend time with some of the greatest people and....I shopped! Maybe even a little too much? Needless to say, though, after the full 6 days of walking and not sleeping, my feet and my tired eyes were ready to go home, but Continental Airlines thought it would be great to keep me from my bed for about two extra flights and six extra hours. But through it all, I had a blast and would not trade it for anything!

Now, what fun is Vegas without pictures?

Taylor Hines (Miss Taste of the Twin Cities OT 2011, Top 10 Finalist, & my childhood playmate)

& Justine Ker (Miss Louisiana's OT)

Aja Majkrzak (Miss Holiday in Dixie), Hope Anderson (Miss LA), & Carley McCord (Miss Shreveport)

Louisiana is so lucky to have Aja here this year!

Brooke Dugas and Delton Spillars

Some crazy lady that thought this was a good idea!

Gretchen Carlson

Kelsi Crain & Chaz Dean (Official hair care provider for Miss America. We didn't know this at the time.)

My little buddy Adam. Love this kid!!

Dewana Little and Darris Warren

The one and only Mrs. Lynn!

One of my two fabulous roommates, Brooke Dugas. Lindsey is nowhere to be found in my pictures :(

I have so many events lined up for the next 4 months including Mardi Gras parades and balls, State Meeting, speaking at schools, CMN fundraisers, and who could forget...Miss Louisiana! It will be here before we know it!

Love,
Jaden