Arizona International Pageants

 Q.  How do I prepare to compete in a pageant?  A.  Success is in the planning!  Mark the date on your calendar and work backwards.  Most pageants require a professional photograph, fitness wear or a swim suit, an interview outfit, and an evening gown. A hair stylist, makeup artist and pageant coach are helpful too!  Next, set a budget.  Challenge yourself to get sponsorships from family, friends or even local business to help with your costs. Be creative and find fun ways to raise money.  Make a list of things you want to improve or change and get it done! Determine why you what to compete and what will keep you motivated when the going gets tough. Imagine yourself as the winner and plan your year as the new title holder.  Practice being a queen and make it a habit to look your best smile, meet new people, keep up with current events, mind your manners, and, by all means be prudent, with social media. Prepare yourself m...

Preparing for the crown: After entering my first pageant at the age of 37 with no experience, no preparation and no understanding of what it takes to win a title, you can imagine the shock and surprise when I placed fourth runner up. I had so much fun and met so many amazing women I knew in that moment I wanted to do it again.  The experience taught me so much about myself. It opened my eyes to things that I never knew I was capable of or ever gave myself credit for.  It was then that I knew I wanted to take this more seriously to achieve a goal of not just winning but finally finding that avenue with which I could share a message - my message. That in our country and around the world we had an epidemic of preterm birth and birth defects. It was now possible to share my story and bring more awareness to something that meant so much to me. I’ll share this story but at a later time. So how did I prepare? Well, the first step for me was the hardest one. It was finding the ...