New York, New York, Guess Who’s Back?!

Unfortunately one is never fully in control of where life will take them, and in my instance, life, or rather my job, has taken me back to New York City to work for the fabulous firm, McKee Nelson LLP, in their capital markets division. While I will miss DC, don’t worry… your Miss DC USA will be back every other weekend keeping up with appearances and community service activities all the way up until I pass the crown on to the new titleholder in December!

In fact, I returned to DC this weekend to serve as a guest presenter for the Military Hospitality Alliance’s 5^th Annual Culinary Competition where chefs from the various branches or armed forces whipped up delectable courses and competed for the coveted Culinary Competition gold medals! Although the weather wasn’t the best, rain didn’t stop the military servicemen and women from coming out in large numbers to take part in the event. Ivana Grace, Miss Teen DC USA, and I had the honor of announcing the winners, awarding them their prizes and medals, and taking photographs with them. Sadly, we didn’t get to taste any of the creations, but we did volunteer as taste-testers for next year’s event!

After the Culinary Competition, I changed clothes and headed to my second appearance of the evening… the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. Annual Awards Gala. The event was definitely a sight to see! It was held at the Washington DC Convention Center and I was photographed and interviewed on the red carpet by a variety of media outlets before the event began. The awards dinner and gala honored such notables as actress and humanitarian Kerry Washington for her work as a community activist and Illinois Senator and Presidential nominee Barack Obama, who brought the room to tears when he spoke after accepting his award. The convention center held so much history on Saturday evening, and as a former political science major, I was honored to be invited!

Miss DC USA 2008 Sings the National Anthem!

So by now, it is no surprise that I am a huge fan of the Washington Nationals, especially after my fun-filled adventure with the Nats for the Night of Stars Woman of the Year Dating Auction I participated in back in May to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Washington, DC. I met some of the players “off” the field and really enjoyed hanging out, so I became a convert! Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to attend several games, and I even picked up the sport of baseball as my bar exam stress reliever.

Since singing is one of my great loves, I decided to combine the two—I got to sing the Star Spangled Banner for the Nats game last week! First, when you inquire about singing, you have to send in a CD or DVD (no one wants a butchered National Anthem!) and once reviewed, they Entertainment committee schedules you for a game. I was scheduled to perform on September 23^rd at the game against the Florida Marlins.

When you arrive at the stadium, they conduct a sound check a few hours before the game, and then they give you field passes and show you to your own personal “Green Room”, which is a lounge area for you and your VIP guests. My girls, Bre and Erin accompanied me, and my teen, Ivana Grace (Miss DC Teen USA ’08) came out as well. Ladies, I must say the view from the field is pretty nice. 

The experience was AMAZING and Nationals Park was by far the largest crowd I’ve ever sang in front of… not to mention the game is broadcast on television as well! But, I absolutely enjoyed myself, sang to the best of my ability, then signed autographs and took pictures afterwards with Nats fans (and now recent Miss DC USA/ Miss DC Teen USA fans!). The night ended on a grand note as the Nats whooped the Marlins 9-4!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game... and the Rest of My Vacation

So, since I returned from Teen USA 2008, I've spent most of my time traveling in between appearances, and one of my favorite stops has been the new Washington Nationals stadium, where I've attended just about every home game the last few weeks cheering on the guys that work so hard to represent DC oh so well. I even had the opportunity to take my mentee, Erica, a sweet girl that I met during one of my elementary school appearances, to her first professional baseball game where she got to meet some of my favorite ushers at the games-- Mr. Pete, Ms. Louise, Ms. Susan, Mr. Lewis and of course my new adopted "dad", Mr. Cecil. Erica and I both had a ball, and for Erica literally... she got her pink Nationals baseball signed by some of the players downstairs in the Nationals Clubhouse after the game! A few days later, I was invited to the National Council of Negro Women's National Black Family Reunion held on the National Mall on September 7th. I was invited by the U.S. Department of Education to read to little children and share the importance of literacy. Also, participating in the fun was my dear friend and former Miss DC Teen USA 2007, Jasmine Alexis. The event featured several tents and exhibitions, as well as performers, and vendors. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we even had the honor of meeting Dr. Dorothy Height (a Spelman alumna and implemental woman in Washington, DC) under the V.I.P. tent.

Then after the Reunion, I went over to the J.W. Marriott Hotel to meet the young ladies interested in becoming the next Miss District of Columbia USA. The interest meeting went very well, and I was able to answer most of the ladies' questions. It felt really good to be on the other side of the table, sharing my experiences and encouraging these ladies, because it served as a reminder that hard work does pay off. Although the pageant is rapidly approaching, I still have a couple more months to serve as Miss DC USA and I want to make sure that DC benefits from all that I can offer it.

If you are interested in participating in the 2009 Miss District of Columbia USA/ Miss District of Columbia Teen USA Pageant, we are still accepting contestants. Please send an email to missdcusa@gmail.com to receive the application and contestant contract.