What an exciting weekend, some friends and I drove to Altoona PA to cheer on our friend Susan at the Mrs. Pennsylvania International pageant. How impressed I was at the entire production, what a great pageant and the winners selected truly did shine that night. Congratulations Susan, we are so proud of you, I am looking forward to going to the Mrs. international competition with you, it will be an exciting week with you and the new friends I will meet.
Today I visited The Lighthouse community center in North Philadelphia, this was a productive visit and an encouraging visit. I had to really utilize my speaking skills with the children today, we could not get the VCR to cooperate for my "Wiggly Tooth" video so my entire presentation was speaking, hands on brushing and a lot of Q & A. It was a learning experience for all. One of the things that I tell the Philadelphia children during my introduction is. . . why Mrs. New Jersey is in their Philadelphia neighborhood speaking to them about their teeth. I am there because I have a desire to make all children healthier and I especially do not want to forget where I have grown up, I was born in Darby, PA a small town right on the out skirts of Southwest Philadelphia(2 blocks away.) I hope it is encouraging for them to see the person I have become and the person they all can be. I remember my first presentation, I was a bit nervous and I had difficulty keeping their attention. I can honestly say that I have come a long way, I feel completely comfortable speaking to the children & teachers regardless of the size and conditions!! I have a lot of respect for teachers and all those working to improve the lives of our children. A special thanks to Fidel for your help today, you tried to get that VCR working for me!! Maybe I can come back in when I get my VHS tape converted to DVD!!
Today was my 1st day of a series of presentations at Cold Springs.This is actually my 2nd year back at Cold Springs Elementary, I gave my presentation to the children in this school last year, how nice it was for me to return as Mrs. New Jersey this year, hopefully I will be returning next school year as Mrs. International! Regardless, I will be returning there next year, the children really enjoyed the presentation, I received great feedback from some parents and the teachers have been wonderful to me. Last year my presentations helped win this school a grant for "building healthier communities," they received $2000 for participating in classroom activity to improve the health of their children, which they used for a field trip. I am honored to know that my presentations are helping these children in more ways than one!
I am very excited to welcome my new associate to the Educating for a Healthy Smile program. His name is "Little Bill", named by a student today. I traveled up to Doc Bresler's office today to pick up more toothbrushes and he presented me with this stuffed donkey puppet to help give toothbrushing instructions with. Thanks Doc, I will take good care of him, the children had so much fun with him today.
What an amazing trip to Alabama, visiting Clay Spann Face and The Competitive Image. Clay, Joey and Terry were an absolute pleasure to work with, not only because of their talents but because of their personalities!!!! I love what they are doing for the pageant industry, they really make a difference. The Mrs. International organization, Clay Spann Face and The Competetive Image sure do make a great team, what a great combination supporting the contestants and the winners. My friend Mary and I had a nice ladies weekend together and we have lasting memories of the weekend whenever we look at our photos.
National Children's Dental Health month is over, I am still having fun every week visiting schools throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I helped one little girl find a dental home today, she has not yet been to a dentist for a check-up or cleaning, I gave her parents some critical information and re assured her that her first visit to the dentist is nothing that she needs to worry about. Each week I educate over 100 children, if I can walk away knowing that I have helped improve the oral health of 1 child I have accomplished something. I hope it would be more than 1 child, but I am happy with just that.
I am a Dental Hygienist with a fabulous career in a cosmetic practice. I work 3 days a week so I dedicate myself to my communities on my day off. I am very passionate and dedicated in everything I do. My husband Jim makes me proud every day serving our country as a leader in the USAF. Jim and I are both Ambassadors with the Travis Manion Foundation and I am a volunteer in the dental community and a director with the Purses Full of Hope Charity. In May 2107 I will compete for Mrs. New Jersey United States . I hope to bring home the title and take my community service on a national journey. As far as my blog title goes, it was inspired by one of my favorite books Grit. One of the best compliments I ever received was when the Author Angela Duckworth told me to stay gritty. It is truly grit that got Jim and I where we are today.
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