I am finding it very hard to believe that time is flying by so quickly and that my year as Miss Florida is coming to an end in a couple short months. :( However, I am so excited to meet the amazing young women of our state who have the opportunity compete for the honor of becoming Miss Florida. I am anxious to meet all of them in May, but for those I have met along the preliminary pageant road this year, it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know them and I can't wait to see the personal growth each contestant experiences with their local titles and at the state pageant. It is going to be one incredible show. Remember to save the date....
2011 Miss Florida and Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen Pageant- July 5- 9th - Mahaffey Theater- St.Petersburg, Florida :)
Also- for more pictures and status updates- remember to follow me on Facebook: Jaclyn Raulerson-Miss Florida
Speaking of preliminary pageants... My next appearance took me to St.Petersburg for the Miss Largo/St.Petersburg/Pinellas County Pageant at the Palladium Theater! It was such a crazy feeling to think that it has been over a year since I won the title of Miss Largo in the very same theater. I can't even imagine how it will feel in July when I crown the new Miss Florida. I have been a part of the Miss Largo Pageant family since 2006, when I was crowned Miss Largo Outstanding Teen and then as Miss Largo 2010. I can't thank Lynn and the board enough for all they have done for me. There is too much to even begin to say, but I do have to give them an extra special thank you from the bottom of my heart for making the trip out to Las Vegas for Miss America this year. To have you all there meant the absolute world to me, because you all have truly been there from the beginning :) Thank you again, SO MUCH! I also had a great time catching up with my sister queens, Brittany Wardell and Cassie Mitchell. They are both some of the most ambitious and caring young women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and both did a phenomenal job at Miss Florida and representing St.Petersburg and Pinellas County throughout the year. Congratulations to the new Miss Largo- Kate Judge, Miss St.Petersburg- Laura McKeeman, Miss Pinellas County- Stephanie Ziajka, Miss St.Petersburg's Outstanding Teen- Haley Muley, Miss Pinellas County's Outstanding Teen- Julann Baker, Miss Largo's Outstanding Teen- Savannah Gribbins, and Miss West Coast Outstanding Teen- Monique Griffin! All the contestants did a fabulous job, as did our wonderful emcees- David Lang and Robyn Martin!
Miss Largo 2011 and 2010!Next, was National Pancake Day at IHOP benefiting the Children's Miracle Network! My day began with a segment on Studio 10! It was my second time appearing on the show as Miss Florida and it is always such a fun atmosphere. This time, I was flipping pancakes on-air, no pressure! Luckily, I was successful in flipping each one neatly, all while promoting CMN, IHOP, All Children's Hospital and The Miss America Organization. Afterwards, I visited seven different IHOP locations in the St.Petersburg area! Although it was a long day, it went by very quickly. Maybe it was all of those pancakes that gave me so much energy? ;) Thank you to Crissy McWilliams for accompanying me during the day, I always have such a blast with you! :)
My next highlight, is very special to me. I was asked by Pop Art Diva and fellow Plant City native- Jules Burt to film a PSA at the University of Tampa for her High Heel Hike to benefit children and families with Autism. It is a message that I hold very close to my heart as I have two family members,who both struggle with different types of Autism. Thank you, Jules, for allowing me to be a part of such an important campaign. You are fabulous!
The next day, I attended the Miss Tampa Pageant held at the beautiful Straz Center. Bob Clark and the Miss Tampa Board always do a fantastic job of putting together a top notch production and it was wonderful returning and seeing another phenomenal show. I was so happy to see my entire board there as well! It is not often that we are all in the same place at once, but it is so much fun when we are! Thank you to the Miss Tampa Organization and Miss Tampa 2010, Allison Martin for recognizing myself and the Miss Florida Board of Directors during the show, we appreciate all that you do! Congratulations to Chloe Lupo, Miss Tampa 2011!!! :)
Next, I was honored to serve as Grand Marshal in the 2011 Florida Strawberry Festival Grand Parade. Being a citizen of Plant City my entire life, I have grown up around the Strawberry Festival and very rarely have missed the Grand Parade. It was an exciting day beginning with the Parade Luncheon where I saw so many wonderful friends and updated them on my year and of course, my fabulous Miss America experience! The parade had a great crowd with lots of excitement throughout the route and we were so lucky to have perfect weather as well. Thank you to the Parade Committee for this honor, it was amazing!
With Rep.Rich Glorioso and Sheriff of Hillsborough County, David Gee before lining up!I then returned to St.Petersburg to attend the Sungoddess Coronation held at the beautiful Vinoy! The scholarship based program has been a tradition in St.Petersburg since 1955 and created by the Suncoasters organization to honor young women of Pinellas County who have excelled in community service and academic achievement. Congratulations to Ms.Kristen Teresi for being selected as the 2011 Sungoddess and to Christine Foster for being named first runner up! Each member of the court should be very proud of what they have accomplished in the community, they are truly wonderful role models.
After the coronation with Council Member NewtonThe next morning, I was anxious to open the St.Petersburg Crawfish Festival with our National Anthem and spend time with Laura McKeeman, Miss St.Petersburg and Julann Baker, Miss Pinellas County's Outstanding Teen. We had a wonderful time learning how to do the "Cajun Waltz" and greeting the public who attended the event. I even tried some crawfish, and I have to say, it was very good! Thank you to Robert Danielson for accompanying us throughout the day!
The next evening, I was in Miami for the Miss Miami/ Miss Suncoast Pageant at the Miami Hilton! I was reunited with Miss Miami Jaife Calil, who I had not seen since Miss Florida! It was so wonderful to see her...Jaife was my roommate at Miss Florida in 2009 and it was very special for me to be in the top five with her at Miss Florida 2010. Miss St.Petersburg, Laura McKeeman was also in attendance giving up her Miss Suncoast title. It was fun to see her twice that weekend, in two different parts of the state! Congratulations to Kourtney Gallego- Miss Suncoast 2011 and Nicole Vega- Miss Miami 2011! Thank you to Roberta and Danielle Mortimer for having me attend, you both are awesome! :)
Me and Jaife!Next, I returned to West Palm Beach for the thirteenth annual Old Bags Luncheon hosted by The Center for Family Services whose mission is to strengthen families through counseling, education and homeless intervention to at-risk families and children in Palm Beach County. While I was there, I ran into Miss Florida Sweetheart, Diana Kelly! I was so surprised and thrilled to see her! She is having much success with her shoe line, Diana E. Kelly! Make sure to check out her line, it is fabulous! The guest speaker for the afternoon was Leigh Ann Tuohy, adoptive mother of Michael Oher whose inspiring story was created into the 2009 film "The Blind Side". Mrs. Tuohy was extremely motivating and carried such an inspiring and vital message...we should never doubt the abilities of any individual and always continue to give of ourselves. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her words of wisdom and experiences filming "The Blind Side". Once I receive my photo with her, I will make sure to post it. After the luncheon, I had the opportunity to speak with her for a bit and we had a great time talking about the day and Sherri Hill fashion! :) Thank you to Wendy Roberts for accompanying me :)
With Diana! :) 
Thank you, Wendy! I returned to St.Petersburg for the Festival of States Illuminated Night Parade! I was joined by Miss St.Petersburg, Laura McKeeman, Miss Pinellas County's Outstanding Teen- Julann Baker, Miss Largo's Outstanding Teen- Savannah Gribbins and Miss St.Petersburg's Outstanding Teen- Haley Muley. You can tell from the photo below that I was very excited to reunite with my Cinderella carriage! :) I completely felt like a princess! Thank you to Robert Danielson for arranging the evening for us, you are wonderful! Thank you also to Bill and Kim Doniel for attending with me :)
The next morning, I was a fashion segment host/model for designers Dara Lauria, NV by Nevada V, and Bunny Couture on NBC's "Daytime". I am always very thankful for opportunities such as this, because my ambition has always been to have a career in broadcast journalism. A very special thank you to the all of the designers and the wonderful people at WFLA- News Channel 8 Tampa for being so welcoming to myself as well as the other models. While in the green room, I bumped into Mario Lopez of EXTRA, as he was filming a segment for "Daytime" as well. It was fun to talk about the Miss America experience (he was the host when we were televised on TLC) and the "Spring Bling" fashion show that we were both attending that evening. Then, it was time for me to rush back to Plant City to get ready for the show!
On set with Dyana, one of the fabulous models- wearing NV by Nevada VThat evening was the "Spring Bling" Fashion Show benefiting The Children's Home. I had a blast modeling and, coincidentally running into quite a few of my good friends! Thank you to Bunny and Dara for allowing me to be a part of the show and also to Lisa McGrath for attending with me!
At the show with Mario Lopez
With one of the designers, Dara Lauria. I am wearing her clothing and jewelry pieces in this photo!Next, I attended the Honda Grand Prix in St.Petersburg! I was joined by Miss St.Petersburg, Laura McKeeman as we participated in the official parade lap. The race drew thousands of people and it was an honor to be there representing the Miss Florida Organization in our host city. To be surrounded by such a crowd filled with excitement and being on the actual track was definitely an adrenaline rush! I secretly wanted to race one of the cars myself....but there were a couple of issues with that ;) After the lap, we visited with many of the fans and our friends with the City of St.Petersburg while we all watched the drivers in action! :) More photos from this event to come!
During the parade lap! :)As soon as I left the Grand Prix, I hopped on a flight to Washington, D.C. to join the members of the Miss District of Colombia Organization and my Miss America sisters for a couple fun filled days in our nation's capital! I arrived on Sunday evening, in enough time to unpack my things and get a good night's rest. The next morning my roomie, Miss Louisiana, Kelsi Crain, arrived and we both got ready to meet with our scheduled organizations. I was thrilled to return to the SPAN USA offices to discuss Florida in specifics, developments in bullying research and legislation affecting the organization. My first visit was in December before Miss America and they were so unbelievably helpful in providing information and insight. It was a pleasure meeting with their amazing organization once again. Thank you to Trevor Summerfield for arranging another meeting, I appreciate it so much!
After leaving the SPAN USA offices, I returned back to the hotel to have lunch with Kelsi and then joining Melaina, Miss Colorado and Stephanie, Miss DC, for some quick shopping in Georgetown before our evening event!
Later, we all gathered at the Croatian Embassy to honor Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011 and all of her incredible achievements. She looked so beautiful that night and I was thrilled to be able to see her again and talk about all of her travels! Teresa is Croatian and the wonderful individuals at the embassy made a lovely presentation honoring her as well as the other state titleholders in attendance.
There she is.... Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan! :)
Blondes in blue! Delaware, Oklahoma, Florida, Washington and Arizona!
I missed my Melaina and Steph!While in D.C., I was very fortunate to book a meeting with Florida Senator, Marco Rubio! I was so incredibly excited to meet him and dicuss my reign as Miss Florida and what I have and am still looking forward to accomplishing this year. He and his staff were beyond kind and welcoming, it is always nice to have the Florida bond! :) Thank you Sen.Rubio for taking the time to meet with me!
I reunited with my Miss America sisters for a private tour of the Capitol! We were even shown Speaker John Boehner's office! We were not allowed to bring our cameras into most of the areas we were shown, so I only have a few to share from our tour! What an incredible feeling it was, walking through such an important landmark to our nation. I got goosebumps walking into each part of the building, it was all so facinating and I didn't want to leave!
Texas, Colorado, Florida, and DC, taking the underground tram to the different buildings of our respective senators.After the tour, we were treated to a luncheon inside the Capitol hosted by Sen. Strauss. I can honestly say, I had the most amazing cornbread I have ever tasted in my entire life that afternoon. I probably had about four pieces...not to mention, soup, chips and a massive club sandwich. Hey, it was a busy day and I needed fuel ;) At lunch we had great discussions about each of our meetings with our senators and how exciting it was to be treated to such a fantastic day. Before we knew it, it was time to leave for our next stop.
We then hopped on our bus to the Newseum! It is a 250,000 square foot museum of news providing history with up to date technology as well as hands on exhibits. Each of us took a photo with our hometown newspapers. I took mine with The Tampa Tribune!
Next, we quickly rushed to change inside the Newseum (so we were able to see a tad bit of it) for our cherry blossom photo shoot in front of the Jefferson Memorial. It was in the forties that day, but that didn't stop us from shooting in bright pink sundresses! All for the perfect photo, which turned out beautifully! :)
Oklahoma, New York, DC, Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, California and Oregon. I love them!
DC, Florida, Colorado!Our last stop was the Miss DC Fundraiser held at the Capitol Hill Club arranged by the wonderful, Lisa Spies! Teresa was in attendance this evening as well, we were all delighted to see her again and hear about her travels as she had been on quite the whirlwind throughout DC also. As always, it is wonderful to meet people from other parts of the country and discuss our experiences as a titleholder, volunteer, etc. within the Miss America Organization. It truly continues to change the lives of young women every day and the countless amounts of opportunities that any young woman can take hold of as a result of being a titleholder within the organization speaks volumes of its prestiege. Thank you to Teri Galvez, The Miss DC Board and volunteers, Stephanie Williams Miss District of Colombia 2010, and the other wonderful young women who joined me in making this a phenomenal reunion. I know that there are many more to come. I love and miss you all so much already!
With Melaina at the Capitol Hill Club- Miss DC fundraiser! Watch for more entries soon! :)
I am so grateful and blessed to be your Miss Florida 2010,
Jaclyn
