Well...it's a week later...but I am going to relive my experience of Miss TN USA 2012. I made friend that are unbelievably amazing, and has an absolute blast!! I got there Wednesday night after a NINE HOUR DRIVE. [Clarksville is only 4 hours away from Sweetwater so don't ask me how my mom managed to drag it on THAT long!] Well, probably because I had to stop and get a spray tan...and then stop and buy luggage..oh, and a new purse :)... and then had to stop and get ANOTHER spray tan after realizing the first woman used NO BRONZER!! No bronzer = no tan. ugh. But anyways...after a verrrrry long trip to Clarksville, we made it safely and I walked into the hotel at 3 am to see a huge welcome sign in the lobby.
I go to my room and of course can't sleep...because I have registration at 8 am the next morning. So, on about 2 hours of sleep, I show up at registration and we have orientation and then we are escourted to our bus!! The amount of security at the hotel was INSANE! We were escourted everywhere by security guards and it almost makes you feel like a celebrity! So, all the contestants show up at the Austin Peay State University for the 1st day of rehearsals! ALLLLL day long in 5 inch heels...for some reason was still soo much fun. Kent Parham was in charge of course...so there was no way rehearsals wouldn't be fun. At this point, I still couldn't figure out who on earth my roommate was!! So we had lunch and headed back to the hotel for some downtime before the Mayor's Dinner which would be taking place that night.
So, I FINALLY met my roommate...Kayla Stanfill, Miss Valley View. She was AWEEESOME of course. We are so much alike that it was almost ridiculous! We got ready for Mayor's Dinner that night and went and met the rest of the girls..along with the teen contestants. Dale Smith Thomas was the speaker at the dinner and...I don't think Greenwood Productions could possibly have done any better choosing someone. She was soo motivational and funny and really calmed our nerves.
The next morning...more rehearsals because prelims were that night!! So we worked out all the kinks for the show and got everything ready... and prelim time was there before we knew it. Here are some pictures from my preliminary competition...
I didn't do the best in preliminaries....but it was a lot of fun and I had a great time.
The next morning was interviews!! They went by super fast and the day of course flew by again and it was time for the final show...I was sad to hear that I hadn't made the Top 15...but there were 15 beautiful ladies on stage left to fight for the crown!! I got to watch the remainder of the competition from a TV in the dressing room and cheer for the girls! It came time for awards and Jessica Hibler, Miss Midtown was crowned Miss Tennessee USA 2012.
Lucky me, I didn't exactly leave empty handed. I did win Most Photogenic, thanks to Kristy Belcher for the amazing headshots and Joel Green for the awesome hair and makeup.
So without a doubt I will DEFINITELY be going back next year. I had the time of my life!! Greenwood Productions really knows how to make every girl there feel like a princess! xx -- Ashley
