And the Fun Continues

7:58 PM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

This weekend has been filled with fun! Friday started off with John Pribanic's 100th Birthday at South State Assisted Living in Dover. I sang a few Patsy Cline songs and mingled with the folks that lived there. It was wonderful to see someone at his age still up and moving as much as he does. The past two years he has been their "poster child" for the Heart Walk.

After that my mother and I drove to the beautiful state of Vermont where I watched the Miss Vermont Outstanding Teen Pageant and the Miss Vermont pageant that Saturday. Marci McNair, Mrs. Delaware United States was a gracious hostess and I am so glad that she invited us along. I was able to be there when Laura Hall, Miss Vermont 2009 was crowned and I must say she is an absolute sweetheart! It was nice to finally sit in the crowd for a change.

Sunday was a long drive home filled with beautiful mountains and awful traffic. After the 12 hour car ride, I went to bed to wake up Monday morning to meet with Trainer Dan and play some pick up soccer.

Later Monday afternoon, a photographer with the News Journal stopped by my house to take pictures of me cooking spaghetti. On Saturday there should be an article about me in the paper and I am eager to see what picture they put in with it! Cooking is not my strong point but I have to learn somehow.

Tuesday consisted of meeting Susan and Linda to go with my mother and I to New York City for my official photo shoot! I am so excited to look through all of them and pick the ones I send to Miss America. Barry is a great photographer and his make up artist is the best I have ever had by far! Barry has taken photos of people ranging from Michael Jackson to Paul McCartney and his make up artist used to work for CNN, NBC, and several other news channels. It was a dream come true...I have always wanted to have head shots taken by a New York photographer and I am very pleased with how it went. We then made a quick visit to Soho so that I could say I went shopping there and we stopped in a cafe to eat dinner which took up most of our spare time before the train home. We left Dover at 8am and arrived home later that night at 9:30pm. It was a long day but well worth it!

Today I had a radio interview with WILM Radio 1450AM. It was a lot of fun and the first radio interview I have ever had! The interview was about 15 minutes long and will be aired on Saturday at 6am and Sunday at 8am. We talked about everything from Miss America to my platform to my emotions before I was crowned. You can always listen live to their station on their website if you are in an area that does not receive their program.

Tomorrow I have a parade for the 4th of July in Bethany Beach and then one on Saturday in Dover as well. It would be great to see some familiar faces if anyone wants to come out!! Have an awesome holiday weekend and stay safe everyone!

Friday Night Preliminary Winners - Congrats!

8:46 PM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

Talent: Heather Lehman (Left)
Evening Gown: Kayla Martell (Center Left)
Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit: Carly Economos (Center Right)
State Community Service Award:Kayla Martell (Center Left)
C. McKown Entreprenerial Award: Jenna Brindley (Right)

Thursday Prelim Winners - Congrats!

7:42 PM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

Talent: Carly Economos (Left)
Evening Wear: Carly Economos (Left)
Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit: Lauren Gagliardino (Right)
CMN Award: Shalia Gilis (Center)

12:06 PM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

Okay, somebody's been playing with my blog..where did all the purple, pink, pictures, and videos go??! I'm not a has-been yet!..sheesh hehe :)

Also, I am going to continue blogging at: www.ggiaccone.blogspot.com after my year as Miss Delaware has concluded...so you can keep following me if you'd like!!


Well this post dates back to May 16..the night of Allison's wedding..and WHAT a production it was! Let me first share with you the events of my morning that day. Background information: I had been having trouble with hives all week and couldn't figure out what I was allergic to. Well, when I woke up on Saturday morning, my eyes were so swollen that I could only open them half way! and they were as red as can be! It was awful! I took benadryl, washed my face, put cool cloths on my eyes, cucumbers..you name it! Those puppies were not getting any smaller! Eventually, the benadryl did kick in and I look fairly normal, however, it still looked like I was wearing pink/red eyeshadow..which I was not. Well I explained the fiasco to my date, Chris, so that he wasn't afraid of me when he saw me that afternoon. We headed on down to Georgetown for me to perform in the actual ceremony. The wedding went well. It was beautiful! but I'm still not sure how they fit the entire wedding party up at the front! There were a LOT of bridesmaids and groomsmen! Then Chris and I, in sheer exhaustion from him working the night before and the effects of my benadryl, made an emergency stop at Rite Aid to get red bulls haha! With some caffeine in our system, we were ready to tackle the reception which was by far, the most outrageous reception I have ever seen. Flat panel TVs, floating candles on the lake, floating candles in the air, lights galore, a sparkly runway throughout the whole property, bars everywhere, martini bar, coffee bar, cigar bar, live music, dance floor, trendy furniture, excellent food, FIREWORKS..YES..FIREWORKS! Not backyard fireworks either..this was like the 4th of July! They should have charged their neighbors for the entertainment! I also have to add the Melanie, our newest addition to the Miss DE Board, practically forced me to go up to the "single ladies" bouquet toss. She pushed me up there, tried to make me go up front but I insisted that I would stay in the back. Well well..wouldn't you know..that dang bouquet came flying RIGHT at me! I couldn't have avoided it! I'll get you back for that Melanie!..sleep with one eye open.



The very next day, I had another allergic reaction..swollen, itchy, red eyes, and hives. Ugh. I missed a Bingo Night for the Miss Diamond State!! Fortunately, that was the last day.

The next week welcomed me with Right Decisions Right Now presentations at Frankford Elementary School.


I have been working on gathering pictures and video clips for my farewell video, so on Tuesday, Kimberly met with me to work on some things. It's coming along nicely, and I am SO fortunate to have her helping me!!

We finallllllly had our Miss Delaware Golf Tournament on Wednesday, May 20. I even got to play 18holes! My team actually used my ball three times..not to shabby, eh? I'm thinking about getting some clubs of my own..in my free time, of course. The whole tournament went very well! Thank you to everyone who helped, participated, sponsored, or donated to the event!!!!



The next day brought more RDRN presentations. I love doing those. I will certainly miss them!


Friday night was my Gala! It was BEAUTIFUL!! Everything was black and white to resemble pianos :) There were even chair covers..how fancy, right! The food was great..even a sit-down dinner which nobody knew about! What a pleasant surprise!! It was a great way to end the year with friends and family. My dad's speech sure was a hit too! My mom made this heartfelt speech thanking everyone for such a spectacular year and my dad steps up to the podium, takes a deep breath like he's going to say something meaningful...and says... "ditto." The whole room burst into laughter! It was hilarious!


The next day I was at the Rita's in Stanton. They were holding a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand which raises awareness for Childhood Cancer. I had a great time chatting with customers and getting to know the owners and their families!..especially little Gabriella!!

The next Tuesday, I had more RDRN presentations at Mrs. Kemmerlin's school in Milford! The kids were great!!



Well this past weekend was Race Weekend in Dover, so on Friday, I was at the Nascar/Celebrity Billiard Tournament. I spent the evening with a few of the drivers, Clinton, Carl, and Kasey, and also with Herschel Walker..who just happened to be on the America's Junior Miss board when I was Delaware's Junior Miss a couple years ago. Small world! He was my bodyguard for the evening..how convenient!! Carl won the tournament and obeyed the cheering crowd which led to a back flip off of the pool table! After the tourney, we all went up to Michelle's to have a nice dinner with everyone. I bumped into a few family faces, met one of the truck series drivers, and even met some reporters that I ran into again later that weekend. I finished off the evening hanging out with a few of the drivers' pilots! What a night!




On Saturday, I had a performance at the Georgia House in Milford for an anniversary party. I met allllll of Melanie's family and had a blast!

Sunday brought the last day of the races. I went to Dover Downs and was escorted around in a golf cart, got my Hot Pass for the pits and got right into the pit after that! I met LOTS of people, took lots of pictures, was interviewed, and even played a game on the BIG screen. It was a numerology game with the Driver's and their car numbers. With the help of the audience..I got all of them right! By the time I made it over to the garage though, the drivers had already left to have the introductions..bummer! I got to see some of their friends that I had met the night before though!..and even met some pit crews..not a bad morning! I stayed in the pit for a while when the race started, but was then escorted to Dover Downs to meet with the GM. From there, we went to many of the sky boxes for the rest of the race! I had SUCH a fun day. A golf cart took my to my car about an hour after Jimmie won the race, and then I sat in the parking lot chatting with out-of-towners until the traffic died down.



On Wednesday, I gave the commencement speech at Dover High School. It was a huge honor to be back at my old school to speak to the most recent graduates and their families. I had recovered slightly from my case of laryngitis, but unfortunately, I still did not sound like myself. I made it through the speech though!


The following night we had the "Miss Delaware on the Green" performances. Because it was raining, it was moved to an indoor facility, and all of the Miss Delaware contestants (and me!) performed for the audience. We had a great time!



I had my very last Right Decisions Right Now presentation on Friday at North Georgetown Elementary school. The assembly went very well.


On Saturday, I was at the Walk for Infants event in Rehoboth, and then was off to the Spring Bash with the Governor in Milton.


We had my sisters Bridal Shower on Sunday which was a lot of fun!! Then I headed down to Georgetown to put the final touches on my Farewell Video for Miss Delaware with Kimberly.

Monday morning came ohhhh too soon...it was the start of Miss Delaware week..the start of the DATs..and the beginning of the end of my year as Miss Delaware. I also had my last school appearance that afternoon, then went up to Newark to have my first Kaplan DAT course. I'm a little overwhelmed with this whole DAT, Miss Delaware week, the end of my reign, and I'm still not completely over this laryngitis. It willllll get better :)

I'll update tomorrow, now that the internet connection in my hotel room is fixed. Three days left...