Final Page in Chapter One

7:07 AM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

This is my final posting as Miss Delaware 2009. Thank you so much to everyone that has supported me throughout the year. I have been incredibly blessed.

Thursday night Prelims were wonderful!!! The show is phenomenal this year! Great job Kenney and Aimee! All of the girls looked beautiful up on stage.
A HUGE congrats goes to:
Chelsea Betts - Prelim Talent
Kayla Martell - Prelim Evening Gown
Nicole Bosso - Prelim Swimsuit

Friday night Prelims stepped it up one more notch! I can't wait to see how tonight turns out. Every moment I spend with these young ladies I am more and more impressed. The show rocked!
Another HUGE congrats goes out to:
Miriah Hearn - Prelim Talent
Nicole Bosso - Prelim Evening Gown
Kayla Martell - Prelim Swimsuit

Someone's life is going to change forever tonight, and I cannot wait to be a part of it! Everyone has stepped up to the plate and has done a fantastic job.

I have to take a moment to thank my Miss Delaware Board for being so amazing this week as well. As I am sure many state titleholders can relate, when you are getting ready to give up your crown you sit and wonder, "What is going to happen to me now?" or you think, "Is anyone going to remember me?" Well, my board has certainly eased any worries in my mind. They have been incredibly supportive this whole week. On Thursday night, after prelims and visitation, the board presented me with a gift to show their gratitude for my year of service....my very first IPOD! In my favorite color of green!!! I have never had one before, and I was simply beside myself when I opened the gift. Now, I thought that was above and beyond necessary, but if they didn't get through to me on Thursday, they were going to on Friday. Yesterday, after prelims and visitation, the board presented me with another gift to show that I have been a tremendous blessing and that they are going to miss the year we have had together. I modeled in a fashion show for White House Black Market (one of my FAVORITE stores) about a month ago. I loved the two dress I modeled! I didn't buy them right away though, and when I finally called a couple times to work things out to buy them I would never get a response back. I eventually gave up on trying and never had time to go to the store to pick them up. Little to my knowledge, my boyfriend, the board, and my friend Katelyn that works there were all conspiring against me. Go figure why she never returned my messages...the board had already bought both dresses and the jewelry to match!! I cannot thank all of you enough for the gifts. I will end my year knowing that I am loved.

It has been an emotional week, but I know that any of these girls deserves to experience the year that I have gone through. It is an amazing journey towards a rewarding future. Good Luck to all of the contestants!

I especially want to thank my family for being so outstanding this year and making sure that it is a year I will always remember. I love you guys!!

Till next time...

Your Miss Delaware 2009,

Heather Renee Lehman

Miss Delaware 2010 Pageant Week

6:14 AM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

It has been off to a great start!

Monday was move in day for all of us. We brought all of our belongings to Dover Downs to spend a week there preparing for Miss Delaware. The day seemed to really fly by since we had our golf tournament taking up most of the day. Of course, I had to start summer session classes that same day at UD, so I moved in, went to class in Newark, then came down for the tournament. Towards the end of the tournament, the girls went back for rehearsals and I stayed for the dinner and auction. We had the marvelous Dave Wilson as our auctioneer and we made quite the team! After I was done at the auction, I drove back to Dover Downs for rehearsals.

Tuesday was Legislative Hall and Lonestar day for the contestants and me. We began with rehearsals, then we got ready and ate a fantastic lunch at Lonestar. After that we went to Legislative Hall where we introduced ourselves to the House, Senate, and Governor. In addition, I was able to present my official portrait to them so it can be on display during the week. We have such a supportive state! That night we had a pizza party with our Little Sisters that will be dancing with Katelynn and me to start off the preliminary shows and escort the contestants in evening wear. What an eventful day!

Wednesday was our McIlvaine appearance. In the morning we went to an all kindergarten school in my hometown of Magnolia. They called it "Reading with Royalty". Each one of us got a classroom to read a book to. I had a blast sharing my book "The Government Tree and Me" along with reading a classroom favorite. Immediately after that, I went back up to Newark for yet another summer class. When that was done, I came back and hopped into rehearsals. Wednesday night was dress rehearsals as well so we put on a full show. The girls met with their directors afterward, and then I was presented with my scrapbook courtesy of Linda Pusey and the Miss Delaware Board. It is a beautiful testimony to my year as Miss Delaware. We also received a copy of the Miss Delaware program book. It looks marvelous!! I am so honored to be a part of this organization.

Today is INTERVIEW DAY!!! I started the judges off with a warm up interview, and as I type contestants are going in and out of interview. This is the first time the judges are seeing each contestant so this first impression really counts! I am about to head off to class...again, and then back to Dover Downs for a run through of the show with Susan Powell. Tonight is the first night of Prelims so everyone is excited and nervous and ready to go.

more to come later...all my love,
Heather

Rounding out my year...

11:44 AM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

Visiting CHOP with the girls!

We made pillows, pillow covers, and helmets during the Teen Workshop. In addition, I played a fierce game of chess but managed to lose miserably.

One of our supporters is Anthony Joseph with WGMD. He called me in for an interview during his sports section to discuss our Golf Tournament that was on this past Monday. We raised several thousand dollars due to the help of supporters like him.

For the second time this year, I was asked to sing the National Anthem at a First State Fights MMA event held at Delaware State Univ. Thanks to my friend Valerie I have had the privilege to attend these events and ,as you can see, sing inside the fight cage.

Donald and I enjoyed our last parade together over Memorial Day weekend. He has been a true joy to spend my year with. I am so lucky to have someone be at all of my parades to take me through. I am even luckier that that person happened to have one of the hottest cars in Delaware!

Dover International Speedway-NASCAR weekend

2:29 AM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

I had a BLAST at the races here in Dover a couple weeks ago. One of my most memorable experiences by far. On Friday, I had the pleasure of waving the green flag for the NASCAR Truck Series. It was awesome!! They presented me with an honorary green flag to take home with all of the drivers' signatures on it. After that, it was up to the "bird's nest" for me. Let me tell you...it's a good thing someone told me about getting a pair of ear plugs for while I was up there. I thought one car going around the track was loud! It's a whole different story when they are all going around at once.

They gave me a few practice waves before the race began. Boy is it windy up there! I held on to that flag as though my life depended on it. All I could think of was the fact that if I drop it the first caution would be my fault due to "debris" on the track (and I couldn't let that happen!). Once the race began and I successfully waved the green flag, they allowed me to stay up there for a couple of laps to watch the race from their point of view. It's a crazy feeling, but I wish I would've known to wear my sunglasses up there. Any dirt within the area flew right up and into my eyes. So, words of wisdom for anyone who could potentially have the opportunity to wave the flag, wear a pair of glasses!! The first accident happened a couple of laps into the race while I was still in the "bird's nest". To top it all off, it happened almost right in front of me! I was NOT ready for that. I grabbed the railing and turned around to thank them for their help up there, and as I did they asked me if I was all right. I frantically shook my head no and laughed as I slowly stepped down to safe grounds.

I had to miss Saturday's race, but I was able to make it back again for Sunday's. What a beautiful day we had! I had the wonderful company of my parade driver, Donald Tatman, and we walked all throughout the pit area until the opening ceremony started. I was asked to shake the hands of all of the drivers after they were announced before the race. I was able to meet Miss Sprint, along with former race car driver and legend Richard Petty. On Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting legend and former driver Bobby Allison.

Thankfully, I was able to grab a quick picture with some people behind the stage before everything got started (one of them being Dale Earnhardt Jr.).

Another person I was able to meet was the National Anthem singer, and famous country singer, Joe Nichols. It was great being able to experience the rush of NASCAR weekend to its fullest. A big thanks goes out to Dover Speedway for inviting me along, and another huge thanks goes out to Mr. Horsey for inviting me and Donald into his skybox for the day. A great weekend filled with lifelong memories!

Live as of Today....People's Choice Voting

12:43 PM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

Check out our fabulous Miss Delaware 2010 contestants on our website and cast your vote for your favorite contestant. Cost per vote is in whole dollar increments - Let the Voting begin!

Vote Now

H.O. Brittingham Elementary

6:37 AM JilinTour.Com 0 Comments

I visited Brittingham Elementary School to talk about Character Counts. We had a great time talking about what it takes to become a role model. By the end of the lesson, every one of them knew that they have the power to be a positive role model for their friends. Of course, their favorite part was when I sang a song at the end. It is always precious to see all of the smiles and dropped jaws on the students faces as I sing.

I always leave time for questions at the end of the lesson. I get a wide range of questions, but my favorite was, "How old are you?"
Now this would normally be just an average question, however this time it was different. I made the mistake of saying, "Well, how old do you think I am?"
Wouldn't you know that one of the students shouted out, "32!"
The teachers and I laughed as they said, "If they think you're that old, just imagine how old they think we are!"

It is always a blast teaching students about good character. I only hope and pray that it sticks with them for the rest of their lives.