Miss Sexiest

A little under a year ago, I was crowned the 70th Anniversary Miss Delaware. To this day, I still cannot believe all that I have done and how much I have grown as a person. June 16th, I have to crown the 71st Miss Delaware who will have the opportunity to compete in the Miss America Pageant and spread the word about this fabulous organization for a full year!

I only half expected what was to come this year. I knew that I would be in hospitals, classrooms, talking about my safe driving platform, as well as doing photo shoots and fashion shows. What I was not prepared for, however, was the amount of influence my crown and sash could carry, especially with little girls. I knew that these girls would look up to me, but seeing the looks on their faces when I let them try on my crown was unbelievable. On room-to-room hospital visits, having the children talk to me like I had been their friend forever is a feeling that I will never forget as long as I live.

To all the girls competing for Miss Delaware...Yes, only one will wear the Miss Delaware crown on June 16th, but know that you can have the same impact even as a local titleholder. Use your year to spread love and joy to everyone!

Good Luck on June 16th, ladies! I am so proud of each and every one of you!

Photo Shoot with StephLeeuwenPhotography

LOVE me some StephLeeuwenPhotography!

With my new best friend, Marie!

My FAVORITE hostess from Miss America, Judy, came to support me at the Miss Delaware fashion show!

With one my my favorite girls EVER, Spenser, at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC!

Future Miss Pa? I think so! Love you, Ryann!

I live for moments like this!

At the Bug and Bud Festival with some beauty queens! :)

I helped judge the new Mr. Delaware!

With some local titleholders at the Miss Delaware Fashion Show!

The judges with our new (and hilarious) Mr. Delaware!

As for me, I have been incredibly busy in the last few months. I have traveled extensively throughout the state promoting the "awesomeness" of this organization that so greatly changed my life.

However, not all Miss States are perfect......for example....

SIDENOTE (to all the ladies) : Make sure you end up at the right appearance....

A weekend or two ago, I was booked up to my eyeballs. I had 5 appearances in 2 days, so I really had to be on top of everything I was doing. I knew that on one particular Saturday, I had to be in Milford, Delaware, in the morning, Wilmington (or so I thought....) in the afternoon, then head to the bottom of the state right after that to make the third and last appearance on time. For those of you that follow my twitter (@MissDelaware11), you know that it didn't exactly happen that way. I made it to Milford for an awesome appearance at the Bug and Bud Festival. I made it to Wilmington for the "Power of One" festival by 5:30, so I knew I was on my way to a successful day of appearances. I arrived at the Museum of Art in Wilmington to be greeted by valet parking and other well dressed ladies and gentlemen that were walking in as well. I walked in and everyone was very excited to see me....almost too excited....I started mingling, taking pictures with all the professional photographers, and shaking hands. I met the old editor of Time Magazine and we talked for a solid 10 minutes about my experiences as Miss Delaware and my trip to Miss America. As I finally hung up my coat, I asked a woman if she was excited for the "Power of One" presentation. She responded that she was not there for the "Power of One," but rather for a woman's art exhibit that was opening that day......UMMMM.....WHAT?!?! I called my business manager right away and after a quick "google" search, realized that I was actually supposed to be at the Dover art museum.... Yes, folks...there was magically an event happening at the place I thought I was supposed to be....Needless to say, I had to say a quick goodbye, blushing all the way out...Leave it to me to invite myself to an event that I wasn't even invited to...

Wonderful...my year is ending in a very exciting fashion...

This weekend is another one jam packed with appearances. I am making my last few weeks as memorable as I possibly can!

Until next time,
Stay Chill,

Maria Cahill

Phil 4:13

Hi everyone!! A brief update on what has been happening...including an introduction of the new Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen!

Some Saint Patrick's Day dancing activies!!

Taught a future Miss Delaware some dance steps :)

On route to the Miss Delaware Fashion Show with my sister!

With former Miss Delaware sweetheart and wonderful friend, Bliss!! We had a blast at the Miss Delaware Scholarship Fashion Show :)

Striking a pose with one of the local teens! Love you, Mia!

Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen is.......MORGAN!!!!

This past weekend, Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen was crowned!! Fellow Aquinas Academy student and good friend, Morgan Burris, was crowned! This girl has got some SERIOUS talent....I am talking "could easily win a talent award at Miss America's Outstanding Teen" talent....unbelievable. She sang "Home," from The Wiz, and literally blew the audience away...AND she is absolutely GORGEOUS to boot! I am SOOOOO proud of this young lady :)

Hear her sing and talk a little about her inspirational adoption platform - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovlY0Wsc8BA

and again...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHe-JAB3dMg&feature=related

I cannot wait to go to Florida to root her on!!

More updates coming this week!!

XO,
Maria

John 3:16

Hey everyone!! It is safe to say that after about two months, I have finally got the time zones correct in my head...it was a little hard to get back to Delaware time after being in Las Vegas for 11 days. Since being back in the First State, I have gone back to business as usual and I am loving every single minute of it. It is hard to believe that I have only 3 months left...I remember when I won, previous winners would tell me how fast my year would go....that has been the truest statement I have heard all year.

Ever since returning, I have been speaking in a lot of elementary school about the Miss Delaware
platform," Character Counts. This is where I go into classrooms and talk about respect, responsiblity, and how to become a person of good character. These days in classrooms may take up to 7 hours, but they are SOOOO worth it.

SIDENOTE: If you haven't already noticed, I am not the "typical" pageant chick...that tends to boil over to my teaching. I would hope that if I had a guest queen come to chill in my classroom for an hour, it better be exciting...otherwise, I would ask my teacher if I could go straight to naptime on my carpet square or something...you know....so I always start my talks with speaking about my love for junk food, video games (which always draws large cheers, especially from the young men audience) and sports. Got to do what you got to do to make kids feel comfortable around you!

My favorite part besides teaching the actual lesson itself, is the Q and A part. If you follow my twitter (MissDelaware11), I post what I call the Cute Kid Questions of the Day.

SIDENOTE: I am going back in my super exciting archives and posting some of these Cute Kid Quote of the Day.

1. "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Nope!" "Then can you come over and play legos with me?"
2. "I have 99 piggies on my farm. And 3 mommies. We ate the daddies yesterday."
3. "Are you and Mr. Delaware married and do you have kids?"
4. "Since you irish dance, do you drink a lot of beer?
5. "Can you sign my forehead? I swear my mom won't mind!"

And that is just a few of the millions I seem to get...it's all these types of questions, as well as serious ones, that make this job so much fun!

At a fashion show for my wonderful hair sponsor, Michael Christopher, I found Jungle Bob, who let me hold the boa constrictor...Britney Spears style!

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit our Veterans at a local VA hospital! What an incredible day!

I modeled wedding dresses for Brides To Be in Rehoboth. I even had flower girls :)

I am working with Wilmington University on a new campaign! Stay tuned!

Another shot of my VA hospital visits. This man was a Pearl Harbor Survivor and to hear his story was so moving. God bless our troops, past and present!!

More blog posts to come soon! I am out of hibernation! :)

Stay chill,

Maria

Philippians 4:13

Can you believe it? It's almost time for State Pageant Season again! Hundreds of girls will compete, but only 53 will be chosen to represent their coveted state title and compete for the honor of being named Miss America 2013!

At Miss America Junkies, we're especially looking forward to the upcoming State Pageant summer season. Unfortunately, because so many State Pageants are held on the same weekend, we're not able to be in multiple places at once. However, we do consider every invitation to attend a 'Miss State' and enjoy the chance to meet "Junkies From Across the Country".

Because of a great deal of interest and excitement regarding Miss America Junkies, we thought we'd outline how you can bring the Junkies to your State Pageant.

If you're interested in hosting Miss America Junkies at your State Pageant, here's how:

- Please send an official invitation via email (MissAmericaJunkies@aol.com) or Facebook message from a member of the Miss State Board of Directors. While flattering, invitations from non-board members can also be problematic. To ensure "The Junkies" are wanted, we ask that a board member extend the invitation.

- 2 Press Credentials to all official Miss State events during pageant week, including Preliminary and/or Finals competition

- 2 tickets to any additional events of interest during pageant week (parade, gala, crowning celebrations, etc)

- Additional items such as hotel accommodations or transportation are certainly not necessary, however they are appreciated when deciding which state pageant to attend (especially when multiple invitations have been extended for state pageants held on the same weekend)

Finally, while we will arrive in the capacity of 'press', please know that first and foremost, we're pageant fans! True Junkies! That means we get our kicks out of seeing girls grow, mature and succeed, during their quest to become the next Miss America! Trust me, we've 'played-the-game' before and won't be pursuing any 'gotcha' moments - that's not our style. Rather, our desire is to continue to show our support for the Miss America Organization and its numerous volunteers who give so much of themselves to see young women achieve more than they ever imagined. If you prefer we attend any of the events during your State Pageant as guests rather than press, then you got it - no questions asked. :)

It would be our honor and pleasure to meet you, watch your State Pageant, and report the good news back to the "Junkie Family". Once again, if interested please send your requests to:

MissAmericaJunkies@aol.com
Private message us on Facebook
or Catch us on Twitter (MAJunkies).

And Long Live the Junkies! :)

After Miss New York, I traveled for about six weeks, doing just a few things:

Photographed Miss Virginia week
Special guest at Miss North Carolina
Judge at Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen
Was accepted to Georgetown University for my Master’s (hello…moving…ah!)
Spent time as a sister/daughter/friend in Indianapolis
Bridesmaid in Hannah (Wright) Neeleman’s wedding (2^nd RU NY ’10, ‘11)
Moved to Washington, DC for grad school
Bridesmaid in Ashley (Casterline) Schacht’s wedding (3^rd RU IN ’08, 4^th RU ’09, 2^nd RU ’11)
Bridesmaid in Hannah (Buffie) Dale’s wedding (little sister!!!)
Settled in grad school at Georgetown studying Public Relations and Corporate communications
PFLAG NYC Fall Dinner
Spoke at Out & Equal in Dallas, TX with UBS
Named UBS Pride Americas Advocate of the Year

So yeah! I’ve been a little busy! It’s been such a great experience post-Miss New York. The bridesmaid thing shows you how the women in this organization become your best friends (Hannah W. and Ashley were my 4^th and 5^th pageant brides). After much needed family time, I jumped right back into the busy lifestyle that I do best in, just this time in Washington, DC where I’m using my $16,000 in scholarship money at Georgetown. School is fantastic—it truly is a perfect extension of the work I did last year in marketing, brand development and social media—and definitely challenging, but so worth it. I’ll graduate in December 2012 or May 2013 with a Master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. (Shout out to Kaitlin Davis for introducing the program to me!)

I’m still photographing A LOT through my own business (www.clairebuffie.com) dabbling in event planning with Paradigm Event Management through Teri Galvez (Miss DC Exec Director). I’m undergoing new website development and expanding my business a bit to include some of the marketing and public relations skills I’m developing in class. Toying around with Clarity Branding by Claire Buffie.

And I’m enjoying lots of time with my Miss America sisters who are here in DC – Miss DC Steph Williams, VA Katie Uze, TX Ashley Melnick, DE Kayla Martell! Love being here with them—so lucky!

After holidays with my family and my very handsome man in Indianapolis (plus a trip to the Dominican Republic-yay!) and an awesome trip to Miss America 2012, I’m back in school for my second semester at Georgetown. I hope you are off to a wonderful start in 2012!

* * *

Since I have finally put up my farewell video that I wanted to share with you all and celebrated Miss America one year later, this will most likely be my final blog post. I want to once again express my deepest and sincere thanks for the support you have given me throughout my year as Miss New York, our fight for equality, and continued encouragement following. I’ll keep fighting if you promise to keep fighting. Peace.

Hello, everyone!! It has been a little over a week since I have returned from my Miss America trip. I would like to say that I am back in prime shape, but every night I have slept almost 13 hours.....no, that is not at all normal. Yes, I am still on Vegas time, apparently.

The trip was a once in a lifetime experience (literally) and it will definitely stay in my books as one of the greatest experiences of my life. For those of you that want to know the ins and outs of the Miss America experience, I am here to tell you some of the highlights, lowlight, interview questions, what the new Miss America is like and everything in between!!!

The trip to get to Vegas was one for the books! Although I had to leave for the airport at 4am, thus giving me 3 hours of sleep, I met up with Miss Colorado, the beautiful Diana, and got VIP service on the plane! We were escorted on and off, got to meet all the pilots, and even got to sit in the cockpit! (#32 on my bucket list!!)

After getting to Vegas, we met up with other Miss States, as well as our security team (WE LOVE YOU!!!). We were brought to our limos (heck yeah, first limo ride!) and were driven to Planet Hollywood. Once there, I received the best text ever!!! Jennifer Sedler, Miss Arizona, was assigned to be my roommate!!!!! I was so excited, especially since we were praying to the Big Man months prior that we would be roomies!

After arriving at Planet Hollywood, we had to sign in, put our million suitcases in our rooms, then go right to our Express fitting. I got to meet with Express stylists, whom I LOVED and bonded with over our love of everything fashion, filmed a promo, was fitted with my onstage question dress, and interviewed!! Once all the fittings were done, we all had a SUPER quick change to get ready for the Arrival Ceremony, emceed by the FABULOUS Josh Strickland from Holly's World. After introducing ourselves to the world, we had a quick meeting with the Miss America Board, then off to our rooms for the night!!!

SIDENOTE : I am messy. Sorry. I like to blame it on the fact that I am still relatively young.....but I think that it is just because I am too lazy to put everything away. So a HUGE shoutout to Jennifer for putting up with my not-so-clean ways :)

Other highlights of the week?
- We got to flip pancakes at an IHOP that was brought right to us at the Planet Hollywood and meet some of the Miracle Children from the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals!
- We got to watch Phantom of the Opera on the Vegas Strip and have a "meet and greet" with the cast on the stage after the show was over!
- I celebrated my 21st birthday at P.F. Changs with all of my Miss America sisters!
- I got to film with Chaz Dean (and Miss Arizona) for a Wen Haircare commercial and he liked me so much that it looks like I might get the opportunity to work with him at QVC!! No final word yet, but that is on my bucket list too, so my fingers are crossed!
- I had the chance to meet and film Artistry interviews and talk makeup, hair and fashion (I believe I know more about these 3 things than anything else, so I LOVED it!)
- my first club experiences happened in Vegas!! I got to be a part of a music video style filming in 2 different clubs! SUPER COOL! (tons of cameras, crew, lights, smoke......it was AWESOME!)
- Yes, I may have had to sit/lay down during hours and hours and HOURS of rehearsals, but if you just remember the reason why you are there, it doesn't even matter!.....although....I was soooo tired I think I could have slept on rocks. No rest for the weary!!
- THE GIRLS!!!! If I were placed in a room with 52 other girls, 9 times out of 10, I would want to run the other way. That one time exception would be these 52 girls. I suppose when the girls are all incredibly talented, beautiful, intelligent and have the same purpose of community service and love of others, the cattiness disappears. A huge shoutout to Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, West Virginia and so many other girls for being AWESOME (!!!) and for making my time in Vegas a blast!! :)

MISS AMERICA INTERVIEW -
This phase of competition is one that most people are always dying to know about! Let me tell you firsthand....it was awesome!!!

Some of the questions that I remember getting -
- Were you popular in high school?
- Who do you think will be the GOP nominee?
- You seem very well spoken and confident - what is the one thing you would change about yourself?
- If you could tell President Obama anything, what would it be?
- Why do you want your own talk show?
- Should we take the troops home?
- How did you first get involved in Irish Dance?
- You have had a lot of accomplishments - is there anything you have started, but then quit?
- How would plan on spreading the message of safe driving to teens?
- What is your guilty pleasure?
- If Vanessa Williams- type pictures came out of you if you won Miss America, what do you think should happen to you?
- Did you learn about politics for this interview or have you always been interested in them?

I believe I got a couple more questions, I just cannot remember them off the top of my head.

Not too many political question, just ones to get to know me! I don't know if I was more excited that my 21st birthday was the day of my interview, or that I was standing 5 feet away from Lara Spenser and Kris Jenner! I felt really good coming out of my interview, which was the only birthday present I wanted!

ONSTAGE COMPETITION -

A BLAST!!!! No other way to describe it! To be honest, I am not sure if it has really sunk in that I was on the Miss America stage, yet......hopefully it will.....who knows....
I will say, however, that watching the pageant on tv and actually walking and performing on it are two totally different feelings.

TALENT: As some of you know, I have not danced competitively in four years......

SIDENOTE: Something that no one really knows is the reason why I have not competed in so long. Yes, I took time off to strictly teach Irish Dance classes at the Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dance, but there was one other reason why, which I talked about in my interview. I was a great Irish Dancer for a long time, winning championships and doing extremely well. At 16, I went through a major growth spurt and all of a sudden my dancing was not as good as it used to be. I had all this pressure on myself to continue doing well and, in all honesty, at that age, I was totally unable to handle all that pressure. My way out was to start dancing just for fun - sad, I know. I knew that at Miss America, I would have the chance to work to finally redeem myself for the "quit" in the 16 year old me, in what I told myself was the ultimate dance competition!!

Not only did I feel the best that I have ever felt after dancing on preliminary night, but it was so emotional after I walked off because I knew that my first time back competing on a national stage was at Miss America. Yes, there was a lot of emotion all week! Winning non-finalist talent Saturday night was the cherry on top of the 6 months of work cake. Knowing that the judges saw something in my Irish Dance that I had been working so hard to get back after all that time off was truly incredible.

SWIMSUIT AND GOWN- Yes, I was excited to worrrkkkkkk my Komplique swimsuit. I had also been working out with a trainer for the first time in my life. Paul Timmons, of Rehoboth Beach's The Firm, dedicated months (3 days a week) INTENSE sessions to get me into the best shape of my entire life. I have never been so happy to see muscles after all the calluses and bruises and pulled muscles. I was truly proud to walk on that stage. I was also pumped to rock my Mac Duggal gown! Yes, it may have weighed as much as a small elephant, but I really did feel like a million bucks, which is all I wanted!

annndddd...you all know that I LOVE anything runway related :)

The final night, I was completely at peace with whatever happened. I knew that I had done the best that I possibly could. Coming into this entire Miss America experience, my entire goal was to come out with NO regrets and I accomplished just that.

For anyone that saw the broadcast, you could probably see me rocking out to "Tonight, Tonight," and having a great time. I was so excited for my friends that had made the top 15 that I could only focus on the AWESOME competition that was happening in front of me!

SIDENOTE: YES, the "save a contestant" portion after swimsuit was completely unrehearsed and kind of sad. We loved every single one of those girls!

MISS AMERICA - our new Miss America is AMAZING. Hands down. She was quieter, but sooooooo incredibly kind, nice and absolutely gorgeous! She is the most wonderful person to represent the organization that meant so much to all 53 of us. I do not have one single negative thing to say about Laura. I am so happy for her and will support her whole-heartedly throughout her year!

I am a firm believer that God has a plan for each and every single one of us. I know that I have been put on an incredible, life changing journey and each and every moment that I have and have had has changed me and made me a better person in some way. No, I was not meant to be Miss America, but this ride has made me want to become the best Miss Delaware for the next six months and the best person I can be for the rest of my life! I am excited to continue on with the next chapter of my life. Thank you to Debi, the rest of my board, my family, and the rest of those that continue to inspire me each and every day.

XOXO,

Maria

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

Wow!! What a week (err…few days)!?! I’m just going to jump right in and say

CONGRATULATIONS to Kaitlin Monte, Miss New York,

2^nd Runner Up to Miss America 2012!

I arrived in Vegas on Thursday in time to visit with tons of friends and finally see the Miss New York board again—it had been too long. I loved walking through the casino, spotting contestants going to rehearsal, seeing people from so many different states who have been such supportive friends of both the organization, and me and of course, turning the corner and seeing MY Miss America girls.

I had quite a few nostalgic moments, but perhaps none that compared to arriving to the Planet Hollywood, having just missed the girls in rehearsal, to find the PH theatre empty, black, but with the Miss America stage lit up. I was the only one in the auditorium and it.was.awesome. Then my stomach turned to knots.

Thursday prelims, with amazing seats with Paul and Kenny on either side was a blast and to top it off, Kaitlin won swimsuit!! So incredibly exciting! I got to see Teresa after the show and she really looked great. Hearing her speak on stage, and afterwards in person, I was so happy to recognize her growth throughout the year. She really did make our class proud.

Friday, we lazed around all day in our awesomely ridiculous Miss A 2011 suite with Miss CA Arianna Afsar, VA Katie Uze, NV Cris Crotz and AZ Katy Bulkley with visits from OK Emoly West and WI Kim Sawyer. We had so much fun at our formers dinner, sponsored by TMG Pageant Network, where 13 of us had a fantastic dinner at LAVO in the Palazzo (the only time I left Planet Hollywood haha). Afterwards, we went to a reception for Teresa where we developed our inside “cupcake” joke that Teresa was able to carry out on stage on the live broadcast as her cued shout out to our class J Then it was back to the suite for all sorts of fun with our class, boyfriends and fiancés and friends!

Saturday, we had another reunion lunch (we’re obsessed with each other), and then headed off to the show. It all felt normal until we walked backstage through the hotel in the same hallway I stood in after the pageant last year, awaiting the announcement of our class into visitation. Cue chills. Throughout the show, I was so proud to cheer on so many friends, old and new, and in sitting with VA, CA, AZ from last year, all of our girls made it in Top 15 and 3 of our girls into the Top 5!

Kaitlin did a fantastic job throughout the entire show, and overall, the Top 15 was just so incredibly solid with one of the most beautiful Top 5s I have ever seen. I got a cute text from my sister saying “Team Betty” referring to the 1^st RU Miss Oklahoma, whose Irish Step Dancing talent brought the house to their feet. Kaitlin was so great after the show in visitation, coming away with $21,000 in scholarships, and with the right attitude of excitement to return to New York and continue the amazing work she has done. As much as we would have LOVED for her to win Miss America, we sure are lucky to keep her in New York!

Miss America 2012, Laura Kaeppler, from Wisconsin is a stunning beauty and talented singer with a motivating story and platform that will tie in so well with Miss America’s strong initiatives of emphasizing education. According to Cris Crotz, Miss NV 2011 who was in the press conference, “She’s just COOOL,” and Kim Sawyer, Miss WI 2011 (to whom Laura was 2^nd RU last year) vouches that Laura is going to be an amazing Miss America, with a great head on her shoulders and humility to keep it all in perspective. Huge congratulations to Laura, Wisconsin, and the Miss America Organization!!