A New Chapter

My life has changed so much from this past summer! I'm now at a new chapter in my life and it's been such a rewarding experience. I'm now living in a new town with a new career! I received my first teaching job at my dream school, Lakeside Primary, and it's been one of the most amazing experiences! I have 23 precious 1st graders in my classroom this year and they truly make me love my job! There's no better feeling than waking up in the morning and looking forward to going to work! I've always known that I have wanted to help and work with children. Having the opportunity to reach so many children everyday is truly a blessing! I'm currently starting back up on my Master's degree this year as well! I also lost my grandfather in November. He was such an inspiration to so many people and a such a wonderful man. He was truly a living example of always trusting in God's plan no matter what obstacles were put in his way. He will always be missed, but I know that I have an angel watching over me everyday. In this new chapter of my life, I also bought my first car on my own and now I have a precious puppy! The year of 2013 was a wonderful year and it was filled with a lot of learning experiences that I know have helped prepare me for the new year. Now as I start the new year, I can't wait to see what plans God has for my life! Happy New Year!

2013 Tony Bowls Photo Shoot

All of the Miss Arkansas contestants had the opportunity to be in the Tony Bowls photo shoot this year.   It was such an amazing experience! Each contestant got their hair and make up done professionally by Jane White, Joel Green, and Lauren Colclasure. Every contestant got to wear a beautiful Tony Bowls dress picked out by the amazing Tony Bowls and Laine Berry! We were all photographed by the fabulous Jason Masters with Tony Bowls helping decide the poses! I'm so thankful for all of the amazing sponsors that volunteered their time to help making this photo shoot a success! 

This is my photo from the 2013 Tony Bowls Photo Shoot! Be sure to go to www.missarkansas.org/photoshoot and vote for my photo! Each vote is $1.00! The girl that has the most votes will win a scholarship this summer at the Miss Arkansas 2013 pageant in July! A big thank you to Tony Bowls for everything he does for the Miss Arkansas organization!! 

Sarah 

Miss Arkansas Contestant Meeting, Golf Tournament, and ACH Visit

     This past weekend the Miss Arkansas Organization held the contestant lottery meeting, the Miss Arkansas Golf Tournament, and the contestant visit to Arkansas Children's Hospital. The contestant lottery meeting is when every contestant that is competing in Miss Arkansas pageant turns in her paperwork, has brunch, and decides which group they are in for the pageant. It was such a relief to have all of my paperwork turned in, but I'm so lucky to have an amazing director that turned it in for me to make it an even easier process! During the lottery, I was called near the beginning and I got to chose the exact spot that I wanted! I am in group C number 40! The Miss Arkansas pageant is the week of July 14-20. All of the contestants will arrive in Hot Springs on July 14. On July 17 the first night of preliminaries will begin. Since I am in group C, I will be competing in swimsuit and onstage question on Wednesday night, evening gown on Thursday night, and talent on Friday night. The top ten and Miss Arkansas will be announced on Saturday night! It was so much fun meeting all of the new contestants as well as seeing all of my sisters from last year.

This weekend all of the Miss Arkansas contestants also worked the Miss Arkansas Golf Tournament. We all got to help drive golf carts and work different holes at the tournament. We took so many fun pictures with Sloane at the golf tournament! This year we had a ball drop and Sloane got to ride in a helicopter to drop over a thousand balls! It was so much fun and a great new addition to the tournament! All of the contestants also got to make a visit to Arkansas Children's Hospital. All of the contestants got to tour the hospital, see some of the patients, and go inside Angel One helicopter! It was such a wonderful experience to see what all of the money we raise for Children's Miracle Network goes to in the hospital! We also all made cards for the children in the hospital! This past weekend was such a fun and exciting weekend with all of my Miss Arkansas sisters. I am so thankful for everything the Miss Arkansas Organization does for its contestants. A big thank you to Ms. Susie Morgan for making the golf tournament possible and to Mrs. Jane Slocum for making the Arkansas Children's Hospital tour possible for all of the contestants!

Official Head Shots for Miss Arkansas 2013

     This year I had new head shots made by Jerry Davis and Jane White. Thank you both so much for making sure that my Miss Arkansas 2013 head shots were exactly what I wanted. Jerry Davis was my photographer and Jane White did my make up and hair for the photos. They made the photo shoot so much fun and they made me feel like a model! Thank you both so much for helping me look my absolute best in my new Miss Arkansas head shots. 

Miracle League

     I had the opportunity to volunteer for the Miracle League on May 11. I absolutely loved it and it was such an amazing experience. My teen queen, Blair Wortsmith, also volunteered with me! It was a lot of fun for us to volunteer together for an organization that fit both of our personal platforms. My platform is "EveryONE Counts" raising awareness for children with disabilities. Blair's platform is "Be Proactive, Get Active!" The Miracle League is a baseball game for children with disabilities. When the children get to the field they pick who they want their buddy to be for the game. Blair and I both volunteered for two games. It gave us both a chance to meet more children and have more than one buddy. My first buddy was Kate! Kate and I had so much fun talking and running the bases together. Kate was definitely a pro at playing baseball! My last buddy of the day was Maddie. She was absolutely precious and I had so much fun helping her bat! Maddie smiled off and on throughout the game, but she really smiled when she saw my crown. She kept wanting to touch my crown. I let her touch it a lot throughout the game, but I told her that she's so beautiful she should be wearing it. So, after the game was over I let Maddie wear my crown. When I put the crown on her head, she instantly sat up as straight as she could and smiled so big! I'm so lucky that these sweet children let me spend my afternoon with them as they played baseball! A big thank you to the Miracle League organization for everything you're doing for children with disabilities. It's so rewarding to see children have a chance to excel and have a big smile on their face! 

Sarah

UCA Baseball Game

 
On May 3rd I was asked to sing the National Anthem at the UCA baseball game at Bear Stadium. It was one of my favorite appearances because I am a UCA Diamond Doll for the baseball team. It was also very special to me because my hometown high school baseball team was watching in the stands. I walked out on the field to be introduced and the announcer introduced me as "Sarah Slocum." Many people in the stands were confused because they all know my name is "Sarah Sutton." I just laughed it off and sang the National Anthem. After I sang, the announcer realized that he said the wrong name, he quickly corrected himself and said my real name as I exited the field. The announcer apologized when I met him to give him back the microphone. I told him that I was more than happy and honored to be mistaken for a former Miss Arkansas! It was such an honor to sing the National Anthem for my University as well as my favorite baseball team! Go Bears!!!

Special Olympics

It was such an honor to be a part of the Special Olympics this week in Bryant. When I arrived I got to meet a lot of Bryant High School students that were volunteering for the day. It was so much fun to talk and get to know some of the students at Bryant. Soon after I arrived the Opening Ceremony began. I was asked to speak after the Superintendent of Bryant School District. I got to talk about my platform "EveryONE Counts" and my passion for children with disabilities. I also talked a little bit about the Miss Arkansas and Miss America Organization. Soon after this, the torch was lit and passed off by many different athletes that were going to compete throughout the day. I was also asked to judge each school's banner that they made for the Special Olympics and to help pick an overall winner. This years theme for the Special Olympic Banners was "Getting Stronger." I was so excited to award a big trophy to Bryant's Community Team for winning the outstanding banner award this year!

When the events began I got to stand by and cheer on athletes! I also got to award each child with their medal they won in each event that they participated in. This experience was so humbling for me and something that I will never forget. In my platform, "EveryONE Counts", I believe that every child deserves a chance to shine. All of these beautiful children definitely got to shine all day long. I'm very blessed that I got to be a part of each child's shining moment! After all, the most precious gift you can give a child is your time!

Sarah