We are thrilled to announce the return of our Sweeps Pageant, which will be held on Saturday March 31^st, 2012 at the Garner Historic Auditorium.  We will crown three miss contestants and three outstanding teen contestants, giving six ladies the opportunity to compete in the 2012 Miss North Carolina and Miss North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. Interested candidates should meet the following requirements:

• Must have competed in a local preliminary pageant.
• Has given up a title and seeks opportunity to compete again.

Potential contestants must continue to compete in any local in which she residentially qualifies. Simply said, you cannot just wait for the sweeps pageant to participate again.  Although we wish we could allow all ladies the opportunity to compete, we must limit participation to no more than 15 Miss and 15 Teens.  Ladies who have any interest should send an email to kevindriver@missnc.org, to guarantee that you are on the e-mail list of potential contestants. Once the last Local Preliminary has taken place, which is March 3^rd, an instructional e-mail will go out to all Miss and Teens who have interest in competing in the sweeps pageant. The first 15 Miss and the first 15 Teens to respond will be guaranteed a spot as a sweeps contestants.

Both miss and OT contestants will complete a standard preliminary contract. Miss will follow the $100.00 CMNH donation entry method, and the outstanding teen contestants will pay a $100.00 entry fee to the Miss North Carolina Organization. Winners of the Miss/ OT Durham, Tar Heel, and Raleigh titles are released to re-compete after the state pageant in June. Contestants may continue to represent their tittle until they win another title or until March 1^st, 2013.

OCTOBER:
The month began with an invitation to perform at the Miss Stanly pageant. Lauren is one of my best friends and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I was also asked to perform at the Greater Catawba Valley pageant and be a visiting queen with the Little Miss north Carolina girls! I met new faces and saw a few pageant friends, so it was great to be apart of it! My local committee, Miss Cabarrus County/Concord, hosted a flap-jack breakfast at Applebees on the 15th and of course, I wanted to attend! I helped them serve the pancakes and sausage and had a plate myself. All of the Youth queens were there along with Anna, Kelsey and Lauren. My manager, Mrs. Vicki, also came to see me and eat breakfast. That same day, I had another appearance in Raleigh at the State Fair! I was so excited because I hadn’t seen Hailey in a few weeks. My grandma and I drove up and i spent the day meeting little girls, explaining the program, and promoting the Miss America system as one of the best organizations in the world! It was great seeing a few of the local titleholders as well. That night was the Miss Fayetteville pageant. One of the Miss Garner directors took me with them to attend. It was awesome getting to see some of the new local queens that I hadn’t met yet! The pageant was great and the reception after was a lot of fun! We drove back up to Raleigh and the next day, I was back out at the fair! My local committee invited me to attend the “Princess and Pirate Night” at Chick-fil-A with their girls. It was one of my favorite things yet! I went the 19th and the 20th and both nights were full! Lauren and I painted so many finger nails! We helped them color and make crowns. I signed so many autographs. It was the sweetest thing when they would ask me if I was a real queen or when they would call us Miss America’s. I got excited every time I saw a little girl dressed as Belle.. she’s my favorite! The month ended with making an appearance at the Miss Race City pageant! It was a new local title and I was so excited that they asked me to be their queen. I performed and helped crown the new winners. Congratulations to all of the new title holders from the october pageants!

NOVEMBER:
I had been looking forward to November 5th for as long as I can remember! It was the day of Miss Cabarrus County/Concord pageant! I was so excited to see everyone again. Of course, I was going to attend! Before I performed, I was called onstage by the emcee to have a talk. She asked a few questions and told me they had a presentation for me. I looked on the screen and there was a video of being called out as the new North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen and my crowning moment. I felt like I was there once again and started crying! It was so touching and so amazing to know how proud they all were of my accomplishment. Dancing while crying is not a simple thing. My miss queen, Anna, asked if I would dance while she sang “Hero” since it is such a special song to the both of us. It was so pretty and sweet. I love her to death because she is like my big sister and we call each other “Twin”. I also attended the Rowan County Outstanding Little Miss pageant and the Miss/OT pageant on the 15th. I performed one of my dances and enjoyed being a visiting queen! November 19th was the Raleigh Christmas parade. I rode on the cutest pink and green float with the North Carolina’s Outstanding Little Miss court and Hailey! After the parade, we all went to Mrs. Beth’s house for a Christmas party. Her house is so gorgeous and the decorations were adorable! We had such a good time playing a game where we tried to guess the style and color of Hailey’s Miss America dress. Some of the guesses were far off, like my mom’s and Mrs. Lisa’s, but some were extremely close, like little Cameron! That night was the Miss Statesville’s Outstanding Teen pageant. I was introduced and asked a few questions and performed once again. I reunited with some of my best friends from state so it was a great night! On the 22nd, I rode in the China Grove/Landis parade. It was doluble the fun because I rode through one town, drove down the road, and rode through the other town! Thanksgiving was on the 23rd, the day of the Carrousel parade. It has always been my favorite parade! Thanks to my manager, Mrs. Vicki, I had a gorgeous black, velvet gown to keep me warm. I was with Hailey and Bree Boyce, Miss South Carolina, before the parade to take pictures and talk for a bit. I had a great time seeing the Little Miss NC court, the Mini-Miss NC court, Miss Rhododendron queen, the Miss Dogwood queen, and all of the high school Carrousel queens! I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving!

DECEMBER:
My first appearance in December was performing at the Miss Queen City/Metrolina pageant. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! All of the outgoing queens were some of my best friends and I could not wait to see them! On the 17th, my mom and I drove to the Miss Johnston County pageant. My favorite thing was the Dream Angle of the OLM court, Abby! When the visiting queens introduced themselves, Abby wanted to sing “Jingle Bells” so of course we let her! Afterwards, she kept going on and on and had the whole audience on the edge of their seats! She is so precious and admirable. When I see her, I know that she is what the Miss America program is all about. If you have not had the chance to meet her and talk to her, I highly suggest you do because she gives me a whole new meaning to life! I love you baby girl! December 18th could not have come any slower! It was the day of Hailey’s wardrobe showing for Miss America! I was so excited to hear that THE MISS NORTH CAROLINA PAGEANT WILL BE ON TV JUNE 23, 2012, FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY! I and beyond ready to be apart of the show! Let’s just hope if I perform, this will not be the one time I forget my dance!

I hope that everyone had an amazing Christmas and a Happy New year! Thank you for all of my Christmas cards and I hope you all enjoyed mine! It makes me very sad to think that half of my reign is over. I am leaving 2011 behind but carrying the memories with me. It has been one of the best years of my life! I cannot thank everyone enough for all of the love and support that has been shown. I do not have enough words to say how much it means to me! It’s going to be extremely hard saying I am the 2011 NCOT when we are in 2012. I am so proud of all of the local title holders. All I ask of you is that you soak in every moment and cherish the memories because this year of your reign is going to be one like no other! The friends you make become lifelong and the experiences you have will be ones that are unforgettable! Miss North Carolina 2012 will be here before you know it! Time slips up on you and in the blink of an eye, you will be in your first night of preliminaries and say, “Wow…”. I pray that you have the best time of your life and know that you are truly blessed.

JUNE:
My Newest Adventure
It all began on June 24th, 2011 when I was crowned Miss North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen! The week had already been so thrilling, tiring, overwhelming, and exciting that by the time Final Night came around, it was all given to Him. I threw my hands up before I went onstage and said, “Take me where You want me to go and guide me down a new path. There’s no such thing that You could give me that I couldn’t handle. If You will, walk with me tonight.” I knew in my heart that I was fit to be more than what I had been, and this “Job of Service” (-Hailey Best’s wise words) was just what I was missing. This program is far more than just a pageant or competition. I cannot wait for this year and all of the appearances I will be making! Everyone has been so supportive of all that I did to make it this far and there is no way that I will take one moment of this year for granted. For those who have helped me accomplish this dream, I could never say thank you enough. To the NCOT Class of 2011, I don’t even know where to start with you crazy girls! State was one of the best weeks of my life and i wouldn’t change any part of it for anything in the world! I can’t wait to see you throughout the year at preliminaries and other appearances!

My first night as the new queen, Mrs. Vicki and her daughter Christi swept me away from the crowds of people and took me to the hotel room to settle down. The first thing I saw as I walked in the door was a bed covered in presents! I was speechless and as tired as I was of smiling, I couldn’t stop! It was a lot to soak in and seeing how excited my mom was didn’t exactly help me “settle down.” Mrs. Vicki, Christi, and I paraded around downtown Raleigh trying to find a restaurant still open. All of the people thought it was my birthday and that’s why I was wearing a crown.. little did they know what it really meant! By the time I went to sleep that night, i felt like my eyes were only closed for a few minutes before it was time to be downstairs at breakfast. And so the paperwork for Miss America’s Outstanding Teen began! We sat down with my local committee members, my new state managers, Kayla Hollingsworth, and her mother and started filling out the blanks. I thought my local and state paperwork was long enough, but the national level was insane! I went to rehearsals with the Miss contestants to learn my new part in the opening number and as soon as I walked in, they all went crazy! All of my new big sisters were so proud. When rehearsals was finished, I went to the Princess pageant. When I first met my new princess, Alex (a.k.a. Monkey), her mother told me that she would be a handful. Who knew that someone so tiny could be full of so much energy all of the time?! She’s precious and I’m so happy I have her to call my own. That night at Miss North Carolina, I was finally paired with my main big sister, Hailey Best! Her first words to me were, “Now, McKenzie… I don’t think you’ll be allowed to wear heels when you’re with me.” I laughed so much, but Hailey is a lot smaller than I am so I wasn’t sure if i should take that seriously or not. She’s the best and I absolutely love her to death! I’m so lucky to have someone like her to look up to all year long!
My first official appearance with Hailey was at the Miss South Carolina pageant! It was their 75th anniversary so the show was amazing! I was so glad I was able to meet the SCOT, Caitlen Patton.

JULY:
The month of July was filled with exciting encounters. It began with having my first photo shoot with Jordan Chan. His studio is in Saint Paul’s, North Carolina which is about three hours away from Concord. My mom and I left our house at 6am and on the way there, to make a long story short, a cement truck hit my mom’s SUV head on and tore her mirror off and dented the front! It was very scary, but calling my dad was scarier! luckily we weren’t far from home yet, so my dad met us with my car. Let’s just say my car’s milage went through the roof that day! The photo shoot was great! Jordan is really big about “arching.” Marcie Trivette, Miss Cabarrus County 2010, invited me to a fundraiser she was holding at Chic-fil-A called Give Back Night for her platform, Autism Speaks: Kick it for Karsten. I signed a few autographs and met some pretty amazing kids. There was a little girl named Gabbie, and it was her 4th birthday! She kept telling her mom that she wanted to be a real princess like me! All of the kids were precious and I cant thank Marcie enough for including me! The next day, my grandmother and I went to the Outstanding Little Miss pageant. There was a luau party and a trash bag dress contest! The OLM girls made my “Miss America’s Outstanding Teen” dress and told me that i would most definitely win if I wore it! I had such a good time helping out and bonding with the girls! They are all so amazing and I was so proud of all of them! Special thanks to Mrs. Hester and Mrs. Cruise for including me and letting me perform!

AUGUST:

The Miss Greater Sandhills director invited me to attend the U.S. Kids World Golf Championship parade. I met kids from Italy, Japan, South Africa, Thailand, Scotland and Panama. The Italian’s were my favorite because of how welcoming they were! They all loved my crown and sash and I took a million pictures with them waving their nation’s flag! The Moore County Shrine Club handed me about 10 different pins. It was great to see Jesse and Leah again as well! There was one last busy weekend at home before leaving for Florida. My send-off party was that extra shove of support that I needed to boost my confidence. There was such a great turn out of people! A lot of the Outstanding Teens came!!! It made me so happy to see them before I left! I hadn’t seen them since state! Just about all of my family was there as well as many family friends that came and showed their love. The mayor of Concord, Scott Padgett, presented me with a certificate and told me on behalf of Concord how proud he was of my accomplishment! My cake was so gorgeous, but because I was thinking about fitness at MAOT, I had a very small piece. That night, I was invited to the Miss Statesville pageant to perform! It was great because I was able to practice my MAOT dance on an actual stage before leaving. The next night, I was a guest queen at the Miss Gastonia/Gaston County pageant. Congratulations to the newly crowned winners of both prelims! You have no idea what this year has in store for you!