Mrs. International 2011

Can I just say...what an incredible week that was!! On July 18th, Todd, Maddie, and Aidan and I hopped in the car in the middle of the night bound for Chicago, home of the Mrs. International pageant! As we pulled up to the Doubletree, we were met by the most awesome Directors in the whole wide world, Jodi & Scott Cessna. I was hoping Scott would greet us with a plate full of those free cookies they give you at the front desk, but instead he just smiled said I could have all the cookies I wanted Saturday night. Deal!!

After we got checked in, we made our way up to our room (with a ridiculous amount of dresses) and we searched for the room service menu because room service is the best part of any vacation! BTW, if you haven't tried it yet, the fettuccine alfredo is amaaaaziiiing!!

On Tuesday night, we had contestant orientation! It was like a fashion show! I was mesmerized by all the bright colors and sparkles and as I chatted with the other ladies, I found them all to be soooo nice! I think that excited me more than anything!

The next morning was our day out in Chicago! It started with an early wake up call from Marcus Geeter. The things that man can do with make-up still baffles me! When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror my first words were "How is that even possible??" If you ever find yourself in Chicago and need of an extreme transformation, call Marcus!!

So then we boarded the bus for our tour. How lucky was I that Mrs. Illinois International, Nicole Khayat sat down next to me! I had my own personal tour guide of the city and it turns out we shared a love of cheerleading! We also took a river boat ride through downtown and I learned to never call that tall black building the Willis tower. We then stopped off at the Water Tower Place for lunch. Mrs. California International, Tiffany Ellison suggested we venture into the American Girl Doll store for some dolly clothes for our daughters. Twist my arm!! When we walked in, the little girls noticed our fancy dresses and sashes and in a matter of minutes...we were mobbed! It was by far the highlight of our day! One little girl asked me, "Are you a queen or princess?" I quickly realized that this may be my only chance to feel like the lady who dresses up as Cinderella at Disney world so in my best Cinderella voice, I said to her "I am Queen Dawn from Hanover, Pennsylvania and in my kingdom we make the best potato chips and pretzels on the planet!" She was impressed!

The next morning we had our interviews followed by the Meet & Greet. Now I must say this was a great day! I loved looking at all the ladies in their beautiful gowns, listening to Eddie Peterson's talk (a man who keeps it all in perspective), and munching on deeeelicious dinner! That Mary & Mel sure know how to spoil us!!

Friday night was the preliminary competition. All 53 contestants strutted across the stage in their glory, having a great time! This was the culmination of hours of practice and months if not years of preparation and hard work. We didn't learn the results that night and I think that was a good thing because for that one night, all of us went to bed feeling like Mrs. International.

Saturday was finals night-- the top 12 would be announced, followed by the court, and then the crowning of Mrs. International 2011. This was a hard night because even though my name was called as a finalist, some of my new friends names were not. Knowing how amazing these women are, it just didn't seem fair but I guess that was a chance we were all willing to take going in. As the court was called and I watched the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, Winner step forward, I was happy that at some point during the week I had a chance to meet each one of these ladies and see for myself the same amazing qualities the judges saw in them. Congratulations Janet, Tiffany, Donna, Mary-Marsha, and Cydney! You all deserve it!

We ended our night with a full on pageant pig-in at the Coronation Ball! At one point I counted 5 plates in front of me and I think I sampled every dessert they had! After months or eating grilled chicken salads, oatmeal, and being tortured by Tony Horton and his P90X team, I allowed myself to be in hog heaven for the night!

I had one of the most memorable weeks of my life in Chicago and there are many people that helped, inspired, and believed in me -- Thank you to my Todd, Maddie, & Aidan Hicks, Mom, Dad, Uncle Richard, Auntie Joy, Grandma, Jodi, Scott, & Sami Cessna, Shana Williams, Deborah Wright, Suzy Bootz, Sheri Jenkins, Joey Retherford, Clay Spann, Terri Rubin, Kim Meehan, LaQuisha Hall, Evelyn McCleod!!

Big thank you to Mary & Mel Richardson for providing a constructive outlet for all my energy, ideas, and love of all things girly!

To the ladies of the Class of 2011 - I feel like we were just getting started and now you've all gone home. Let's meet back in Chicago in July 2021 for our 10 year reunion!!