Houston Photo Shoot

Wow!  What an incredible month it has been!  The book fair with Barnes and Noble for Book Worm Angels was a huge success!  I was so excited to learn that one of my sister queens in the south is trying to set up the same kind of drive in her own home state!  That is so exciting!  It reminds me of "pay it forward" and I am so happy to learn that it will be paid forward in other parts of the country.  None of this would have been possible without NAM!

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to get to go to Houston, Texas for a NAM photo shoot.  I had such a blast hanging out with my National sister queens and getting to know each of them better.  I cannot wait to see them at the pageants this summer.  Every one of the girls is amazing ...... I really liked listening to Shereen sing while we were getting our hair and makeup done and playing hide and go seek with Bernice, Joey, and Kylan and trying on (stealing :) ) all of the high heels! Mrs. Mayes, Miss LaKashia, Miss Dawn Lee and all the NAM staff made it an awesome weekend - thank you! I have a million memories from the weekend and was so sad to see it end.  I miss you all!

We are in the process of getting another event together for Book Worm Angels.  So if you missed the last drive, there is still time to participate! I will have more info coming on the next event.

Check out the pictures from the photo shoot!  And if you get a chance, watch the video of the top 5 awards at Nationals.  I think it is fun to watch because I hardly remember that night! (I got the idea to upload it to youtube from my awesome miss, Amanda!  Thanks for the idea, Amanda!

Thank you for all of your support....

Love,
Peyton
National American Miss Jr. Pre-Teen 2011-2012

Thank you so much!

Yesterday was a pretty amazing day for me!  I feel like I live in a great community after I saw all the support, people and love shown by all those who came out.  First, to Mike Ban and the Book Worm Angels people, you really love what you do and it shows.  I hope we work together for a long time to come!  Second, to Lake County Board Member Aaron Lawlor and Illinois Representative Carol Sente, you represent public service so well.  Thanks for being a part of this event!  To our local authors, Allan Woodrow, Barb Rosenstock, Shari Brady, and Susan Finerty, you help others with literacy through the great writing you do every day.  I couldn't have asked for better authors to be a part of this day.  Next, to my sister queens, I cannot believe you all drove so far to come and support me.  I love you and thanks!  Then to all my friends and family, you really know how to make a girl feel special.  If we keep this up, we can all help illiteracy become a thing of the past.  Finally, to Ruth and Pam at Barnes and Noble, you made this event go pretty smoothly.  You were wonderful.

My goal was to raise $1,000.00 for Book Worm Angels and collect another 1,000 gently used books.  Thanks to your generous support, Barnes and Noble says we are close to $400.00 going to BWA right now and we have all week for on-line orders.  We also collected about 200 books yesterday, too!

2 Days Until the Book Fair Begins!!!

I am soooooooo excited to see all of you coming out this Sunday to Barnes and Noble in Vernon Hills at the Westfield Mall.  In addition to authors Allan Woodrow, Barb Rosenstock, Susan Finerty, and Shari Brady reading, elected officials Aaron Lawlor and Carol Sente will be on-hand to say a few words.  Of course, my friends from Book Worm Angels, Mike Ban and his group, will also be there for you to meet and speak with.  Their work to support literacy is amazing!  I am very blessed to be able to work with them.

I will be available to take pictures with you, sign a few 8x10s for you, and just hang out for a bit, so don't be late!  The fun starts at 1pm!  See you there.