As I approach leaving for the national Mrs. America pageant,
I am filled with many emotions. The biggest emotion is one of thanks. I
continued to be amazed by all of my friends, family, and people in our
community who have given me support and encouragement. I have said this before and I’ll say it
again, none of this would be meaningful if I were experiencing this alone.
The Friday night before I left for nationals, I was blessed
with the advice from my Mrs. Colorado Queen Sisters as they host a sendoff
party for me. A big thank you to Janell
Aims and Tricia Dampier who have worked hard to plan every detail, which I have
to say was “Fabulous!” My stomach
literally hurt from laughing as I listened to the hilarious stories, advice and
recommendations for this once in a lifetime adventure. A huge heartfelt “thank you” to Sharon
Nuanes, my Queen Sister, who designed and sewed my adorable Hammonds Candy Girl
costume. Sharon is the type of person
who gives the world and expects nothing in return. Sharon, we are going to rock the costume
portion of this pageant and I want you to know that the entire time, I will be
thinking of you and how kind you have been to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Once again, I am reminded of how lucky I am
to be part of this sisterhood.
A Huge thank you to my sponsors who have poured hours of
blood, sweat, and tears with me. Megan
Anderson with Graphique Fine Art Photography, you always make me feel and look
like a million bucks! I will feel so
proud to have my ad page in the Mrs. America magazine. Your talents are incredible. DJ at Timothy
D’s Salon, you are one of my angels. You
have believed in me from the beginning and your kindness is immeasurable. I consider you a dear friend to me. Tiffany
Yee and crew at The Body Statement Gym, thank you for keeping me on track and
pushing this 35 year old, mother of two, to its full capacity. You never let me give up and always push me
to my limits. From weight training to
nutrition your team is always there for me.
I know that you believe in me, even when I don’t. Thank you!
Dr. Raj Terkonda, you make my skin feel radiant! I have never gotten compliments on my skin
until now. Athena at Rockstar Spray Tan,
thank you for giving me that golden glow! Raeanne at The Royal Image Boutique, you are
my own fashion advisor. Thank you for supplying
me with amazing gowns for nationals. Amy
Nakos, what would I do without you? You
not only make sense of my mind but make me feel like I can conquer the
world! Christina Sacha, thank you for
giving me a “one over” and sending me off with confidence. To all my Queen Sisters, thank you for taking
me in and encouraging me to stand proud.
As I sit here writing this, I am reminded of the movie Ms.
Congeniality staring Sandra Bullock. It
really does take a crew of people working their magic (and some grinders) to
transform a normal woman into a beauty queen.
Words could never be enough to thank all of the people who have
supported me and I know I have missed many. I keep pinching myself and think …how
lucky I am.
xoxo - Mrs. Colorado 2012, Courtney Graham
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| The Amazing Tiffany from Body Statement Gym |
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| Me and My Queen Sister Sharon |
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| Right before we loaded the car! |
