Macy's Go Red for Women National Casting Call

What a great time I had at the Macy's Go Red for Women National Casting Call. I was on the judging panel with Sherri, quad bi pass survivor and Erika, morning host of Alice 105 Radio to try and narrow down the amazing candidates that came out to share their stories on film for the job of a national spokesperson for the Go Red for Women Campaign.

Cassie Bair and Sara Tobin from the American Heart Association put on a great event and I was so excited to be a part of it.

It was a great day in RED for the volunteers of the casting call.

Glo Spa fundraiser for the American Heart Association

The managers of Glo Spa.

The Glo Spa in Cherry Creek is having a wonderful promotion to promote the American Heart Association. Come in for a make-over by a nationally recognized make-up artist and receive a goody bag. All proceeds go to the American Heart association. I attended a fun day of spa services with other AHA volunteers to kick off the promotion.

The goody bags and promotions offered to benefit the American Heart Association.

The make-up artist was so good to the three of us. We loved our new looks and we all had a "Glo" about us!

Pictured with the make-up artist and Sherri a quad-bi pass survivor, Patsy an aneurysm survivor and myself wife of a survivor.

We were all proud to support the cause!

Me, during my make over. Okay, it's a big task for me to show up to an appearance with NO make-up on BUT it was for a good cause so I was happy to do it!

Sherri during her make-over. We loved getting pampered!

Veterans Hospital

It is always an honor to visit the Veterans Hospital. Karen Thaylor, Mrs. Wheat Ridge 2009 joined me to visit with the patients at the Hospital. We took a moment out of our busy day to take a picture with the wonderful staff of the Volunteer program.

They took such good care of us and we look forward to coming back!

The Veteran's Hospital is SO wonderful to the Mrs. Colorado local and state titleholders. They always host a beautiful lunch for us when we visit. Karen and I loved the food and appreciated the time they took to make us feel special.

Okay this guy is a pistol! I went to Veteran's Hospital last year as Mrs. Cherry Creek and met this Vietnam Vet in the housing unit of the hospital. He was quite "underwhelmed" that I wasn't Mrs. Colorado and told me to come back if I became Mrs. Colorado and he would visit with me. (Ha! I just love feisty people!) Well . . . . you can imagine I was on a "hunt" to find him to keep up his end of the deal. When I entered the housing unit, he was the first person I saw. I smiled big and said, "Remember me? You owe me a visit!" He DID remember me and let me take some pictures and share some stories with him. LOVE HIM!!

It is such an honor to visit the Veterans of War. This Vietnam Vet was so excited to see us.

To all of the Veterans that I met that day . . .

Thank you for sharing your stories. Thank you for reminding me of why I'm proud to be an American and most of all . . . Thank you for your Courage!

Heart Ball

I was so honored to be part of the Heart Ball, a black-tie fundraiser for the American Heart Association. I modeled a 3 carat diamond necklace that was auctioned off during dinner. When you purchased an engraved glass of campaign, you were eligible for the drawing.

A night of diamonds, campaign and supporting my favorite cause . . . The American Heart Association! Just wonderful!

The lucky couple that won the diamond necklace. It was hard to give it up but it was easier once I saw how excited she was!

Sheila Dietrich, executive director for the American Heart Association. She is the woman that makes great things happen here in Colorado. Thank you Sheila for all of your hard work!

Fellow American Heart Association Ambassador, Denise Plante. She is the co-host of Colorado & Company and KOSI 101. She looked absolutely lovely. I always enjoy bumping into her!

The center piece for all of the tables. I have found myself obsessed with "heart stuff" as much as "crown stuff" these days!

Kool 105 on Wear Red Day

I had a great time starting out the National Wear Red Day promotion early in the morning with a live interview with host, Tracy Taylor on Kool 105.

People across the nation wore RED on Feb. 6th to show support on fighting heart disease and for their survivors and lost loved ones.

Remember to Educate and Prevent!

Courage Through Confidence

Our lovely Miss Colorado Teen USA, Taylor Schettler, has started a wonderful program at her high school called "Courage Through Confidence". The program promotes self-esteem and having the courage to believe in yourself.

I was so very honored to be a guest speaker at their recent gathering at the Douglas County High School.

Pictured here with some of the young ladies that attended the Courage Through Confidence group. They ranged from age 14-17.

Thanks for having me beautiful ladies!

February is Heart Month!!!

As an ambassador for the American Heart Association, I wanted to let you know that . . . February is "Heart Month".


This is a better time than any to start living a heart healthy life! Did you know that heart disease is the #1 killer in our country?? This disease does not discriminate... my husband who is a former athlete with good cholesterol and great blood pressure suffered a massive heart attack and almost did not survive. Thank goodness he did and now we spend our time educating and preventing heart disease.



Make February the time to start eating healthy, getting your check-up at the doctor and celebrating your favorite stroke and heart attack survivors!

February 6th is National Wear Red Day! Pass the word around to your family members and fellow employees to wear red on Friday, Feb. 6th to support the awareness of stroke and heart disease!

Check out www.americanheart.org to find out more about stroke and heart disease.

Fox KDVR Good Day Colorado

I had such a great time on Friday morning on the Good Day Colorado show on Fox with Shaul Turner.

I was able to promote the American Heart Association and be a part of the "Fox Box", which is a panel of Shaul Turner and three guests to talk about current events. We covered the economy, some Colorado laws and the issues of camera phones.

Thanks for having me Shaul. You are such a talent and just gorgeous!

Fellow guests were, Dove a comedian from New York and a local radio D.J.

I was asked to come back and be a part of the show again. I can't wait!

(I will post pictures when I receive them from one of the producers).

Denver International School's Royal World Tea Fair

My daughter, Lila, attends a full immersion foreign language program at Denver International School. The programs offered are French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. This year I planned to attend the annual Royal World Tea Fair as "mommy" but was asked to be a special guest as Mrs. Colorado. I had so much fun signing autographs and showing my support for the school. The little girls always get a kick out of a "princess" joining there tea party!

D.I.S. also held there open house that day to almost a 100 perspective families. They too were able to come and join the festivities at our Tea Fair. We had different teas from over 15 different countries.

Mrs. Denver, Lori Pace, is also a fellow parent at D.I.S. It's always fun to work with my fellow titleholders!

It's always a bonus to find another girl who loves crowns as much as me!

MENC comes to Colorado

One of Mrs. America's sponsors is MENC, the National Association for Music Education. I was honored to be a part of the Colorado Music Educators Conference in Colorado Springs.

There were over 3,000 attendees to support music education.

Mrs. America delegates are coming together with MENC to gather 1 million signatures to present to congress in Washington D.C. in June. The goal is to get music education and the arts in our public school programs as part of the core curriculum.

I kept busy getting several hundred signatures to represent the Mrs. Colorado Organization in Washington D.C.

Mrs. Denver, Lori Pace, also collected several hundred signatures the following day. Thanks Lori!

Happy New Year!

We are well into the new year and I have finally got used to dating all of my checks . . . 2009.

I hope all of you had great Holidays and are looking forward to opportunities that this year will bring.

We are all in charge of our own successes. No matter what they may be, be passionate about your goals. Work hard to achieve them. And remember the person you should be trying to impress most of all is yourself.

May 2009 be a year to impress!

Happy New Year!

The Jingle Bell Run

I apologize for the delay in these photos but I had "technical difficulties" with my camera and thought I had lost all of these photos. Thanks to the camera shop, I was able to retrieve my pics!

Just a few weeks before Christmas I co-hosted the Jingle Bell Run with "Murphy" from KOSI 101. Even though the temperature was -4 it was still a great turn out to support the Arthritis Foundation.

Everyone was real troopers despite the weather and we all had a great time.

A few of the Nuggets Cheerleaders were also troopers to come out and cheer on the runners.

The costume winner . . . Santa's Little Helper! I judged the costume contest and not only was this festive but remember, it was -4 degrees! She earned 1st prize!

Whats a snowy day in December without Frosty and Santa!

28th Annual Heart of Hearts Gala . . .

My husband and I had an evening we will never forget at the 28th Annual Heart of Hearts Gala. We were presented with the Henry M. Porter award, a humanitarian award, for our work in the community educating and preventing heart disease.

The Hearts of Hearts Gala is hosted by the Rocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation in support of cardiovascular services at Porter and Littleton hospitals.

Porter Hospital saved my husband life. Before being presented with the award the Gala was shown a short video of our story and what we have done since his heart attack. Cameramen had been filming various events over the past couple of months to make the video. It was very touching to see our story on screen.

As an ambassador for the American Heart Association, a wife of a survivor and as Mrs. Colorado I have taken this opportunity to educate that this disease does not discriminate.

My husband started the Colorado Pain & Rehab Charitable Foundation with proceeds going to the American Heart Association. Together we have been able to share our story hoping to prevent anyone else having to go through what we did just over a year ago.

We are so blessed to have a second chance and feel that giving back to the community is the least we can do.

THANK YOU to the Rocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation for presenting us with this honorable award.

We had an evening that we will cherish forever.

John and I were SO honored as we were presented with the Henry M. Porter Award.

In my acceptance speech, I was able to thank my husband for being a fighter and for inspiring me, the American Heart Association for having me as an ambassador, the Rocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation for this honorable award and of course the Mrs. Colorado organization for giving me the opportunity to have a voice that could be heard.

John's acceptance speech was so touching and very inspiring.

This night brought all of my roles together . . . American Heart Association Ambassador, wife of a survivor and Mrs. Colorado. One of the proudest moments of my life.

My survivor and motivation!

With last year's recipient of the Henry M. Porter Award, Dr. Bruce Paton.

We were honored to be his successors.

With the Master of Ceremonies, Mark Koebrich from Channel 9.

John and I before dinner.

Laura Fitch, part of the Rocky Mountain Adventist Healthcare Foundation. She was the person responsible for planning this amazing event.

JOB WELL DONE!

John and I had an evening we will never forget!

Peter Howell, the CEO of John's group Colorado Pain & Rehab, and his fiance' Judy came to show their support.

Children Diabetes Foundation

Acting Mrs. Colorado director, Emily Stark, and myself were honored to attend the Children Diabetes Foundation Brass Ring Luncheon held at the Marriot Civic Center downtown.

The event benefits the Foundation and the Barbara Davis center.

I was so honored to model these beautiful Pink Pearls designed and made by Barbra Davis' daughter. They were sold at the live auction to benefit the Children Diabetes Foundation.

This years luncheon was the biggest turn out with over 600 guests.

Saks Fifth Avenue hosted a runway fashion show featuring "The Best of Saks".

Board members of the Foundation. True heroes to the kids of Colorado with diabetes.

Coordinator of the event, Susie Hummell. Thank you so much for having me.

Veterans Dinner

It was such an honor to be a special guest at the 2008 Veterans Dinner in Idaho Springs.

Irv Kruger was a USMC in WWII in Korea. He turned 93 years old this month!!

He is a true hero and is such a reminder of why we support our troops!!

Nicole Cucinella was given an EMT award for her duties as a paramedic. She works with the Clear Creek County EMS.

Jamie Davis received a special award from the Idaho Springs VFW Post for her hard work in the education system. She is a 6th grade teacher with Georgetown Community School.


Emma and her father have made attending the Veterans Dinner and having a photo with Mrs. Colorado a tradition. This is Emma's fourth year meeting the reigning Mrs. Colorado. I remember seeing her photo on the blog with the previous queens . . . I was SO excited to finally meet her!

Seminar at Liberty Media

My trainer, Ray Kahn of Kick-fit Sports hosted a seminar at Liberty Media on "Living a Healthy Lifestyle".

He invited me as a guest speaker and to share my story of living through almost losing my husband to a heart attack and why and how we now live a heart healthy life.

Ella Blue Fashion Show for Families First

I had such a great time being part of the Ella Blue Fashion show. Pictured here with boutique owner and friend Kim. A percentage of all of sales for the evening went to the charity, Families First.

Ella Blue has GREAT clothes, accessories, and pampering products.

Families First is a charity to help rehabilitate children and families who have been abused. The event was a big success and brought awareness to this great charity.

Queen For A Day!

Patrice Williams Miss Colorado USA, Taylor Schettler Miss Colorado Teen USA and myself Mrs. Colorado all came together to support a great cause . . . Queen For A Day.

The event is at Children's Hospital and it is a time for some of the patients to get pampered like princesses! The girls get to enjoy make overs by the Colorado Queens and other princess volunteers. The girls get their make-up done, nails painted and even their own crown! The boys get to enjoy meeting the Police Cadets and their mascot, McGruff.

The kids are SO grateful and it is always so amazing to see these kids smile!

Police mascot, McGruff. I knew I had made it big when I did an appearance with McGruff!

I have been his biggest fan since I was a kid!

Traci Tate coordinated this great event and I was SO honored to be a part of it! Job well done Traci . . . the event was a huge success!

Taylor and I could not pass on a photo op with McGruff and the police cadets that were also there to make the day extra special for the kids!

The little girls just LOVED getting pampered by princesses all day!

She is ready for her "royal ball". What a brave and beautiful princess!

This beauty did not need a make over but she DID deserve some pampering!

Her and her sister after their "queen pampering". She is such a fighter and SO humble! It was so great to be able to take her mind off of her hospital stay.

Of course the best part of going to the hospital is going to visit patients in their rooms. They are always SO brave and SO inspiring.

It is always so great to see the smile on the kid's face when I pop in for a surprise visit!

Queens finishing up after a great day at Children's Hospital!

The Zarlengo Foundation Ball

Henry Winkler (aka, The Fonz) . . . producer, actor, writer and motivational speaker was the special guest of the evening.

The Zarlengo Foundation benefits the Havern Center, a school for children with learning disabilities. These group of people help fund these educational programs and have gone above and beyond to bring awareness to children with learning disabilities.

Henry Winkler has been a HUGE success despite growing up with learning disabilities himself. He was so inspiring and I was so honored to be a part of this great event.

I modeled a 7 karat diamond bracelet that was donated by one of the board members. The bracelet was worth over $9000. The raffle for the bracelet raised quite a bit of money for the Havern Center.

A special THANK YOU to the Zarlengo family and all of the attendees that help raise money for such a great cause!

My handsome date, my husband John. (Notice, I'm discreetly showing off that diamond bracelet to him! I convinced him to buy LOTS of those raffle tickets!)

Winner of the 7 Karat diamond bracelet! He had to pry it out of my hands!!

Congratulations!!

Anna Marie Zarlengo, Board of Director member and event coordinator.

Enjoying the evening with fellow guests.

Mrs. Colorado Book Cover Photo Shoot

On Oct. 30th I had GREAT fun shooting the cover for the 2009 Mrs. Colorado book. I can't wait to see it! It is a Mrs. Colorado tradition that the cover of the book be kept a surprise until pageant weekend. How exciting . . . but the suspense is killing me!

Official Mrs. Colorado photographer, Meagon Anderson with Graphique Fine Art Photography, is wonderful to work with.

Also there at the shoot was Colorado acting director Emily Stark, Updo-ologist D.J. McDermott and Make-up by Kari, Kari Kisch.

A BIG thank you to the whole gang for making the day so fun!