Miss CA day 1 Recap!

Well yesterday marked the first day of this crazy pageant week! We started out by meeting Fresno's fabulous mayor and exchanging gifts with her. She welcomed everyone to Fresno and wished us luck for the next week. We then proceeded to lunch sponsored by The Habit in Fig Garden. It was delicious!! We then came back to the Radisson hotel and relaxed until the BBQ later that night! It was so much fun. I am happy to say that, although I have never been gifted in the vocal arena, I participated in karaoke with some of the girls. So much fun!! Now I am off to start getting ready for the Fresno Rotary dinner! Stay tuned for more updates! :) Xoxo Morgan

2 weeks...let the countdown begin!

Miss California is almost here!! It is unreal to think that in two weeks I will be in my hotel room preparing myself for my interview in the morning. I have been focusing all of my energy on my wardrobe, interview practice, working out, and all other aspects that go along with representing Fresno County the best I can in this pageant! 

Time sure does fly by when you are having fun! Here's a couple great things I have been doing since my last post: 

I had the honor of being in the Clovis Rodeo Parade, a parade that I participated in when I was a little girl as well as through Jr. High and High School for my dance/cheer teams. My favorite part was seeing some of the girls I teach and hearing them yell "Coach Morgan!" when they saw me drive by! Adorable!! 

My executive director, Marie, and I were incredibly busy working on selling ad pages for the Miss CA program book! I am so lucky to be in such a loving and supportive community because thanks to them and Marie, I sold the most pages and will be recognized for this achievement at the pageant! Thank you everyone who helped me get this far!! :) 

So here we go...13 days until Miss California! I CANNOT WAIT!!! 

WOW! What an amazing experience I just had speaking to some seniors from Madera High School tonight about the Every Fifteen Minutes program. I was a part of this when I was a junior at Clovis High and it had such an impact on my life! For those of you who have never heard of this before, it is a mock drunk driving accident that "kills" a couple students at the school. These students get taken from school and do not have any contact with anyone for a whole 24 hrs. It is a surreal experience and really opens up your eyes to the truth about drunk driving.
Even though I was not in Fresno County, I could not turn down the opportunity to share my thoughts with them. I talked about my experience with it and the lessons I got out of it. I told them how it is not just about drunk driving, it is so much more than that! When you are a part of this program you are faced to think about things such as, "Did I say goodbye to everyone?" "Was I a good daughter/son?" "What was my legacy on this world?" Crazy questions to ask yourself when you are only 17, but teenage drunk driving accidents happen far more times than they should!

"It all  comes down to making the right decisions." I told them as I left them with the following quotes on decision making:

“It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882);

“When you have established that one alternative is good and the other is evil, there is no justification for the choice of a mixture. There is no justification ever for choosing any part of what you know to be evil.”

Ayn Rand (1905-1982); 

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919);

I had a great time, and even though these seniors were only 1-2 years younger than myself, they were still so respectful of what I had to say. I want to thank Madera High for allowing me to speak to you tonight and congratulations on taking the initiative to stop drunk driving!

XOXO

Morgan Edwards

Fabulous Fiftes!

I had
so much fun tonight with all the wonderful volunteers from Clovis! It's great being Miss Fresno COUNTY because I get to branch out to all the neighboring citi

es including Clovis, where I call home! Tonight I was accompanied by Miss Fresno County's Outstanding Teen, Hannah Huyck, Miss Clovis,

and my ED Marie Theurich at the Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis to celebrate all the amazing volunteers who help make Clovis such a beautiful place!

After having a deep discussion about an 84 year old man's tortoise named Mortimer, we went inside to

greet everyone coming in. After dinner, Hannah and I were hanging on the edge of our seats waiting for the raffles to be drawn. She is usually pretty lucky when it comes to raffles! Not this time though!! I won 2 day passes to Wild Water Adventure Park! Looks like I will be practicing my swim suit walk by the wave pool this summer! ;)

We were then surprised by the amazing performance of Jeremy Pearce, Fresno's own Elvis! I loved seeing all the women get on their feet and shake their thing for him! Now I know why my Nana loves him so much!

Overall I had a great night and loved meeting all the selfless volunteers! It is truly inspiring knowing how much they love their community.

Miss CA Orientation!

All 58 contestants with Noelle Freeman

My Delta girls!

Central Valley girls!

This past weekend was the Miss California Orientation at the Radisson hotel here in Fresno. I had no clue what to expect, but once I got there I knew it was going to be a great weekend. I met so many beautiful and talented people who I am looking forward to getting to know even better when it comes to pageant week!

We were greeted by the great CEO Bob Arnum who gave us an inspiring speech about staying true to yourself, which is something I focus on everyday. He was followed by Noelle Freeman, Miss CA herself, who motivated all of us to really soak up everything we were about to learn through the weekend.

Through dance rehearsals, talent check, walking and make-up classes, it started sinking in that I am one of 58 girls who have this once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this wonderful production that is the Miss California Pageant. There are no words to describe how excited I am and how blessed I feel to share my experience with the Miss CA class of 2012!

Hello!

Wow, my first blog post! As I am sitting here all cuddled up with my dog, Phoebe, my mind is racing with so many things I want to talk about! First I want to start by introducing myself. My name is Morgan Elizabeth Edwards. I am a 19 year old college sophomore at Fresno State University. I have been a dancer my whole life and cannot think of anything else that makes me happier than being on a stage dancing! Those that know me know that I am most myself when I am performing. I have had so many blessing and opportunities in my life, but there's nothing quite like being named Miss Fresno County. For years I have seen and known the women who have held this title and never in a million years would I have thought I would be following in their footsteps! I am honored and humbled by this title and cannot wait to leave my imprint as Miss Fresno County 2012!

Before signing off, I want to thank all of the amazing people who got me involved in this new journey. The INCREDIBLE committee of the Miss Fresno Pageant has dedicated so much time and energy to making me the best I can be and for that I am extremely thankful. My Executive Director, Marie Theurich, is a beautiful woman who can light up a room on any occasion! She, as well as the rest of the girls, have such a great passion for this and I love getting to know them and working towards our goals! Also, thank you Mom and Dad for absolutely everything you have done for me; I love hearing how I make you both proud and will continue to strive to make you even prouder!

First blog post: CHECK!

XOXOXO

Morgan Edwards

Miss Fresno County 2012