Sunday, December 1, 2013

Miss Texas Video!


Follow the Link to Watch the video Clip from Last years Pageant!!!

Hall of Fame! Who Will be Next?




My favorite dresses from Miss Teen Texas USA 2013


Alrighty loves, Below are some of my favorite gowns from this years pageant. Although I did not watch preliminaries, ONLY finals-So The only thing I had to go off of was pictures from Texaspageantscene.com and while the pictures are awesome, we all know that pictures dont do ALL dresses justice! SO if I missed a dress, I apologize!!!!! Lastly, this is based just on the dress, not the girl, or the way she worked it, JUST THE DRESSES THEMSELVES.


12- South Padre Island
I know its not a shock that I love white dresses and feathers! :) My only critique for this gown is that you can see the lines in between the feathers. Otherwise, love the color, sparkle and flow!!

11- Laredo
Again, WHITE, lol A very common trend for me! I loved the delicate beading on the top of this dress and the lightweight layers that flowed as she walked. Top 16

10- San Antonio 
Look Familiar? While these two dresses are very simillar, I do think I like this one a tad more- I love the Cap sleeves! 2nd runner up
9- Seabrook
I love light blue on blondes! This is such a great color for a teen, and the crystals on top are stunning! This full skirt is young and adorable!
8- Del Rio
I love the fit of this dress, its flattering and playful! While I think I might have preferred the color on a brunette, its a stunning dress! The stripes and unique and give her a great shape!
7- Fort Stockton
I love the beadwork on the top of this gown! It is very unique and memorable! I really like the two pieces of this dress, but I think I prefer it to be for a fashion show/ photoshoot/or appearance and not an evening gown.
6- Tropics of Texas
LOVE this bold blue color! The beadwork on the top of this gown is stunning! I love how it has almost a built in necklace/ collar! I just wish this had cap sleeves!
5-South Laredo
Again, I love the BOLD solid color of this dress, it compliments her skin tone well and has a great flow! Sometimes dresses dont need to have a ton of sparkle or beading to make a statement!
4- Bay Area
I have seen a few different versions of this dress and love every single one! Not only does this dress have AMAZING beadwork, but it has a small belt that brings in her waist and cap sleeves that just add that little extra touch of class and elegance! top 16
3- South Texas
Another BOLD color choice that absolutely paid off! I love that this dress is tight all the way down to show off her figure, but there is a train to make it youthful and fun! The off the shoulder straps take it up a notch!
top 16
2- Gulf Coast
Oh how I love pink on a blonde! This dress is unbelievable beautiful! The beadwork is incredible! The sleeves go all the way around the back and add a lot of drama! The extra beadwork on the hips helps give her an hour glass shape making this one of my favorite dresses!
top 16

1- Kemah
My Jaw literally DROPPED when she walked out in this dress! Its so hard to tell from the pictures, but this dress SPARKLED soo soo much! Not only was it sparkly all over, but it has patters of larger sparkles on it which made it very interesting. It was tighter on top, and didnt quite mermaid out, but the fit was perfect!
top 16

Congrats to Teen Dallas for winning Teen Texas USA today! Also a HUGE congrats to all of those who competed! If your dream is to be Miss Texas Teen or Miss Texas, DONT GIVE UP!
We are currently searching for the next Miss, Miss Teen and Mrs Texas International 2014!


Check out the website for more details!

www.MissTeenTexasInternational.com
www.MissTexasInternational.com
www.MrsTexasInternational.com










Margarita Ball 2013

Margarita Ball 2013 was a Huge success! We raised over 9,000 toys for Children Charities this year! Thank you to our newly crowned Miss Dallas International 2014, Miss Rachel Burns for inviting me to such a wonderful event! We helped collect toys for the first few hours of the events then walked around and took pictures with guests! I loved seeing so many friendly faces, not to mention some AMAZING GOWNS!
You can learn more about the Dallas Margarita Society below!
http://www.dallasmargaritasociety.org/





Gift Of lights at Texas Motor Speedway

I was beyond honored to have been able to turn on the lights at the "Gift of Lights" event at Texas Motor Speedway with Mrs. Texas Intl 2013 Michelle Berndt! A huge thank you to our FABULOUS director Rachel Hedstrom for getting us invited to this event. Before the show started I was able to speak with Sam, a young boy who has been diagnosed with Nueroblastoma. His outlook on life was simple, but wonderful.. he just wants to play baseball and be a normal kid.
You can watch some highlights from the event below!
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/tarrant/Young-cancer-patient-and-his-little-brother-bring-on-holiday-cheer-at-TMS-232940791.html





American Heart Association Austin Lobby Day

I was invited back to the capitol on behalf of American Heart Association for another Lobby Day! We were not there promoting or backing any legislation, but instead just to visit with the congressmen and women and update them on the heart health of our state. Many of the topics included Physical education in schools, Health classes in schools, Food Deserts, Nutrition in Schools, Obesity, and stats to back up our findings!
When we were done speaking, I was able to take a walk around the Capitol and take some fun pictures! I hope you enjoy!




Veterans Day 2013

This Veterans day I had my eyes opened like never before. I have always been extremely grateful for the service veterans have given to our country, but this veterans day took my appreciation to a new level. I was invited to Visit the Hospice ward at the VA in Dallas by my director and former Mrs. Texas INTL 2012, Rachel Hedstrom. She has been volunteering with veterans and active duty military for years, it is a cause near and dear to her heart as she was a "brat". We were able to speak with these men and women and hear their amazing life stories, some of which had us in tears. We even encountered a man who started crying when we wished him a Happy Veterans Day - He explained that no one ever thanks him, and that he spent last veterans day ALONE. The fact that we were there spending our day with him made his day. They truly are the greatest American Heros.





Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Raising Money for Sponsorships/ Entry Fees/ Wardrobe!

Hello My beautiful Queen Bees!

I have received a lot of questions about how to raise money for competition fees! One important thing to keep in mind is that Rachel, Our Pageant Director for this years Texas International pageant is willing to take payments for your entry fee, YOU DO NOT have to pay all at once if you cant afford it. This is very important to keep in mind because as soon as you know you want to compete, you should immediately pay your deposit and lock down your city or county title that you want to represent! Last year I locked in the title of Miss Dallas in October, I didn't want anyone else to snatch it up from me!

There are a lot of ways you can raise money for competition!

Sponsors!!! Sponsors!!!! Sponsors!!!

Sponsors are a great way to raise money, you are required to sell a Half page ad in the program book for $275.00, you can charge the actual fee for the ad to a business to advertise, or you can charge any amount over to help defray the cost of your entry fee. A lot of girls charge $400-500 for their half page ad, and use the extra money towards their entry fee!
To get these sponsors, you should design a flyer, or use the one sent to you in your contestant handbooks and personally deliver them to local business's. Explain to them that with their support you could win the state title and how their ad could be seen by people all over Texas! They can put coupons in their ad, or even a photo of you at their business! ALWAYS ask people you know first! Business's that you frequent the most are the ones most likely to place an ad with you! Friends and Family can buy ads as well!

You can also host a Beauty Queen Car Wash with fellow local titleholders and split the profit, or you can even do it on your own, but be prepared to have helpers for all of those cars!

Another great way is a Princess Tea! You can sell tickets in advance to little girls or even big ones, in your area to have a Princess Tea with Miss ---- (your title) Its a lot of fun for the little girls, you can even do an arts and crafts project with them!

Then theres always Bake Sales! This probably wont yield the type of profits you need to defray your total costs, but it couldnt hurt! You can also have shirts made with your title and photo on them to sell to your supporters!

Lastly, you can host a Dinner! A lot of restaurants will donate a portion of the nights proceeds to you! ALL you have to do is ASK! But its important to promote your dinner with flyers, and make sure to invite all of your friends!

If you have any more questions, you may email me at MissTXINTL2013@gmail.com
Make sure to visit the website at Misstexasinternational.com
To sign up for the Pageant, Email Rachel at Texasinternationalpageant@gmail.com

Friends of Frisco Color RUN

I was feeling Festive for this years friends of Frisco Color RUN, as I am sure you can tell by my outfit! haha I was not able to participate in the race but I still wanted to fit in and be covered in COLOR! Not to mention- I just LOVE this Sherri Hill dress! The money from this years run went to benefiting teen suicide prevention. We heard from the family of a young boy who took his life, and the importance of reaching out to people when they are feeling BLUE.





Texas State Fair Parade!

I was unbelievably honored to be able to ride in this years State Fair Parade! Before the parade I was able to walk around the fairgrounds and take some fun photos! I was also able to meet some sweet little girls who were so excited to meet a "princess". I was a little bad and indulged in some yummy fried food! Did you know they have friend bubblegum? :)




Team Connor 5K Color me Green!

I had a blast at the Team connor Color me Green 5K! The race started out with a fun run for the little ones, it was a very short lap around the park- at the end of the lap I was able to give out ribbons to all of the children! They were so So excited that they had won a ribbon! Up next was the 5K! During the 5k, volunteers were able to throw green powder on runners! It was so much fun! A few people walked away COVERED in green powder while others were lucky and barely had any! I even saw a dog covered in Green!! Team Connor is a Non profit organization that raises money for childrens cancer research!





Thursday, September 19, 2013

Pageant Preparation: Dates announced, Now What?

Hello Ladies!

Now that the dates have been announced for the 2014 Miss, Teen and Mrs. Texas Intl pageants I bet you are wondering what's next? Well, AFTER you have done your research (See previous post on Research) Its time to decide what City/County/Area you want to represent! I knew right away that I wanted to represent Dallas, So I didn't hesitate to reserve my spot in the pageant. I didnt want anyone to snag the Miss Dallas INTL title before I did! Contact Rachel Hedstrom at TexasInternationalpageant@gmail.com to lock down your city!

Next, I started to develop my platform in the Dallas area. I have been with my platform for 7 years, So for me it was easy. But for some of you, you may be starting from scratch, and THAT'S FINE! You want to find a non profit organization that has meaning to you. My family has a history of Heart Disease, which is why I chose American Heart Association. Any organization will work, as long as you are passionate and truly care about its cause and purpose.

An ideal organization has a local branch that you can volunteer at, but is also a national organization. (For when you compete at Nationals) Send Press releases to local papers informing them of your new title and platform. ALWAYS ALWAYS send press releases along with pictures to newspapers and magazines after every appearance.

Develop a 30 second "elevator speech" as to why you chose your platform, this will be handy when at appearances and asked.

If there aren't very many events to volunteer at with your organization, then CREATE your own.
Go into schools and speak to children, host a charity dinner, run or fashion show.
I held a charity Dinner as Miss Dallas last year and raised several hundred dollars!

Have a goal in mind for your platform, whether it is to raise money, spread awareness, gain more volunteers, host a benefit, or open a new chapter, its ALWAYS important to have a clear and precise goal to convey to the judges during interview.

Some Awesome Organizations are:

Make A wish Foundation
http://wish.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters
http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962335/k.BE16/Home.htm

American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/

United Nationals Childrens Fund
http://www.unicef.org

Feeding America
http://feedingamerica.org/

Save the Children
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

Humane Society
http://www.humanesociety.org/

American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/

Special Olympics
http://specialolympics.org/

Wounded Warrior Project
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Boys and Girls Club
http://bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx

The Above Non-Profits are extremely successful and have a national impact. Any one of these would make an excellent platform. BUT AGAIN, you want something that you truly care about, so spend time figuring out what that is, Your platform can literally be ANYTHING.

You can reach out to the organization of your choice by sending an email or stopping by their local office. In the past, I have done BOTH! Its important that they know you want to help! The more you stay in contact with them, the more they will call you when they need someone! If any of you want help on a more personal level on how to develop your platform., feel free to email me at MissTXINTL2013@gmail.com

God Bless,
Samantha Riddle


Miss Texas Intl 2014 Pageant!


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Heart Walk : Dallas 2013

I am proud to report that this years Dallas Heart Walk raised 4.5 Million Dollars!! The Dallas Heart Walk is Famous for being the largest in the nation, and this year was no exception! With over 70,000 people in attendance, we walked three miles starting at the American Airlines Center (Home to the Dallas Mavericks) up onto the freeway and ended at Victory Park! I decided it would be fun to take my dog, Scooby Doo, to the walk with me. I had a great time burning calories and raising money for American Heart Association!
If you are interested in other Heart Walks in the state of Texas, be sure to check out this list on their website:
http://www.heartwalk.org/site/c.rjJ0J6MHIoE/b.5779325/k.7476/Event_Search_Results.htm?state=TX&event=&zip=&radius=5&comp=National