In late 2008 I started a pageant program (known as
Miss Heart of the USA) in Dothan, Alabama in an effort to host a
simple food drive for my local rescue mission, little did I know where that
pageant would take me. Fast forward to 2016 and I am preparing to host our
6th annual National Pageant in Orlando, Florida where young ladies will fly in
from all over the USA for a chance at thousands of dollars worth of
scholarships. Each year as I make that trip to Orlando I can't help but think
how amazing the Wiregrass area has been to me and how a single event in January
2009 at the Cultural Arts Center in Dothan, Alabama changed my life forever.
Did you know that in the state of Alabama
agriculture and forestry related industries account for 580,295 jobs and
generate $70.4 billion for the economy?
After spending several years in the staffing
industry I was able to see first hand the huge impact that the agriculture industry
has on our local economy. Reality is, our future is in the hands of our
farmers. We fondly refer to Dothan as the "Peanut Capital of the
World" and just incase you didn't know, approximately one-fourth of the
U.S. peanut crop is produced nearby. When you come to Dothan, you are
officially in the heart of peanut country. The idea behind Miss United States
Agriculture is to celebrate the agriculture industry and our local farmers all
while promoting self esteem, building strong leaders and awarding scholarships
to further their education.
Our goal was to accomplish in Dothan what we
accomplish in Orlando each year by bringing in hundreds of families to see
what the city has to offer. I grew up in Dothan and although I spent two great
years in South Florida, Dothan has always been the place I call home and I was
so excited to return several years ago. I am extremely proud of our city and
was so incredibly excited to host our very first National Miss United States
Agriculture Pageant here. Our program quickly grew into more than even I
expected so in 2016 we moved our National Pageant to Birmingham.
We still await that of Nigeria..
#AgricModelling
#AgricFashion
#AgricBeauty
http://www.missunitedstatesagriculture.com/photos
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