Matt Leverton’s National American Miss (NAM) Pageants Blog
National American Miss (NAM) Blog
These are some of the photos of the 2016 South Carolina Queens. We were able to get together and make a variety of different cookies in Greenville, SC for 25 guests at the house Ronald McDonald House. I had a lot of fun organizing this and everyone had such a fun time.
Jia Patel (Miss South Carolina Jr. Pre-Teen) spent the past year proudly
fundraising with her family. She helped raise over $20,000 to build a
clean water well in her grandfather’s birth village in India. They also
used these funds to build a drinking water facility for the animals in
this very hot and dry farming village.
Jia was very grateful to have been able to take her South Carolina NAM
title to India this past December 2016 to see her fundraising efforts in
person. Jia plans to continue to promote awareness about the need for
people worldwide to have access to clean safe water.
2009 South Carolina National American Miss Stephanie Hall Changing Lives
While I was at the national pageant I had the pleasure to speak with South Carolina’s Miss, Stephanie Hall. She told me all about the events she has attending and appearances she has made. Below is one special story that she wanted to share.
Visiting the residents at Skylyn Place Retirement Home has been one of my favorite things to do as Miss SC. My first time visiting was a blast! I met many of the sweet residents, took lots of pictures with them, and got to know a little bit about each one of them. I sat down with some of them while they played games and watched television. I made lots of new friends!
We had such a great time on my first visit I was invited to come back for their Christmas party a few weeks later! At the party I visited with some of my new friends, met all of the other residents, and even met some of their family members. Of course, we took lots of pictures, too! I was given the awesome opportunity of speaking to everyone there about myself and my platform, breast cancer awareness. Then we sang Christmas carols and chowed down on some yummy desserts. One lady challenged me to a dance-off to see if she could win my crown! But I told her I’d better not agree to that because she would probably win.
Volunteering with this amazing group of people has been such a rewarding experience! I showed up at Skylyn Place with the intention of encouraging the people there, and they ended up encouraging me! So many of the residents do not ever have visitors, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. The staff is great, too, and I plan on going back very soon!
Our 2007 National American Miss South Carolina Jr. Pre-Teen, Amelia DePass, makes it to the big screen.
Amelia is a very busy young lady. She is has been involved in modeling and acting since age 5. She has filmed three feature films, three commercials, and is featured in RAGGS on PBS. She also does community theater. She has taken horseback riding lessons for 4 years, took dance for two years, acting classes for 2 years, gymnastics for 3 years, was a cheerleader this year, has played church league basketball, completed Girls On The Run last semester and finished a 5K run in under 30 minutes. Amelia is a great student, being on the Principal’s Honor Roll having all As. She received the SC Governor’s Achievement Award last year for her community involvement. She has been involved in school fundraisers like JUMP for a healthy heart and The Boosterthon Fun Run. She aids the Junior Welfare League of Rock Hill by working in their thrift store as a cashier. She helps out the Rock Hill Family Resource Center by babysitting small children while their parents attend educational classes. She has helped with homework at the Children’s Attention Center and plays with those kids after school. She has collected and donated household items and clothing to help families in natural disasters. Amelia is an amazing young girl with a big, kind heart and an adventurous spirit.
Way to go Amelia, we are all so proud of you
~Matt
