Miss Winthrop Harbor Pageant

Miss Winthrop Harbor Pageant

I cheered on Rhiannon, Spoke about the Live Out Loud Charity, and introduced myself on stage as Miss Glen Ellyn along with other visiting Royalty. After the pageant we drove around in a stretch limo and went to StoneCreek Restaurant to celebrate. View more photos of this exciting event at www.SherrieGearheart.com under my title.

Meeting Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron

Last week I met with Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron. She is so beautiful in person. My hairstylist, Theresa Robles, was with me and we had a blast.

I ran into some of the girls I competed with last year when I was Miss Northern Suburbs 2010. It was great seeing so many familiar faces. They couldn't get over my new pics and my new do. I had to do something different this year. I had to be different. :) Below from Left to Right is Sherrie Gearheart Miss Glen Ellyn, Jen Carr Miss Chatham Glenwood, Erin O'Conner Miss Illinois MAO, Ruthi Brooks Miss Champaign-Urbana.

Last week was a whirlwind for me.I am going to place some of the photos from this appearance into Tiara Magazine!

Supplies for Success

I made an appearance at the Glen Ellyn Farmer's Market. Images coming soon from Tirage Studio. After making my way around to the different vendors I turned around and was so happy to see the Supplies for Success banner. I introduced myself to the two women who spear head this project and have made it a big success. I told them that I am part of the Glen Ellyn Fashion Show Committee and we are holding our Fashion Show November 7th, 2010 to help raise funding for their charity. They expressed how pleased they were last year because the show raised over $1,000 to clothe the children in need with winter coats. They hope to do the same thing with the money raised this year. I will post more information later including our fashion show flyer, my photo with the Supplies for Success banner, as well as facts regarding their organization. I am extremely proud to be part of the Glen Ellyn Fashion Show Committee to bring back more life to our downtown area and to help children in need from our community. Below are some facts regarding the Supplies 4 Success organization.

Supplies 4 Success

• ... is a grassroots, charitable organization based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Glen Ellyn School District 41, Community Consolidated School District 89, the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for Progress (PEP) Foundation actively partner in this effort as well.

•  ... helps elementary and middle school children in need living in Glen Ellyn and surrounding communities to start the school year off right by providing them with a Supplies 4 Success Kit – a complete school supply kit and backpack.

• ... raises the funds necessary to do this by reaching out to local businesses, religious organizations, charitable/civic organizations, and residents of these communities.

• ... provided Supplies 4 Success Kits to 700 children in need in 2009.

The need for assistance for the 2010 school year is even greater. In addition to school supplies, many students are in need of winter outerwear to keep them healthy, safe and warm throughout winter.

Therefore, Supplies 4 Success has changed its stated mission to include winter outerwear. Monetary donations of any amount are greatly appreciated and will be put toward this effort.

*Children attending Glen Ellyn School District 41 and Community Consolidated School District 89.  Includes children living in Glen Ellyn, as well as children living in parts of Wheaton, Lombard, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream, Illinois.

What a night! Taste of Glen Ellyn

Wow I had so much fun connecting with the people of my town as they all gathered around at the Taste of Glen Ellyn. I always love seeing the familiar faces of the Chamber of Commerce. Big thanks to the owner of Doggonits and his beautiful wife Miss South Wales of 1954 for giving me a Taste of Glen Ellyn T-shirt. Tonight I actually ran out of autograph cards. I was bombarded by so many teens, preteens, and children. I loved it! Some of them would just look up at me with curiosity and I would have to stoop down to their level to open them up and explain who I am. Just because you have crown doesn't mean people will just flock to you. You have to connect with them on a personal level. Each of them were sooo excited to read the personalized messages I wrote on their autographed cards.  One asked for a "special" message. I explained to him that every message I write is special just like each and every single one of them truly is unique. I am a woman of intuition which is what I rely on when I write to each one :) Below are some images.

I was referred to tonight as the "pretty lady" the "nice lady" and the "beautiful girls" signing autograph cards. YES girls as in plural. LOL. I had two different cards so the boys and girls who didn't meet me yet thought there were two of us... or me lol. I think my favorite was the little old man that actually came back to get his picture with me :) I have to MAIL him a copy ;) HOW CUTE!! Below is a picture of us!

Before the massive autograph signings I made my way around the different booths learning about businesses and even connecting with individuals on a personal level. The lady from the Chicago Tribune really touched my heart as we discussed my platform on a personal level. She is an inspiration. See images below!

I learn just as much from others as they do from me. I bought my boyfriend some Happy Feet because he works so hard and drove 5 hours today to take pictures of me at the event.... he is sooo sick. Of course I had to try on the happy feet first LOL but I bought them for him not me :)

I also had the fun of breaking some sterotypical ideas of what beauty queens are. Luckily there were only 2 women that gave me "smart" remarks. I expelled their preconcieved notions, not with flattery, rather, by showing them who I really am and what I am about: a woman with a mission. Not a bubble head, not a "beauty" queen, rather a woman that gets things done, manages a team of over 65 individuals, and a president of a non profit organization. I am always kind in my pursuit of standing up for us pageant girls but I am also real. :) After speaking with the booth attendees I started saying hellos and signing autograph cards. What I have noticed as a title holder is you have to really be daring and bold. Yes the crown will cause looks of curiousity. However the single most important thing is the actual connection. I walked around and stopped crowds of teens and children and was able to open them up. Of course I told them to add me on facebook and I was so delighted when I had 5 facebook requests the moment of left the taste tonight :) One of the other cutest hightlights of the night was when the 14 year old girls asked me to show them my walk. Image below.

So I did.... and then I told them they had to in return. After some confidence boosting and laughs they were struting the runway... or the pavement LOL... HOW FUN! Connecting with teens is so important. This is when they need us most. I have tons of pictures from the last two days. Today was the Taste of Glen Ellyn and an appearance at Whistles and Bells Snackery of Glen Ellyn. The owner is wonderful and put my picture in her window right away which I thought was nice. Images below inside the snackery & with the wonderful owner. There is also an image of me signing autograph cards while inside her store.

Yesterday I met with Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron. She is so beautiful in person. My hairstylist, Theresa Robles, was with me and we had a blast. I ran into some of the girls I competed with last year when I was Miss Northern Suburbs 2010. It was great seeing so many familiar faces. They couldn't get over my new pics and my new do. I had to do something different this year. I had to be different. :) I also attended the taste of Glen Ellyn yesterday. This week has been a whirlwind for me. So much good news has been headed my way. It became official that I get to give a speech at the Winthrop Harbor pageant tomorrow......... ANOTHER EARLY MORNING!!!

I will post pictures soon. Thanks for reading!

Love you all,

Sherrie Gearheart

Publish Post

My Princess and Me

Sherrie Gearheart: Miss Glen Ellyn International
Rhiannon Joy Page Graham: Miss Glen Ellyn Princess
Sherrie Gearheart and Rhiannon Paige Joy Graham met last year at the Miss Northern Suburbs Pageant Rehearsals. Together we competed, me in the Miss division and Rhiannon in the princess division. We both won our titles which paired us together for an entire year for the princess mentoring program. We then competed together at the state competition. This year I decided to take the title of Miss Glen Ellyn in pursuit of the Miss Illinois International title. My princess (as I still refer to her and she calls me her Miss) decided to stay with me! Even though there isn't a princess division, together we share a bond. A bond of friendship, sisterhood, and titleholders. She traveled over an hour to spend April 30th with me spending the entire day making appearances.

April 30th- Photoshoot at Tirage Studio "My Princess and Me"

April 30th- Ribbon Cutting Wentworth Law Offices P.C.

April 30th- Honey's Restaurant

April 30th- George Foundation for Excellence Fashion Show Fundraiser

We also took part in an awesome photo shoot by Tirage Studio. Hair by Theresa Robles and Make up by Nadia. Thank you Rhiannon for being the little sister I never had. I love you very much and your
mommy Cindy too! At a later date I will interview Rhiannon so everyone can get to know her better! She is quite the young lady.
Best wishes!
Sherrie Gearheart
Miss Glen Ellyn

 Sherrie Gearheart's green dress by Patty DiFronzo

Old memories...take a look

My best friend thought it would be a good idea to include little images for my past titles and competitions on my personal website www.sherriegearheart.com As I was going through the pictures it was so much fun. I even saw old pictures of my grandmother. I miss her so much. Seeing her face made me light up inside. I never knew how much those pictures would have an impact on me. When I have time I want to create albums for everything LOL To be fun I will include some of the images here.... but first I need to get some sleep...

I'm back. It is May 15th and here are some old pics so I can share some memories with you. To view which title I was competing for or held please visit www.sherriegearheart.com/page3 and scroll to the bottom of the page. Otherwise here are some snip-its! :D I included some frequent questions that I am asked most often.

The picture to the left is awesome because I was representing a title I won for all of my charity work. I completed over 1,000 hours of charity work and was given this title as an award. In this picture I am standing with my niece Cassidy Gearheart. She wanted to compete so I coached her and she won her first title. I see so much of myself in her. She is a natural speaker, memorizing her speech flawlessly, and of course she loves art like me too! ;) She was so excited to compete in her first pageant that she would actually call me to work on her speech!!! She had more initiative than most adults I've worked with. The day of the pageant she saw the stage and all of a sudden got sooo scared. I got down on my knees to speak with her at face level. I held her hands and gave her a pep talk and wiped away her tears. She then proudly walked up to the stage and said her speech! She WON!!! Love you Cassy! I was so proud of her. My other two nieces want to compete because of me now! Ha! They are such dolls. I will be training them soon :)

FACTS: I started competing when I was 17 years of age. I always wanted to compete in pageants but growing up in hard times never afforded me the chance to do so. Since I was an independent spirit I made ends meet by going to school full time, working full time, and spending every moment and opportunity I could on gaining experience in the pageantry industry. I thank God for my faith and determination that was instilled in me by my grandparents and my mother who struggled all of her life.

The picture to the left was taken in Florida. The only pageant I have competed in that was out of state. I won a free entry and was taking a trip to Florida to visit my mom so I thought what the heck, why not! Below is a picture from the talent competition. I was first runner up in the Citrus National Talent Competition. A tap dancer won. I sang Opera, Danza Danza Fancuilla Gentile.




WHY DID I START COMPETING? I was amazed by the women I saw in pageants because they were so put together. These well rounded women had talent, grace, poise, and a charity that they worked closely with. I myself suffered from low self esteem for so many years and I knew that by competing I could grow into the woman I always wanted to be. It was that vision that kept me going. As time went on I realized right away that as I was gaining self confidence I could help others do the same. I soon founded Miss Georgean Pageantry which includes pageant coaching focused on modeling and self esteem improvement. The other aspect to Miss Georgean Pageantry is a cover model contest focused on photogenic appeal and charity work. The winner is placed on Tiara Magazine which I founded two years after the start of Miss Georgean Pageantry. The coaching started naturally. I love helping others, I love teaching, and it feels good to do something great for someone else.  

WHY GEORGEAN FOR THE NAME? Georgean is my grandmother's name and it is my middle name. She meant the world to me and was still living at the time I started this new phase in my life. She encompassed everything a woman should be so I named it after her. 

She was so funny when I told her what I was doing. She said... You can't do that... that is MY name. LOL I knew inside how proud it made her. We had an unspoken bond that only grandmother's and grand daughters share. 

This picture to the left is one of the most important pictures to me. This was I believe the very last photo of me, my grandmother, and aunt Diane

together before my grandma passed away. This was an extremely happy day for all of us because it was the day before I won my title of Miss Northern Suburbs 2009 MAO. I tried so hard that year and finally won on my fourth try. When I walked through the door after my win, my grandmother said YOU DID IT, you finally did it. She had a big smile on her face and clapped for me. I miss her so much and her beautiful hands. The day after my victory I wore my Miss Northern Suburbs shirt and headed downtown with my boyfriend Jason to walk on the beach but first we captured a photo together with the three of us. I was so happy to share that moment with the two of the most important women in my life my grandmother and her only daughter Diane. 

DEFEAT: We all lose, but more importantly we learn. For every loss is an opportunity to grow. For every win is an opportunity to embrace our growth. I have lost many titles usually as a runner up but not always. What I learned was that something greater was around the corner. I learned that not every system was for me. There is always room for improvement no matter how much you know or how good you are. 

The picture to the left was my third try last year for a local MAO title for my chance at the Miss Illinois title. I lost and I was 1st runner up three times in a row that very year!! I was told by former judges of mine that they thought I was a seasoned pageant veteran and I wasn't. But it didn't matter because a week later I won the title of Miss Northern Suburbs. Things happen for a reason. :)

That is it for now! Be sure to go to www.sherriegearheart.com/page3 for a breakdown of the titles I competed for having lost, won, or placing as a runner up. 

Until next time, best wishes to you!
Sherrie Gearheart