Volunteering at the Ms. Veteran America pageant!

This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at the inaugural  Ms. Veteran America pageant. Nearly 50 female veterans from around the country gathered to compete. I chose to sign-up as a volunteer as another way to fellowship and embrace the sisterhood of pageantry. What I gained by the end of the evening was so much more!



Posing with some of the contestants before the show started! Aren't these veterans beautiful?!?!

Seeing all of the gorge veterans in their sparkly evening gowns and performing their talents made me proud. But, at the same time it made me sad to think about everything they have sacrificed for our safety. Luckily, my feelings turned into joy once I witnessed how much the ladies were enjoying the spotlight. They walked the runway like nobody's business...making it extremely hard to imagine them as boot wearing, gun toting, super serious soldiers. Celebrities, veterans, active duty officers and many more were all in attendance to pay tribute to the contestants. The evening was focused on celebrating the poise, beauty and talent of each woman as well as raising awareness of Final Salute, Inc- an organization that provides housing to homeless female veterans and their children.

One fierce lady! Pictured with Rebecca King-Crews actor, musician, author AND wife of actor Terry Crews!

As the 400 guests anxiously awaited crowning, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to witness history. Besides the traditional crowning, several other awards were given including: most resilient, best fundraiser and the coveted mother of the year! I thought the idea to give more personalized recognition was truly inspired. It is so important that we celebrate our female veterans in this way and I hope to see the pageant flourish in the future!

With Ms. Gladys Hughes right before the talent portion, she was the oldest contestant at 89 years young!

The first ever Ms. Veteran America, Denyse Gordon. Congratulations!

<3 Amina Lillie