With two months completed and just a little over 2 months yet to go until the Mrs. International Pageant, I have been on quite the thrill ride. Stepping out from behind the scenes of my daily job to take on a larger supporting role for The NASCAR Foundation, as Mrs. North Carolina International, has allowed me to help on a local and national level.

To date, I’ve donated over 40 volunteer hours, traveled more than 2,600 miles and helped collect over $25,000 in donations thanks to the generosity of many NASCAR Fans.

To view more photos, click here.

This past weekend I ventured to Richmond to volunteer for The NASCAR Foundation at Richmond International Raceway. All the donations collected this weekend will all be sent to the relief effort to help our friends in the Southeast who were affected by the tornados. While volunteering at The NASCAR Foundation display, I had a fan walk up to me and we struck up a great conversation. She was from Alabama and had been affected by the tornado. Her home was destroyed – damaged dry wall, broken windows and missing doors. She shared that she and her husband had moved into her parent’s home and FEMA was working quickly to help them rebuild. Thankfully her parents lived just ½ a mile from their home and were not affected. They had decided to come to the race to be amongst friends and try to resume a sense of normality.



This past weekend we also launched the “NASCAR Unites” campaign which offers 2 million ways to volunteer and help a variety of children’s charites by visiting NASCAR.COM/unites. Over the weekend, we were also busy filming the NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers and NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers who shared why they ‘unite’ and the charities they support. Visiting us this weekend was rookie NASCAR driver, Travis Pastrana. (You might know him from his legendary stunts like a backflip on a motorcycle.) Stay tuned to see the video in an upcoming race broadcast.



Looking ahead, we have the Jim Hunter Charity Golf Tournament this Thursday which benefits The NASCAR Foundation, the McLeod's Children's Hospital of Florence, South Carolina and the Jim Hunter Memorial Endowment Scholarship at the University of South Carolina.  I will be volunteering at The NASCAR Foundation display located in the midway plus visiting with our NASCAR Dreams recipients and our Troops-to-the-Track Program. If you are coming to Darlington, please make sure to stop by and say hello. I also invite you to “like” my Facebook page found here http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Mrs-North-Carolina-International-2011/165151756871481.