Final Year: Miss Pierce County 2014

This past weekend has been another one of the most amazing weekends of my life. It was the moment I was crowned Miss Pierce County 2014, as well as one final shot for the title of Miss Washington 2014. It was an amazing night of competition, with 9 other BEAUTIFUL ladies that I love to call my friends, and I was so grateful that all my hard work, dedication, and self-discipline had paid off in that moment.

There are so many people to thank for their support of this program! First of all thank you to the judges, Gary Umemoto (Head Judge), Pierce County Executive, Pat McCarthy, Julie Poe, Grant Sherill, and Rob Scott. This was an amazing panel who really challenged me in my interview to think outside of the box. I am so grateful for them and this opportunity to prove to them I was the right person to pick for this job.

I also want to thank Ardorlit Photography for being such an amazing sponsor of the Miss Pierce County Scholarship Program and I am very much looking forward to working with them in the very near future!

And of course I have to thank the AMAZING volunteers and Board of Directors for the Miss Pierce County Scholarship Program for their countless hours of service to me and the other contestants! They put in so much time and effort to assure that we are successful and really looking and doing our best during the phases of competition! I can't thank all of them enough for everything they have done.

And finally, I have to thank my family and friends for all of their love and support throughout my pageant journey; especially my Mom who has done EVERYTHING you can imagine to assure I am successful and looking my best. She is my #1 Fan and I, hers. I know 3 years ago it seemed crazy to embark on such a new and exciting journey but I am so glad all the stress, tears, and money has paid off and we can look back and reflect on the INCREDIBLE experiences that have come from this crazy world called pageantry.

There are so many exciting things that I have planned for my year of service that I am trying to take in baby steps. I look forward to really getting out in the community of Pierce County and showing them what just one titleholder can do to make a difference in the world. I hope to continue to branch out with my platform and bring out the positive effects that music education can have on such a thriving liberal arts community!

Thank you for your love and support and I am so proud to say I am...
Miss Pierce County 2014, Megan Leibold!

Lets Start from the Very Beginning...Not

This past year has been a year to remember. My life changed November 3rd, 2012 when I was crowned Miss West Sound 2013. Not only was I going to get to serve my community for a year, but I was also able to represent Kitsap County at the Miss Washington pageant this past July. It was an amazing feeling to know I was one step away from being on the Miss America stage.

Being Miss West Sound was a goal I had been working to achieve for the past 3 years, when I first started competing in pageantry. The moment my name was called was a feeling I will never forget. I was overwhelmed with emotion, happiness, and relief that all my hard work had paid off. I had also walked away with the Marie C. Scully Memorial Scholarship, Most Ticket Sales, People's Choice, 4 Points of the Crown, Director's Award, and the Liberty Bay Auto Community Service Scholarship, which amounted to over $4,000 in scholarship from that infamous night. It took weeks before it hit me that I was actually going to be competing on the Miss Washington stage in a matter of months. My dream had come true.

The week of Miss Washington was a week I will never forget. I got to hang out with 21 of the most beautiful girls in the state and do incredibly memorable activities, from volunteering at the Seattle Children's Hospital, to partaking in the experience of iFly. Competing on the Miss Washington stage was a dream come true for me, but the highlight of my week was the moment that I was called into the Top 10 on Finals Night. It was completely unexpected and in that moment I felt like I had won the entire pageant. On top of that, I was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" scholarship at the Awards Banquet. I was awarded $2,500 in scholarship at the state pageant, which summed up my total of over $7,000 in scholarship throughout my reign as Miss West Sound.

The relationships I have made with the girls from the Miss Washington Class of 2013 are the greatest rewards I could've gained. These women are amazing people who are just trying to make a difference like I am, but they are also a whole lot of fun and more normal than people would expect. It is hard to not fall in love with these girls.

It is definitely IMPOSSIBLE to not fall in love with my Miss West Sound's Outstanding Teen though. Although it was a rough start, it has grown to be an amazing year with the little sister I never had. I love this girl and we have helped each other to grow in so many ways, it is going to be so hard to not see her as often after this journey is over.

In 1 month from today, the new contestants for Miss West Sound and Miss West Sound's Outstanding Teen will be walking in to compete in the private interview competition and 1 month  from tomorrow we will be crowning a new Miss West Sound and Miss West Sound's Outstanding Teen. I am so glad that so many of my Miss Washington sisters will be there to support me and I am so grateful that I have even had this opportunity.

But even though my Miss West Sound journey is coming to an end, this blog is JUST BEGINNING! I plan to utilize this blog to not only promote my passion for pageantry, but also my main passion in life: music. It is a platform I live every single day of my life and have grown to make a living out of as a Private Piano and Voice Teacher. Through this blog there will be tips on learning Piano, how to sing properly, and even how to fundraise for music programs in YOUR schools.

Music is universal in all languages and is something that can bring people together that live on opposite sides of the earth. To provide unity, music must co-exist. I hope you all will enjoy the "wisdom" I have to offer in the upcoming posts!