After months of intense preparation to become 2010’s Mrs. Delaware America, Townsend resident Amanda Shepard brought the crown back home with her to the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area Jan. 30.
This wasn’t her first time on stage at the Rehoboth Beach Theater of the Arts. Shepard competed in the Mrs. Delaware Pageant two years ago, but was not among the finalists. She came back this year looking to win.
“The first time, I realized I didn’t know what I was doing,” Shepard said. “For this one, I bought every book Amazon[.com] had on pageant preparation and I consulted with anyone I knew who had any experience with them.”
She said she originally set out to compete because the pageant offered a great opportunity to focus her life on fitness, community involvement and improving her speaking skills.
Shepard, who represented Mrs. New Castle County in the pageant, said the evening gown portion, in particular, let her show another side of herself.
“It’s really fun once you find the right dress,” she said. “I’m a stay-at-home mom. There isn’t a whole lot of glamour in my life. Getting all dolled up is wonderful.”
As the time came to announce the winner, Shepard said the whole event became a blur.
“When I wasn’t called for first or second runner-up, it was hard not to start celebrating,” she said. “My family had started jumping up and down even before my name was read.”
Shepard said she is thrilled and honored to represent married women in the state and looks forward to her next competition, where she will represent Delaware in the Mrs. America Pageant hosted in Tucson, Ariz., in September.
“This is outside anything I have experienced before,” she said. “I’m relatively new to the pageant world, and I really do think I’m going to be meeting some of the most accomplished married women in the country.”
Shepard said she plans to dedicate much of her year to working heavily with charity and youth organizations that need her help, including the Trike-A-Thon, a week-long curriculum and fundraising program for childcare centers or pre-schools that also raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
She said her family has been tremendously supportive of her involvement with the pageant, especially her husband of seven years, Ben.
“He knows it makes me a happier, healthier mommy to have my pursuits outside the home,” she said.
Shepard celebrated another big accomplishment that weekend. She graduated with a master’s degree in special education from Wilmington University the day after being crowned Mrs. Delaware.
“My kids are thrilled,” she said. “When I walked up on stage, my son said, ‘Momma won again.’”
Shepard said she plans to prepare even harder for the Mrs. America Pageant and now knows what it takes to make it to the end.
“I’m going in with the attitude that I’m there to win,” she said. “I would really like to bring the crown home to Delaware because we’ve never had a woman in the top 10. I feel that if I prepare like I did for the state competition in a higher degree, I won’t be surprised for what’s to come.”
Local runner-ups included Mrs. Bear Tracy Frisell-Jacobs, Mrs. New Castle Erin Tierney of Middletown, and Mrs. Townsend Francine Toliver Edwards.
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After months of intense preparation to become 2010’s Mrs. Delaware America, Townsend resident Amanda Shepard brought the crown back home with her to the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area Jan. 30.
This wasn’t her first time on stage at the Rehoboth Beach Theater of the Arts. Shepard competed in the Mrs. Delaware Pageant two years ago, but was not among the finalists. She came back this year looking to win.
“The first time, I realized I didn’t know what I was doing,” Shepard said. “For this one, I bought every book Amazon[.com] had on pageant preparation and I consulted with anyone I knew who had any experience with them.”
She said she originally set out to compete because the pageant offered a great opportunity to focus her life on fitness, community involvement and improving her speaking skills.
Shepard, who represented Mrs. New Castle County in the pageant, said the evening gown portion, in particular, let her show another side of herself.
“It’s really fun once you find the right dress,” she said. “I’m a stay-at-home mom. There isn’t a whole lot of glamour in my life. Getting all dolled up is wonderful.”
As the time came to announce the winner, Shepard said the whole event became a blur.
“When I wasn’t called for first or second runner-up, it was hard not to start celebrating,” she said. “My family had started jumping up and down even before my name was read.”
Shepard said she is thrilled and honored to represent married women in the state and looks forward to her next competition, where she will represent Delaware in the Mrs. America Pageant hosted in Tucson, Ariz., in September.
“This is outside anything I have experienced before,” she said. “I’m relatively new to the pageant world, and I really do think I’m going to be meeting some of the most accomplished married women in the country.”
Shepard said she plans to dedicate much of her year to working heavily with charity and youth organizations that need her help, including the Trike-A-Thon, a week-long curriculum and fundraising program for childcare centers or pre-schools that also raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
She said her family has been tremendously supportive of her involvement with the pageant, especially her husband of seven years, Ben.
“He knows it makes me a happier, healthier mommy to have my pursuits outside the home,” she said.
Shepard celebrated another big accomplishment that weekend. She graduated with a master’s degree in special education from Wilmington University the day after being crowned Mrs. Delaware.
“My kids are thrilled,” she said. “When I walked up on stage, my son said, ‘Momma won again.’”
Shepard said she plans to prepare even harder for the Mrs. America Pageant and now knows what it takes to make it to the end.
“I’m going in with the attitude that I’m there to win,” she said. “I would really like to bring the crown home to Delaware because we’ve never had a woman in the top 10. I feel that if I prepare like I did for the state competition in a higher degree, I won’t be surprised for what’s to come.”
Local runner-ups included Mrs. Bear Tracy Frisell-Jacobs, Mrs. New Castle Erin Tierney of Middletown, and Mrs. Townsend Francine Toliver Edwards.
