Special Edition: Money Talks Monday (6/11/18)

Being charged with doing a wardrobe recap this week aligns beautifully with the importance of this week's Money Talks Monday; the importance of supporting small businesses.

There are nearly 28 million small businesses across the nation accounting for just under 50% of our nation's gross domestic product. Patronizing small businesses positions them to grow while sparking overall workforce engagement as small businesses, particularly in smaller towns, can employ as many as 30% of a city, county, or region's population. Small businesses also tend to have greater commitments to communities, more innovative and interactive marketing plans, and create stability in real estate markets throughout the nation. Identifying and patronizing small businesses both in your community and when traveling is key to keeping this backbone of the American economy strong. Though you are more likely to know small businesses in and around where you live, a little research when traveling will allow you to better support the economy and to truly experience the flavor of your destination. It takes only a moment to search local restaurants, specialty shops, and craftsmen wherever you travel. Try it next time you take a road trip or a domestic vacation and see how much more local culture you can absorb by making the effort to support small businesses. Two other very important things to remember;

1. North Carolina is ranked third in the nation for small businesses growth year over year.

2. What starts as a small business, when patronized and well-marketed, can become a national or international business icon. Ford Motor Company, eBay, Wal-Mart, and Dell Technologies are great examples of small businesses that have grown to become cultural icons.

There is a direct correlation between my Miss North Carolina Competition wardrobe and the small business community making me very proud to take the stage in just a few days. That correlation is that my entire competition wardrobe is comprised of the talents of small business owners who have not only outfitted me for this most amazing opportunity in my life, but have become very dear to my heart. My excitement to hit the stage is greatly enhanced knowing that every thread of every outfit was meticulously handled and/or produced by WOMEN in SMALL BUSINESS. From the onset of my workforce engagement in the Miss America Organization, four women in small businesses have stood with my in my journey.

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Recapping my wardrobe is a more important opportunity to thank these remarkable women than it is to speak of or model what you will soon see on stage and screen. Jill Rowland, Jamye Shaw, Donna Sachon, and Marie Rudolph are each strong, committed, gracious, and smart women in small business. Jill, I always leave you feeling like a million dollars. I appreciate your advice and candor, your humor, and exquisite marketing. Dazzles is a home to me; I walk in the door as family and appreciate you welcoming me as yours each time I visit. Jamye, your rich history in the Miss America, and particularly, the Miss North Carolina Organization makes you truly iconic. The effort you put into making me, and countless others, comfortable and proud of ourselves, our health, and femininity is unparalleled. I don't know the world will ever know the sacrifices you've made over nearly 40 years to make young women feel beautiful, healthy, and competitive, but for my readers to know, her sacrifices have been many. As I compete in the final swimsuit preliminary ever in the history of Miss North Carolina, the second to last contestant ever to compete in this phase of competition in the Tarheel state, I will stand proudly in the product of our unified work sharing your art and honoring the commitment your created in so many. Thank you for being THE master of your craft! Donna, my little SUV hits auto-pilot on the way to Appomattox now. Ensuring the perfect fit of each and every piece, designing and creating dance costumes that are works of arts, and sharing your soul with me as you do it all has forever "stitched" us together. You open your door and calm comes over me. Aside from your talents in the sewing room, you are one of the most creative, gracious, and inspiring women I have ever known. Your life is a testament to an intentional woman and parent. I am forever grateful you stitched time into your life's calendar for me. And finally, Marie, the woman who puts the final touch on every piece outfit with her meticulously crafted accessories, thank you. After the other women in business have collectively developed the recipe and baked the cake, you ice it with your breathtaking works of art. Every piece of formalwear in my closet has an MHR Designs box to match it. The finest of details you attend to; always perfectly and just in time. Each of these four small business owners have contributed to and create what I will model proudly in the Miss North Carolina Competition next week. I am excited to be a vehicle showing their hard work and proud to carry each one with me as each has a vested interest in my dream coming true. I hope to make you as proud as you have made me; of you, your small businesses, and myself.

In closing this week's Money Talks Monday combined with wardrobe recap, I want to thank all of the small business across the nation who provide funding for the Miss America Organization, particularly on the state and local levels. The grassroots of this organization come from funding largely secured from small business owners. Ninety percent of the nine golf teams and 18 holes sponsors I secured for the North Carolina Educational Scholarship Fund's Golf Classic came from small businesses; including some of those aforementioned. In the rebranding of the Miss America Organization, an initiative I am most proud of, it is imperative we as titleholders, volunteers, and believers in the Organization do not forget to engage the small business community in the changes. Small businesses have always fed this organization from the ground up. In this effort of inclusion, make sure they are thanked, educated, and enrolled in Miss America 2.0.