RISE, A Modern Guide for the Purpose Driven Woman Summer 2014 | Page 19

The Foundation I Build My Success On

Written by Courtney Shaw, Mrs. Florida America
Introduction by Hedy DiCarlo

Women Who Rise & RISE Magazine are dedicated to
inspiring others through the example of women who are
truly rising above and pursuing their dreams with passion
and pride. To that end, WWR has partnered with the Mrs.
Florida America pageant as a Gold Level Sponsor. Part of
the prize package which we will offer yearly, is a column
for Mrs. Florida America here in RISE. The women of this
fantastic organization are much like all of us, balancing
families, work, fitness and a commitment to their own personal cause or platform. We hope you enjoy getting to know
the newly crowned Mrs. Florida America, Courtney Shaw,
as much as we have and follow her amazing journey this
year here on our pages! During this journey, we hope you
will be as inspired as we are by her story, her life and her
special platform, FIT 2-B FREE…ENJOY…and all the best
to Courtney as she competes in the Mrs. America pageant in
August!
One morning a couple of my girlfriends from a show I was
co-hosting, Dynell and Staci met up with me for a workout. As we walked the trail that day the discussion turned
to our passions in life, and how we can all take the next
steps to walk in a greater level of purpose. They mentioned the reigning Mrs. Florida America and how being
involved would be a great platform to spread my passion
to empower women & families, while bringing an end to
obesity and diabetes. To be honest, I didn’t really think
that I was the pageant type. Now if you are like me, and
most are, not only had I never been IN a pageant, I had
never even thought of it! Curiosity always gets this cat so
I will admit it sparked my interest and the research began!
As I researched I came across story after story of inspiring
and amazing women competing in pageants; I felt inspired
and encouraged to involve myself in some capacity with
these true beacons of change. They were all beautiful, of
course, but it was the shine of their inner light that really struck me; multi-tasking marriage, motherhood, and
making an impact in their communities. After much
thought, prayer, and chatting with my sounding boards, I
couldn’t come up with a reason not to go for it! So, my application was turned in and I got the email that I was

approved by the committee to run as Mrs. Central Florida
in the Mrs. Florida America pageant in May 2014!
My journey had begun.
I had the opportunity to meet Jackie Siegel, a former Mrs.
Florida and now the Director & Owner of the pageant.
We met at her wonderful charity, Thrift Mart, which provides about $2m a year in clothing and household items
to families in need. It was inspirational to see all these
ladies of pageantry so involved in the community, I knew
I was in the right place amongst sisters! ! Mrs. Florida
America 2013, Deanna Silva and Mrs. World April Lufri
were there as well greeting everyone and signing posters.