A weekend full of events!

I've been running like a crazy women since Wednesday, & I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had a weekend full of such amazing events & new memories & am incredibly worn out! (In a good way!)

First & foremost, the blog you are reading is a blog of the new ambassador for The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation!! I can't begin to tell you how much this means to me. I put my heart into Epilepsy Awareness because it something very dear to me. I was diagnosed with Epilepsy 2 years ago, & since then, made 2 promises to myself. One being, I would always live my life to the fullest & accomplish every single one of my dreams. (One of those being a teen title-holder) My other promise was that I would help Epilepsy Awareness, funds, and make a difference. I am so happy I was able to do both & it would have never been possible without the encouragement of the wonderful founders of the foundation, Tracy & Erin Leyden. They have truly given me a home when it comes to my disease, & a cause that I can do so much for! Thank you to everyone who has supported my fundraisers, worn the Epilepsy pin, or just helped spread the word!

Wednesday began with my first pitch this summer! I was supposed to have a pitch a few weeks ago with The New Bedford Bay Sox but it got called off on account of rain. It was raining about ten minutes before the Holyoke Blue Sox played on Wednesday so I was pretty nervous mother nature did not feel confident in me throwing a baseball. Luckily, the rain stopped & I transformed from a beauty queen to a baseball player. (kind of) I had so much fun & everyone was so friendly! After I bounced the ball I got a standing ovation. (Go figure!) It was a very talented team of players & I'm happy I got to to experience a baseball game so close to home! Go Western Mass!!

Friday, I had a very good friends reception party! I met Jack Villamaino a few weeks after I was crowned to take a picture for our local newspaper. Since then, he has became such a dear friend and has been the biggest help. He not only has been very kind & genuine, but has helped me with SO many appearances including my fundraisers at the carnival, first pitches, & the 4th of July parade. I am very thankful to have met him & have such a great support system by my side. He is currently running for State Representative & I couldn't think of anyone more dedicated & willing to do a better job. I have a learned a lot from his dedication & will to do good while helping others around him. The reception was a very nice evening! I met tons of amazing politicians from around the area who were all incredibly nice & outgoing. Scott Brown also attended to show support! I met many new friends & was so happy to be able to support Jack! It was an amazing night!

Saturday afternoon, I left for my second home, Rhode Island! Since I have been crowned I swear I spend just as much time in RI as I do MA! It's truly amazing to be able to do things for all of New England. Saturday night I spent the night on the couch watching Miss Teen USA with my second mom, Debbi & Miss Teen New Hampshire- World, Christine Skorenko! It was streamed live on the internet but since Debbi was on top of things as always, we had it connected to the big screen! Yay! We had so much fun & tons of laughs. Christine has become like a sister to me since Nationals & I enjoy every minute I get to spend with her. Brooke Bibeault represented Massachusetts BEAUTIFULLY & I am SO proud of her! She is the most genuine, hard working, and deserving queen I have ever met & I am so happy I have gotten to know her. She made Massachusetts SO proud as always! Maryland ended up taking home the title & becoming our Miss Teen USA 2010!

Sunday morning was the best part of the weekend by far! I had an appearance for the Governor's Bay Day on Scarborough Beach. I stayed under the Pro FM radio tent with Miss Teen New Hampshire- World, Miss Teen Rhode Island- World, and Junior Miss Rhode Island- World. Pro Fm radio has been so great with events & allowing us to tag along! Barbi Jo, the voice of Pro FM was also the host of my pageant and it's always so much fun seeing her & her outgoing, exciting personality. She is an amazing role model especially for the industry I'd like to go into. She genuinely adores her job & everybody she meets & is SUCH a hard working gal. I hope someday I can have half of her presence when it comes to being an entertainment journalist. A big thank you to Barbi for allowing us to be a part of her exciting event! I always learn so much from her. I was even lucky enough to have her compliment me to my director. It means so much being complimented by someone you look up to! The other title holders & I spent the day signing autographs & half way through the morning decided to get up with Christine to take pictures with everyone in line for the prize! (We felt they needed some excitement in the hot sun!) The contest was a dig for many prizes under the sand including a NEW CAR! You had to register to enter the dig & we pulled only 10 names out of the box, and believe it or not, Christine pulled out my name! It was so much fun to be a part of the dig & get the opportunity to win a car even though unfortunately I wasn't the lucky winner. It was pretty cool to be on the other side of such an exciting & fun thing. I did win a few tickets to an amusement park though which I will definitely be hitting up before summer ends. I also offered to trade the winner of the car for my tickets but for some reason she didn't seem interested? (Doesn't hurt to ask ;) ) The rest of the day & carried onto the next morning I relaxed by the pool with Debbi & Christine & shared many laughs. A pageant family is truly the greatest family you could ever find, I absolutely LOVE mine!

Later today I had my second pitch of the year. (Woohoo!) I FINALLY was able to throw out the New Bedford Bay Sox opening pitch. It was tons of fun & I had a blast with the players. It's crazy how talented these college students are. It makes me realize more & more that I was definitely born without an athletic bone in my body! I will be sticking to dance, & I think everyone is safe that way!

The best part of my weekend was hearing about someone whom I have impacted with my fundraisers & appearances throughout my reign. A very sweet girl who has been reading about everything I've been doing on facebook chatted me to tell me what a great job I am doing with my title. To me, nothing is more important then knowing I am impacting my state & the people in it positively. I know I was given my title for a reason, to go out & make a difference, & I am so blessed to be able to do so! Thank you so much for the encouraging words & standing by my side. I couldn't be representing a better, more appreciative state!

Home sweet home! I had such a wonderful weekend with so many new memories that will stay with me forever. As we move into August, I have many exciting events coming up! I'll keep you posted as always!

Until then I'm Your Miss Teen Massachusetts World!
-Tamara Sacharczyk

Bella Tucker

Yesterday, I was blessed to be able to meet & spend some time with Bella Tucker, the extraordinary young girl my Mass queens & I held a fundraiser for last week.

I have never been so inspired in my life. Bella is so beautiful inside and out & such a will for life. As an 8 year old, she is living with a smile on her face after having all four limbs amputated. But by looking at her face, you'd never guess. Mrs. Massachusetts International, Jane Marshall; and Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, Brooke Bibeault; experienced this incredible day with me. I can't put into words how I felt after visiting Bella. She gives you a sense of strength when you look at her and try and imagine just a little of what the past few months were like in her life. I know she has the most powerful, amazing life ahead of her & I will do everything possible to help make all of her dreams come true.

She will be flown out to Philadelphia soon to get Prosthetic limbs. As soon as she gets back, Jane, Brooke and I will be taking her shoe shopping!! I'm very, very excited for this!

Bella is also blessed to have the most dedicated family I have ever seen in my life. Her father is not only by her side every second, but willing to do her hair, feed her, or just encourage her to take her medicine. We also met her wonderful neighbors, cousins, aunt, and grandmother. With a family like that, I know Bella will be able to get through any obstacle life throws at her.

You have so many people who love you Bella, you will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart! xoxo

While at Boston's Childrens Hospital - we had the opportunity to meet a few other amazing children going through battles most of us could never dream of. We met a beautiful 5 year old who just experienced open heart surgery. She worn Janes crown and was all smiles, and trust me when I say her smile lit up the room. We also met a few other kids for pictures, and while in the lobby I met a wonderful girl with CP flown in from Turkey. She has a 13 hour flight to Boston and usually stays for 2 weeks when in need of medical care. Most of us forget how blessed we are in to live in the state of Massachusetts and have such a powerful hospital right down the street. It truly makes you appreciate our state and more then anything, our health.

This visit to Boston is one that truly changed my outlook on SO many things. I am so fortunate I was able to meet Bella, and the rest of the children. A piece of my heart will always be left in that hospital, and I'm so blessed to have met such courageous people.

As always, I had the most amazing time spending the day with Jane Marshall and Brooke Bibeault. These two ladies are so important to me & I'm so lucky I get to share my reign with them. Jane is leaving for Nationals in Chicago on Tuesday on her adventure towards the National title of Mrs. International. She is such a wonderful women who is so genuine in caring about every single person around her. I couldn't picture anyone doing better things with a National title. I wish you the best of luck Jane, you deserve this more then anyone! As for Brooke, you'll be able to watch her on national television compete for the title of Miss Teen USA! July 24th, make sure to tune in and cheer on our beautiful Massachusetts queen! I've never met someone so dedicated to a title and everyone else around her. She is by far the sweetest title holder I have ever met and someone I am sure will be a life long friend. She is truly here to do great things for the state of Massachusetts and we're so lucky to have her! Best of luck Brooke, your inner beauty will shine through!

"There must be a thousand girls out there, dreaming the same things as me. But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest!" Love my sister queens!

My family is in from Utah and New Jersey, so luckily I was able to spend the night with them last night! Today we have a family party and I'm so excited to get the chance to see all of my long distance relatives. Family really is everything to me and I couldn't explain how much each member in mine means to me.

As for upcoming events, I have my first pitch in New Bedford on the 13th! I am excited, and a bit nervous, since I might not be the most athletic person! I will be with my fabulous Director/second mom, Debbi - And after spend the night in Rhode Island! I haven't seen her since the air show the day after Houston and miss her way too much! I also have a few very exciting events this month so STAY TUNED!


Always Your Miss Teen Massachusetts- World
-Tamara Sacharczyk

Fundraisers & Sunshine!

Since I've come back from Houston, it has been complete craziness but so much fun that is so worth it. The East Longmeadow Carnival is annual tradition and something I have been going to since I was a baby. It was so much fun to actually be a part of it!

I had a week long booth for two different causes. The first cause is Epilepsy Awareness and funding. I had 2 beauty queens come down to help me fundraise and plenty of friends as well! Throughout the week I was able to raise $200 for The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation, spread pamphlets of information on Epilepsy, and even meet others diagnosed with the disease. All in all, it was an awesome fundraiser and I cannot wait to hold my next! Thank you Miss Teen Maine- World Julia Reich, and Miss Teen New Hampshire- World Christine Skorenko for driving all of the way to Western Massachusetts to help such a good cause!

The last day of the parade the booth was transformed into a raffle for a very special little girl. Bella Tucker is an 8 year old going through a very difficult time. With the help of Mrs. Massachusetts International Jane Marshall, Miss Massachusetts Teen USA Brooke Bibeault, and Miss Pink Trish Grzela, we ended up raising $320 for this inspirational young girl. This was without a doubt one of the most inspiring fundraisers I have ever done. I also had the opportunity to reconnect with a good friend, Mrs. Massachusetts International before she makes her way to the National competition which I am so excited to hear about her doing amazing at! She is truly remarkable. I had the chance to talk with Brooke Bibeault who is a completely beautiful girl inside and out and someone who I have tons in common with. We definitely have the best girls ever representing the state of Massachusetts and I'm so proud that we can all come together for a wonderful cause.

Tomorrow I will be joining Jane & Brooke at the Boston's Children's Hospital to visit Bella Tucker and give her the profit of the fundraiser in person. I'm so excited to finally meet her! To learn more about Bella, please visit http://www.friendsofbella.org/

July 4th was another great day! This has always been one of my favorite holidays for the traditions it holds. This year, the tradition was broken a bit but in a positive way! I was able to ride in my towns annual parade with Miss Teen New Hampshire- World Christine Skorenko! Although it was hot, we had tons of fun and even had the opportunity to meet Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick! Thank you Jack Villamaino for making this appearance possible!

I have a very exciting month ahead of me full of appearances and good causes! I just came back from a vacation in Rhode Island with my best friend Kelsey and although a vacation felt good, it definitely feels GREAT to be home!

Thank you everyone who supported my fundraisers, your generosity means so much!

Your Miss Teen Massachusetts- World
-Tamara Sacharczyk