Here is a video I shot with my friend Candi Reese, and her daughter Krystal Rivet, after I transferred ownership of the Miss Gretna Pageant and Miss West Bank Pageant to them. Since this was shot in 2009, Candi has lost her battle with cancer and has passed on to her Heavenly Home. Before her passing, Candi requested that Chantel Autin (Director of Crescent City Pageantry) and my self to guide and direct her daughter Krystal with the Pageant and Monogrammed business. We are honoring her wishes and will look out for our Pageant sister as she builds her Pageant Business Empire. Candi will be sadly missed in the Louisiana Pageant Industry. In loving memory of Candi Bryant Reese and Debra Freeman Balsamo, past directors of the Miss Gretna Pageant.

Candi Bryant Reese & Krystal Rivette

I talked about puchasing pageants in my book and in “The Complete Director’s Kit”.

A few months ago I was interviewed by Valerie Hayes on Pageant Talk Radio about one of my favorite subjects: Directing Beauty Pageants.

At the time I shot a little video during part of the interview. When the interview took place the Saints were in the middle of the season and undefeated. Since then they went on to win the Super Bowl.

The feeling in New Orleans and the whole Gulf Coast is unbelievable. It is even more intense than winning a pageant. Everyone that is a Saints Fan knows the intense sense of jubilation from the win.

The story of the Saints winning even though the national media ignored them and the Las Vegas odds maker said it was hopeless can be used to inspire any one to keep on striving to reach their goals.

Whether you are entering your first pageant or directing your first pageant believe in yourself and your success. Use the New Orleans Saints as a role model. Drew Brees the quarterback and MVP of the SuperBowl bought copies of the book Finnish Strong for all his fellow players.

You too should strive to finish strong in your endeavors in pageantry.

Check out the full audio interview at Valeries website at this link:

Yours in pageantry

Shelly

Using youtube to market your pageant and queens appearancesobject>object>Miss New Orleans 2010 for Blanket Haiti Foundation

Holly Peek was crowned the 79th annual Miss New Orleans on December 13th, 2009 under the director ship of Shelly Winters Black, director/CEO of the Miss New Orleans Beauty Pageant. The pageant has been produced since 1930. Holly has been making a difference in the city of New Orleans and using the visability of her crown and banner to get her message out about people coming together in making a $10 donation to the blanket haiti foundation.

As we are all experiencing the victory of the New Orleans Saints becoming the Super Bowl world champions, let us not forget the people of Haiti and their need for warmth, food and water. Please help Holly in her quest to Blanket Haiti.

The Miss New Orleans Pageant

http://www.missneworleans.org

Pageant Nation is one of the fastest networking and social sites dedicated to the Pageant Industry. This is a wonderful tool for directors to market their pageant business and photos. Share pageant tips and get contestants in your area. I am so thrilled to be one of their featured members. Join Pageant Nation and stay connected.

Yours In Pageantry,
Shelly Winters Black
http://pageantnation.ning.com/profiles/members/

I recently received a letter from some one who purchased my ebook “How to Start and Direct Your Own Pageant”. In the letter they mentioned that some of the information in the book can be found for free on the web, in fact a lot of it on my own websites.

The Internet is a wonderful resource for people interested in starting any new business, including the Beauty Pageant Business. When I decided to put together a book and then a kit to help others interested in starting a new pageant I scoured the web to see what was already out there.

What I found was bits and pieces of advice from people all over the world. Some of it good and some of it not so good. What I didn’t find was one source of information that had all the essentials needed to start some one in the right direction.

I spent years working for other directors and even more years directing pageants and learning from my own mistakes. What I have put together is based on my 16+ years of experience running Beauty Pageants that have made me money. In fact with the terrible economic situation the extra income I earned from pageants in the last two years has kept me and my husband afloat as his business dropped off.

There is a lot more free information available on the web today about the pageant industry than when I started writing about it. If you look closely you will see that most of it is on my web site directyourpageant.com. I give a lot of good stuff out and will continue to do so.

But I don’t give everything away. I worked long and hard to learn my trade and I believe I’m entitled to a fair compensation in exchange for sharing this information. This is the foundation of good business.

If you really scour the internet you can find a lot of information from many different people about the pageant industry. If you are very industrious you can grab this info and put all the files together in one doucument. You can even make an index and add some pictures and make it look like a book. You could spend a few weeks working on this project.

Or if you want to let some body else do the work for you and put it it in nice neat package then my Pageant book and kit are for you. If you want to be certain the information is coming from a trustworthy source that has real experience in the pageant industry then my ebook and Kit are for you.

I keep adding articles and giving away information on my site directyourpageant.com because I’m learning everyday from my experiences and from the experiences of many other pageant people, many who started by purchasing my Kit.

If you are really serious about succeeding in the pageant industry I suggest you continue going to all the other web sites out there. Keep buying books and products from other authors. Get a subscription to Pageantry Magazine. Keep accumalating knowledge from free sources and from paid sources.

Never stop searching for good information and never stop learning.

Yours in Pageantry

Shelly