Miss America tells Hampton Crowd to Focus on Goals

Four Peninsula women honored by Excellence Girls’ Club

November 06, 2010|By Allison T. Williams, atwilliams@dailypress.com | 247-4535

HAMPTON – Focus on your goals. Surround yourself with supportive people. Love yourself.

Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron, a Fredericksburg native who won the Miss Virginia title in 2009, shared those inspirational nuggets with young women at the Excellence Girls’ Club Inc.’s 10th anniversary luncheon Saturday. Cameron was the keynote speaker for the event at the Hampton Convention Center.

The organization, which provides leadership and mentoring for girls in middle and high school, also recognized four local women: Ashby Kilgore, superintendent of Newport News Public Schools; Rosanne Walters, human services director for the city of Newport News; Wendy Harvey, a social worker for Newport News Public Schools; and Patricia Hochnadel, an adjunct professor at Christopher Newport University.

Cameron told the crowd that it took her four attempts before winning the Miss Virginia title. She told the girls to be persistent, to be active in extra-curricular activities and to make decisions that will help them achieve their goals.

“One choice can affect your whole life,” Cameron said. “Make sure the choices you make along the way don’t affect the bottom line.

“Think long-term, set goals and … make your own successes in your own arena. Hold yourself accountable from this day forward and don’t let any obstacle get in your way.”