Twice in February I traveled to Westlake, Cleveland to participate in the Ohio Rose selection for the Rose of Tralee International Festival. This international festival is held annually in Tralee, Ireland and one of the main attractions are the Roses themselves. The Roses are hand-picked women of Irish descent with great character and personalities from 70 regions around the world. These regional Roses then travel to the Festival in Tralee to compete for the International Rose of Tralee title.
For the Ohio Rose title, I competed against 10 other ladies. We all had to go through a series of private, group, and public interviews as well as attend events where the judges watched how well we socialized or clicked with the audience. The judges will carefully choose the Rose based on how well she performs through these requirements.
It was an incredible feeling when the emcee announced my name as the new 2016 Ohio Rose. With this title, $1000 dollars was donated to a charity of my choice in my name, I received $1000 spending stipend, and have my own wardrobe designer making all clothing I will be wearing on my 20 day trip to Ireland this August. The designer, Rebekah Wall, is a Tralee native and also my 1998 Kerry Rose sister.
Through this experience I gained a broader view of Ohio and how I can best represent the people of this Midwest state in Ireland.