The 2018 competition was on the first Saturday of June at ODU Theater.

 

Now after having this competition for 20 years I personally felt it was time for me to take a mental break from pageantry and MMI as a whole hence MMI HIATUS the following year. The opening production would consist of sewing machine props as Alis aka would be a designer constructing the garments the formers would wear on stage with a mix of music going into FASHIONISTA.

 

This particular year was one contestant which was Alvion of which registration is open until 5:00 p.m. so we found Sparkles had an interest in competing and would solidify her entry fee prior to arriving. We further had an additional contestant who was interested because her promoter was giving her permission to compete and was going to pay her entry fee but she was unable to prepare for the category so she decided not to compete and this contestant would be Syria.  I'm not tagging either of these young ladies rather mentioning their names as clarity.

 

Sparkles would wear a BLUE GOWN for presentation as you could wear any color.  She would further wear a TURQUOISE BLUE SPORTSWEAR along with a GOLD CREATIVE GOWN with a semi appearance of a geisha girl.  She would further do a solo modern dance with lyrics (The Lion King "He Lives In Me"). Now the two Representatives would do extremely well and would end up with a tie so we did a tie-breaking question of which they each received a different question.  I will further note it is not required to use the same question when you're breaking a tie because either way the contestants must answer their question.

 

Sparkles would become Miss Models Inc 2018.  Now fast forwarding for just a second, I was happy to have every living former present the following year with the exception of Kimora aka as her schedule would not allow her to make it.  I would make an executive decision not to invite our previous representative (Alis) aka Vic Henderson  based on actions after Sparkles victory and many weeks via Facebook after that night as I was not going to allow a former representative to make fun of a person's victory because they were not happy with the result. We've had communication and much understanding since that time. I'm mentioning some of these things from Sparkle's victory to her step down because there would not be a competition.

 

I would further have an issue with damage after the competition in 2019 of which I won't go into any details because it's not needed as it was LITIGATED, FINALIZED and ADJUDICATED. 

 

Why the MMI Blueprint? This would be the name for whomever won the competition as they would become the BLUEPRINT for the future of MMI.

 

The Take-home Crown: Black and clear stones with the logo with the year of the representative along with the custom pendant to match.

 

The National Crown: Black and clear stones with logo silhouetted in center with MMI with MMI National in black onyx underneath.

 

We would conduct our normal contract signing and make plans for her photo shoot and send her off to Texas.  We would solicit one of our former representatives Trinity K. Bonet for hair and makeup.  I personally found it important to display the representative in the most professional manner possible as excellent promotional materials of any sort are EXTREMELY important here at MMI. 

 

This young lady was something to enjoy because she had such a bubbly spirit and was just always fun to be around even when she would get nervous sometimes thinking  she wasn't as put together as she appeared. 

 

 One particular incident I remember was during her walk in Chicago at Continental, we assumed she would have an opportunity to get dressed but was told we could not bring anything into the venue so she had to walk around with a beaded gown on until the time came which is normally midway through the competition.  It was certainly some pressure but she.made it happen.  

 

She would perform at many places and would build a beautiful friendship with so many people near and far because she had such a pleasant spirit so people would gravitate to her. YOU WILL SEE MANY OF THEM WITHIN SOME OF THE PICTURES OF WHICH IT WAS SO MANY I COULDN'T PUT THEM ALL UP BUT DURING HER STEP DOWN THE FOLLOWING YEAR SHE HAD OVER 100 PICTURES ON THE SCREEN OF HER MEMORIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

 

Now some of my personal memories of her performances would be (HAMPTON ROADS PRIDE, RICHMOND BLACK PRIDE ZIEGFELDS, STARS OF THE CENTURY, BLACK AMERICA AND SWEETHEART INTERNATIONAL).  I just enjoyed the camaraderie and seeing her so happy while performing. 

 

She would participate in 13 appearances/walks with 23 bookings.  I could see how sad she was when she finally stepped down as we had many trips together and many of them driving so we spent a lot of QUALITY time together. She would not formally crown anyone so the decision has been made for her to crown our next representative in 2021 (THE MMI REBIRTH).

 

Thank you for some beautiful times my love and CONGRATULATIONS as you went on to become Miss Rainbow Cactus. Also thank you for the many gifts you gave me throughout your reign as you know I hold them dearly to my heart.