Babbles Nonsense

Beyond the Crown: Authenticity and Empowerment in Pageantry w/ Mrs. America (Hannah Wise)

• Johnna Grimes • Episode 154

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#153: Ever wondered what it truly takes to wear the crown of Mrs. America? Join us for an enlightening chat with my cousin, Hannah Wise, as she unveils the hidden layers of pageantry that go way beyond the glitz and glam. From mastering the art of walking in heels to juggling the roles of wife, mother, and pageant queen, Hannah opens up about the rigorous journey back to the stage after life-altering experiences like marriage and motherhood. Her insights into the support systems and coaching involved reveal a side of pageantry that defies public stereotypes.

Hannah's advocacy work stands as a testament to the beauty of authenticity over mere aesthetics. With a focus on empowering women and championing causes like child advocacy and drug overdose prevention, she challenges the misconceptions that pageants are only skin-deep. Listen as she passionately discusses her commitment to making a difference, from supporting Victoria's Voice Foundation to her role as a court-appointed special advocate. Her story is not just one of resilience but also of using the pageant platform to amplify voices and inspire change in the community.

This episode is a heartfelt tribute to embracing one’s true self amid societal pressures. Hannah’s candid reflections on body image, online scrutiny, and the journey to find confidence in one's natural body type resonate with authenticity. Whether sharing personal anecdotes about the often-underappreciated role of motherhood or the intricacies of preparing for prestigious events, she reminds us that success lies in being unapologetically yourself. Tune in to uncover the empowering narratives behind the crown and perhaps find a spark of inspiration for your own life journey.

Follow Hannah (Mrs. America) here:
https://www.instagram.com/mrsamericapresents/

You can now send us a text to ask a question or review the show. We would love to hear from you!

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Johnna:

What is up everyone? Welcome back to another episode of the Babbles Nonsense podcast. I am super excited for today's guest. It is my cousin, hannah Wise, who recently won Mrs America. She was so gracious and allowed me to interview her from her perspective on being in beauty pageants, versus the outward perspective that some of us may or may not have when we do think about beauty pageants. We talked about everything from the pageant itself, beauty standards, nutrition, fitness, motherhood, her being a wife, why she continued to compete and how this shaped and molded her into the woman that she is becoming today. So I hope you all enjoy this interview just as much as I enjoyed interviewing her. Here we go. All right, guys. Welcome back to another episode. I'm very mad at myself. Right now I'm with my cousin, hannah, who won Mrs America. Congratulations, hannah, thank you and hello. So I'm mad at myself because we just did an amazing episode for 45 minutes. Was that 45 minutes?

Hannah:

It was 45 minutes. Oh, my God.

Johnna:

And I didn't hit record, so we're now recording it. Now I'm looking, it's recording.

Hannah:

She's going to be looking every five seconds, like are we still good.

Johnna:

So I'm so mad at myself, but hannah is being so gracious and she has two little girls that have woken up for their nap and I'm taking up a lot of her mother time.

Hannah:

That is okay so thank you, hannah, for doing this for the second time. Listen, this is like a little vacation right now. My husband's got the girls and I've got headphones on where I can't hear them. Even if they said mommy, I'm just kidding, that sounds terrible.

Johnna:

All right, so we're going to try to do this again. But I'm so mad because everything that you said in the first non recorded episode was so amazing and so beautiful. But we're going to try to do this again for everybody. But, I have been trying to get Hannah to do this podcast for a really long time, back when she had her spray tanning business, do you?

Hannah:

still have your spray tanning business. I do, I just don't market it a ton. I've kind of found my niche. I'd spray a lot of pageant girls and brides and stuff like that. So they know where I'm at, they come to me.

Johnna:

Well, I tried to get her. I'm not going to lie, I was taking a little back, but no, she said yes to me and it was like a super honor to be here to do this, because you're a public figure. Like I said, you're a local celebrity and you're my cousin, so yeah, that's so weird.

Hannah:

I don't think of myself like that. Obviously you still don't like when people come up to you. No, I had a friend text me the other day and I had gone to her little birthday celebration and she'd posted pictures and someone she's already looking at the recorder.

Johnna:

It's like it's still recording.

Hannah:

Somebody texted her, just recognized me from a photo and she was like, shut up, you're friends with Mrs America, I love her. And so she screenshot and sent it to me and she was like, look, you're being recognized. I'm like what? That is just. That is just insane to me. It's just this isn't real. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Johnna:

I mean, I guess it was, but, but well before we imagined it before we dive into Mrs America, not to be confused with Miss America, because I say things wrong all the time. Okay, but I want to kind of get to your background, like how you started to compete in beauty pageants in general, Like, was that something that you were like, oh my gosh, mom, I want to compete? Or was your mom like that pageant mom that's like no, she's going to be competing pageants.

Hannah:

No, not at all. So I was probably about two years old and my mom says that I used to pull our kitchen chairs out, you know, from the from the kitchen, and I'd put them in the living room and I'd stand up on top of them and I would have concerts for everybody. Like I've always loved to sing, I think I memorized words to songs, honestly, before I could really speak full sentences.

Johnna:

You're an amazing singer and you need to bring it back.

Hannah:

John always likes to bring up that I have a youtube channel. Um, do not try to search that because I have hidden all the videos. They are real embarrassed.

Johnna:

I know you don't know this, but I used to actually show all my friends in college your youtube videos because you went, especially the john mayer one that you sang oh my gosh you've got a beautiful voice.

Hannah:

I'm a little bit hurt actually thinking about that now because I thought I had all these random views from true fans, but they were probably all you maybe I don't know I was one of your biggest fans oh my gosh, no, uh.

Hannah:

But my mom she I always used to sing all the time got a karaoke machine when I was little bitty and I would always plug in my Leanne Rimes tape. It was a tape back then and it was the karaoke tracks and I would just sing, sing, sing. And so there was not a talent competition for toddlers I don't know if they have now, but especially not back in the day and so there was a pageant that had a talent competition in it, so that's kind of how it started. They put me in this pageant so I could sing and I won, and I think they were just as shocked as I was.

Hannah:

And you get the bug. Once you start doing pageants you get the pageant bug. And then we shortly after moved to Texas and if you know anything about Texas, it is like beauty pageant capital of the world unofficially, but pageants are huge there. So we did a lot of those while we lived in Texas and I changed my talent from singing to joke telling. That is funny. I don't know whose idea that was, looking back, but I guess the judges liked it and so I did. When we moved back to Tennessee when I was six, I believe we just did little natural pageants growing up until I hit about middle school and the whole natural pageant thing was not working out when I was going through my awkward face I was like what is natural pageants?

Hannah:

natural pageants is like no makeup just your natural hair. You know not the hair extent. You think of pageants. You think toddlers and tiaras like for little kids. That wasn't allowed. No glitz, no, like spray tan. All of that thing, okay. Did spray tans even exist when I was? I don't know Um but yeah, so it was just very different. You just were, were judged on your natural looks Beauty.

Johnna:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hannah:

So I did that through about middle school and then didn't pick pageantry up again until I was in college. And um, I saw, let's see, I went to started college in 2011. And in 28, when the economy crashed, so did my college fund that my parents had worked very hard to save up for me. So it became apparent that I would be responsible for a lot of my student loan obligations.

Hannah:

And so when I saw that there was scholarship money awarded at this pageant in exchange for community service, I was like sign me up, because at that time I had put a lot of hours into this community service initiative that I had started called Project Princess at a community center in the housing projects in downtown Nashville. That center had given a lot back to my own nieces and nephews and my siblings at the time. Addiction and child neglect has affected my nieces and nephews, and so volunteering for a center that had given so much back to them and other children in the community that wanted to be anywhere other than home was very rewarding at the time and racked up quite a bit of hours. So I was like well, let's give this pageant thing a spin again. I haven't done it in forever, but I'm sure I can just put the heels back on and get right back to work, and that was not the case. I think I came in like the place after last place, if that's even possible, but it gave me something to work toward.

Hannah:

Oh, my child is up from her nap. Hi, hey, ee, do you want to come sit with us? Well, you can come sit with us. No, maybe she can come say hi and then Hi.

Johnna:

How are you?

Hannah:

Do you have a good nap? I think daddy's downstairs with Rumi. You want to go play downstairs?

Johnna:

OK, I love you. Oh, bless her, she's so cute.

Hannah:

She looks like she'd be real calm and whatnot, but that is one thing about that child she is not calm. Is she you made over? No, she's my husband made over. He's got about the worst case of untreated ADHD you've ever seen and she inherited his entire. I think I was just an incubator for that baby she inherited nothing from me except for my love of pageants she did which we we will get to her pageant because you just posted recently about her um winning her first pageant.

Johnna:

She's a winner. Winner. Chicken dinner, that is her. So you were saying that you came in last last place when you competed again, speaking of that, like you just jumped back into the pageant right, like so did you have like any kind of nervousness, or were you just like I can do this again? Are you talking about like?

Hannah:

years ago.

Johnna:

Yeah, like when you first came back in in college.

Hannah:

At first. No Ignorance is bliss. You know I was like. I got this dress from the local bridal store. You know it was about two inches too short. I did not know how to do my hair nor my makeup, and I didn't know that you needed a spray tan, and so I showed up at this pageant and I was like what am I doing here?

Hannah:

So I did that one that year and then I didn't do any more. I took the year to work, or what I thought was was working. I didn't hire any coaches. I thought I could do it all myself. Come back the next year and have a different outcome.

Johnna:

So do you feel like hiring a coach does make a difference?

Hannah:

It depends on the contestant, I would say, and what they want to accomplish. There's a lot of things at the time. Yes, I certainly needed a coach in certain areas. Just to looking back now, I wish I had had the mindset that I needed to hire a coach to instill confidence in me. You know, just say, hey, you're going in the right direction here, keep, keep on this path. But at the time I was like no, I need a coach to tell me everything I need to say, everything I need to do. And in hindsight that didn't work out for me. All these years later I know that's probably why things didn't turn out in my favor when I wanted them to. But there's always a greater plan and a greater purpose and things are the way they should be now. But a lot of times I didn't understand that.

Johnna:

Yeah.

Hannah:

And you know in the past, but yeah. So I certainly needed to hire a coach back in the day and I did. I learned some interview skills and had to learn to walk in heels on stage. There's a certain way to do that by the way.

Johnna:

Oh yeah, in case you didn't know, there's a, there's a certain way to do that.

Hannah:

By the way, oh yeah, in case you didn't know, there's a, there's a pageant way.

Johnna:

I can't walk in heels.

Hannah:

I look like a baby giraffe anyways right and so did I before I went to this walking coach, and boy, he whipped me into shape. That was an experience all in itself, but, um, yeah, so there's. There's quite a bit of coaching that goes on pageantry did you take a break, like?

Johnna:

did you compete all through college and then did you take, take a break, or did you go straight through to Miss Tennessee? How did you get to Mrs America? What was the journey? Was there a break in between?

Hannah:

there. Yeah, there was a break Two babies, the whole wedding, covid. There was a lot in between and my husband thinks I'm crazy for even doing this again now. So how many years was there a break in between, like your last pageant and then competing for this journey that you went on for Mrs America? Yeah, so I competed in the Miss America organization so the unmarried Miss America scholarship program from 2000. I started competing in locals in 2013. And no, I guess 2012. And then I stopped competing in 2017. At the time, you aged out at 24.

Johnna:

Okay.

Hannah:

And so I had. I had reached the age cap and I'd met my soon to be husband. We weren't engaged yet, but I knew he was going to marry me.

Johnna:

He had no choice.

Hannah:

And so I had just decided I was begrudgingly done with pageantry and I was just going to go off and get married. And then the Miss America organization had the nerve to up the age limit that January, the next January, after I had thought I'd retired. And so I really battled with do I go back?

Johnna:

Can.

Hannah:

I get prepared in six months for Miss Tennessee and ultimately I decided decided not to, which, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. There was a huge falling out with the Miss America organization and so it kind of dodged that bullet, but um, it makes me sad looking back, that it's not exactly the same as as it used to be whenever I competed. But, um, I think there's been some positive changes too.

Johnna:

And then, and then you got married. So then I got married in 2019.

Hannah:

We quickly found out that we were going to have a baby after we got married, so got married in September, and then I had my first daughter, eloise, in July of 2020.

Johnna:

During.

Hannah:

COVID, oh my gosh, yeah, that was rough. Yeah, that was rough, um, not only my physical health, but my mental health. Um, my first pregnancy was very trying had gestational diabetes, had, um placental abruption oh gosh, I didn't know that. Oh yeah, um. And so placental abruption isn't supposed to happen two times in a row, but it did got lucky with that with me. So I had two placental abruption isn't supposed to happen two times in a row, but it did got lucky with that when me. So I had two placental abruption with both deliveries, yep.

Hannah:

And so my second daughter came, came years later and she was born at 34 weeks, um, because of that. So, um, in between, during that gap, I did um have my two daughters. We I carried another baby as well, but did have a miscarriage. So pageantry was the furthest thing from my mind at that point in time. But that's not to say that I didn't always feel like I had a hole missing, not that there was a goal that I didn't achieve. I got fourth runner up at Miss Tennessee my last year, and it's not like I wanted to go back to see if I could win. It was just I genuinely always wanted to represent Tennessee.

Johnna:

I wanted. So that was the ultimate goal. Like to become Miss Tennessee?

Hannah:

Yes, and not because I wanted to win a pageant, but I truly wanted to do the job. I wanted to travel our state, be our governor's spokesperson for character education. I wanted to travel our state, be our governor's spokesperson for character education. I wanted to meet as many little girls and boys as I could and know that I had a chance to change the trajectory of their lives. If they needed someone to do that, I wanted to be that person and I felt like I never was able to really cope with that because that was a dream that I envisioned day in and day out, like everything I put into my life revolved around being Miss Tennessee years ago. And that dream never came true and I just felt like, even though I was a wife and a mother and a homeowner and a small business owner, why did I still want to do a pageant? What am I doing? And that is what so many people said why in the world are you doing this as a married woman? Hang up the heels, girl. Are you really doing this again? A sash, I mean. I've got those who cares. Yeah, I wanted the opportunity to change lives still, and not that you need a crown and a sash to make a difference in your community.

Hannah:

But it certainly does help. It gives you more reach, it does and it acts almost as a microphone, so you can. People want to hear what you have to say and they want to be a part of your mission. And and it's true, as soon as I jumped back into this, people are how can I help? Do you want to be a part of this service initiative? They, you know, I ask how I can help their nonprofit and they're like oh, you can do X, y, z, be here this day and that day, and it just allows you to reach more people and truly make a difference. And so that was my reasoning for jumping back in. I'd been thinking about it. Make a difference and so that was my reasoning for jumping back in. I'd been thinking about it. And whenever I contacted the director of Mrs Tennessee.

Hannah:

I believe it was February and the pageant was in April, oh wow. And she said are you so? Are you applying for, like, next year's competition or? And I was like not, I think I'm going to try to compete in April. Did not anticipate winning, I just thought, you know, let's get my feet wet, let's get back into it. And I was like, no, I think I'm going to try to compete in April. Did not anticipate winning, I just thought, you know, let's get my feet wet.

Hannah:

Let's jump back into it and I prepared myself. You know you probably won't win. How are you going to feel? Are you going to be upset? Are you going to use it as motivation to try again? And I handled all that on my end before I even contacted Bernadette, the director, and so she was like, yeah, well, let's do it, let's jump in. And I said, okay, we've only got one problem I haven't told my husband I'm thinking about this yet. And boy, he thought that I was crazy. I thought we were done with this and how much is this going to cost? And yada, yada. And so I kind of struggled with that for a whole two days that I don't want to do this if people aren't happy for me or they're not supportive. You know, my parents kind of had the same reaction, like what? Yeah, it's been years. Why don't you put your kid in a pageant? Why are you doing a pageant?

Johnna:

And so how old were you at the time when you competed in that Miss, like the Mrs Tennessee, yeah.

Hannah:

I was 30. 30. Okay, turned 31 in June. So, yeah, it just took me explaining to them like this is why I'm doing this, I feel like my purpose isn't fully fulfilled, and they quickly just said okay, let's do it.

Johnna:

I was like what Are you serious Like?

Hannah:

you're really supportive. Okay, let's go. And my husband came to me about two days later and said honey, I'm your biggest supporter, always, I'm your number one fan, and I'm so sorry and I'm so embarrassed that I ever tried to talk you out of chasing your dreams. So let's do it, let's go.

Johnna:

And you have to do it. Let's do it yeah.

Hannah:

But I guarantee you, if I felt like my parents and my husband or my friends did not support what I was doing, I would not have been able to perform the way that I did, or I felt just fully supported and and was able to immerse myself in the in the pageant.

Johnna:

so then you won, mrs Tennessee which then got you into the Mrs America right and then you won that one were you like what?

Hannah:

if you go back and watch the video footage, that's literally what I said. What, what I? I could not believe it. The pageant that mrs america pageant moved so quickly.

Hannah:

Like I, I got fussed at for going backstage and trying to brush my hair between prelims and finals, and like my eyelash if you look closely in the pictures, my eyelash on my left eye was hanging off like it was completely unglued. I had to ask one of the little stagehand volunteers if she had any lip gloss, because my lips were were in Vegas. It is so dry yes, it has never been to Vegas and I live in humid Tennessee. Like my face was not prepared, I looked like crusty, mccrust crust. Like the setting spray was not setting spraying it was not working.

Hannah:

And so, right when I knew that I was in the top three, I'm like, oh my gosh, does anybody have lip gloss, like a breath mint or something, any eyelash glue trying to touch up backstage in the dark, just in case I won, you know? And um, I did. So my reaction was genuinely like what? And so when the reigning title holder came to put the crown on my head, I looked at her. I was like what do I do? What do I do now? And she goes, just keep smiling, and you just keep turning around and wait. Yep, just keep smiling and breathe, take in the moment. And I'm like, okay, in rehearsal they tell you what to do, but I was like kind of not paying attention because I didn't expect it to be me.

Hannah:

I'm like I wouldn't have to do this. So I smiled and waved, like she told me to do, across the stage a couple of times and till it felt a little awkward.

Johnna:

And how long did it take you to realize in that moment like OK, oh, I now have to compete in Mrs World.

Hannah:

Oh girl, as soon as that crown went on my head, I was like I'm going to do this all over again. Like that crown went on my head, I was like I gotta do this all over again. Like I can't let myself go, I gotta stay, I gotta stay right and tight, we gotta do this again, and so um, I don't think my husband really knew that, though, so I had to break the news to him again.

Johnna:

Well, I mean, if you think about it, you went up so in February. What year was this? February 2024, this?

Hannah:

is all this year, okay, so in.

Johnna:

February of 2024 you decide last minute that you want to compete in mrs america, or mrs tennessee. Mrs tennessee and then you said it started in april, so that was literally two months and then you were like going into it, thinking like I just want one more chance to fulfill my dream, yeah, and you were thinking you know I may win, I may not like I just want that one chance, because I don't feel like I've fulfilled my dream exactly and and then you won, and then you go to Mrs America and you're like, oh, this is this is.

Hannah:

This is more than I bargained for.

Johnna:

And then you win that, and then you're like oh.

Hannah:

I have no explanation. Jen, you were asking me earlier about coaching, Like is it important for pageant?

Hannah:

girls to hire a coach. This all happened so quickly. I didn't. I did not hire a coach. I will say I had a couple of touch-up interview sessions with a couple of different coaches, but it wasn't really teaching me anything new and that's how I wanted it to be. I said that if I was going to do this, if I've learned anything over the past 10 years from doing it the wrong way apparently in the past, is that I don't. I don't want to hire anyone that's going to try to change me or try to tell me what to say and how to say it. I genuinely wanted to go into not only Mrs Tennessee, but once I realized I was going to Mrs America, I wanted to go into it with the notion that I'm bringing myself and no amount of interview prep or flash cards is going to teach me what I need to know or what.

Hannah:

I want the judges to know about me. I have lived a lot of life and I've impacted a lot of others lives and I've raised a lot of money for a lot of charitable causes and you know I knew that I had substance to bring to the table.

Johnna:

And.

Hannah:

I knew in my heart that I would make a great Mrs America, and that's all I had to do was share that with them, and that's what that was my mindset, that I brought to the table. I didn't want to be told what to say or how to say it, and so that's that's genuinely what I did, was I had a conversation with the judges and I showed them my heart.

Hannah:

Yeah, and I said, if that's what they want, great. If they don't, then maybe this wasn't for me, but something is pulling on my heartstrings telling me that I just need to jump in and try this and be authentically you Right, which I agree with that wholeheartedly, because I, when I do job interviews like I know, that's definitely not a beauty pageant. No, it's, it's very similar.

Johnna:

When I do job interviews, I have always typically gotten the job. Like when I do interviews, my friends would always be like how do you do that? Like I apply to all these jobs and I'm like, well, I literally just go in and be myself Like I don't prepare for it. I don't try to make myself nervous, like what if they ask this question or whatever they ask. I'm just going to say what I would typically say to a friend, whether they like it or not this job may or may not be for me.

Hannah:

And why would you want to sell them something that's not what they're going to get?

Johnna:

when they actually hire you. Right Same thing.

Hannah:

Why would you want to sell them a fake version of yourself? And then, when they crown you, they realize like, oh, this girl is not what we thought we were crowning and I didn't want that to be me Not saying that that was anybody else in the competition whatsoever.

Johnna:

Your personal journey. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hannah:

Yeah, and so I, when I jumped in, I didn't have a dress secured, I had nothing genuine, like literally nothing. My shoes I was like, well, I've already got heels, this is good Dry, rotted. They broke the first time I tried to practice walking and then broke. Um, so, yeah, we had to start. We had, I mean, mrs Tennessee sorry, mrs Tennessee borrowed a dress, and then I won and I was like, well, now we got to figure out how we're going to buy a dress for Mrs America, because I don't I don't know if I told you this or not, but I'm a stay at home mom.

Hannah:

Now I just quit my job in April to fully immerse myself into motherhood and do some spray tans on the side. So budgeting an expensive evening gown was not in the cards for us. And so, when I tell you, everything just began to fall into place. People were in my corner, people that have loved on me for years and that I've loved right back, just started pouring into my journey and that gave me all the confidence in the world to just go out there and not only do this for myself and my fulfillment, but to make them happy. I knew they were behind me, so why would I waste this opportunity. So I was. I was so thankful to receive some clothing sponsors and I did my own hair and makeup. I think I might have been the only one I hope I'm not misspeaking, but there might have been one other lady, I'm not sure, that did their own hair and makeup at Mrs America. Oh, I love that, though I was like, oh, we just can't. I mean we can't swing it.

Johnna:

You're like I'm a mama too, I just can't. Let's just do it.

Hannah:

You know budget friendly.

Johnna:

And like I out I guess. No, I love that. Now I do want to get into some of the beauty standards that come with pageants. I know, like because someone like me, like when I first started looking at at pageants or not like looking to get into them, like I was like why would anyone want to do this? I was like because it's just judging what you look like. That's what an outsider would say about beauty pageants.

Johnna:

How do you feel about that? Like now being in beauty pageants, would you say that you could see where someone would think that or, like you, just have a whole different perspective of it because you've been in it.

Hannah:

I have a completely different perspective of it, but I will say I believe that's probably the number one common misconception when it comes to pageantry. You think, oh, this is a beauty competition. Like why would these girls, let alone married women, do something so shallow as to get up on stage and be judged based on what they looked at?

Hannah:

Like OK, at least pick me women out here just trying to get some kind of validation from five strangers sitting on a panel. But it is not like that whatsoever, at least not the organizations that I've been involved in. I also mentor young ladies that are competing in pageantry, and my whole mission with them as well is just to be your most authentic self, and that's not something that you can teach somebody. So if the light bulb clicks, that's great, but sometimes it doesn't click until years later and you're like oh literally all I have to do is just relax and be me, and and we're doing all right.

Hannah:

Um, what was the question you even asked me? Oh, beauty standards, yeah, yeah, so, um, common misconception it's not just a beauty pageant. The organizations that I've been involved in are all very heavily based on community service, so we all have a platform initiative, and they range from suicide prevention to infant loss and infertility to, like mine, is advocating on behalf of abused and neglected children, cancer, breast cancer survivors, especially in the MISES program. The platforms range so widely and the crazy part is is that most of these women choose their platform initiatives because they've been affected by what they support or somebody very, very close to them has been affected by it. So that it just goes to say that you don't always know what someone has been through or is going through, but choosing to not be a victim of it and to create a stance and make a change for others and yourself along the journey is just incredible, and I think that pageant women get a bad rap sometime for doing something.

Hannah:

so surface level is a beauty competition, and there certainly are. I'm sure there are pageants out there that are just based on beauty, but not the ones that that I've been involved in yeah.

Hannah:

And what's crazy is I never I never, at least for me personally compared myself physically to any other contestants. Maybe I did, back back in the day, whenever I can, competed when I was in my 20s, but I can say wholeheartedly at Mrs Tennessee and at Mrs America. For me it was not a beauty competition or a body competition you know who's got a better body. For me, the only I guess I could say insecurity would have been when I showed up to Mrs America and we were all talking about our professions and I'm like, well, I don't have one of those. I'm a mom, Like, yeah, that's my job, but I'm in a room full of doctors and lawyers and dentists and entrepreneurs and these women are just incredible. Some of these women had competed at Miss USA like untouchable, you know, yeah, but what am I doing here?

Johnna:

Being a mother, everyone knows, is number one, probably one of the hardest jobs that anyone can do on this earth, and I mean shout out to the people that have to do it all and be mothers husbands fathers, whatever. That's why I can't be a mother, because it's hard.

Hannah:

You could, but you've got a little senior dog. That's being a mom enough.

Johnna:

But it's just hard. It's just hard. So do not discredit yourself, because raising girls, boys, whatever, raising children is just a hard job in general.

Hannah:

Yeah, so I think it's commendable if you can afford to do that like I know you said that y'all had to do some budgetary cuts and stuff like that, for you to be able to do that for sure but that is also commendable.

Johnna:

and when in a career itself, Because you can be present not saying that other mothers aren't present when they're working, but that's what your goal is is to be present and to be there. So don't discredit your job as a mom, right and I don't now, but when you're talking comparison.

Hannah:

It's weird things that happen when you get in your 30s and you become a mom, the things you start comparing yourself to other women. But that was. I was almost like I'm not worthy of this title, I'm not worthy to be here. What's exciting or flashy about being a stay at home mom and a spray tan artist when other women are talking to the judges about finding a cure for cancer? Gosh, I don't know.

Hannah:

Yeah you know it's crazy, but it gave me a chance to have time during the day to reflect on myself and what I believe in and bring out my true authenticity and be able to talk about my kids and they're what genuinely make me happy and make me laugh and make me feel comfortable, and I think that fared well for me. At the end of the day, I was able to just be me.

Johnna:

And talking about, like you said you mentioned earlier. You said, maybe in your 20s, like when you were competing. You said you competed for a decade and you competed during college and whatnot. How would you like, looking back now, how you feel more confident now and you feel like you can be more authentically yourself in the Mrs Tennessee, in the Mrs America? How would you say that differed from how you felt back when you were competing years ago? Right?

Hannah:

I don't know if times have changed or if people just take it easy on us old folks now, but whenever I was in my 20s there, I think they actually still exist. But back in the day there were these things called anonymous forums on the internet, and it wasn't the contestants that were talking smack about each other on there, but grown adults would get behind the keyboard on these anonymous forums and just rip every little detail of these pageant competitors lives and bodies and talents and and looks apart. And it was horrible and not that that I was compared. I never once compared myself like physically or well, maybe talent wise, but it's not like I looked at my body or my outward beauty and compared it to another contestant. Everybody, every one of us, was different in our own way. But when I tell you, I would read those forums and just get so down on myself and feel so bad for other competitors to reading these things that these adults would say about them it was, I say adult, like we weren't adults too.

Johnna:

But we were like you know what? It kind of 20 21. It's kind of similar to like social media like how people sit behind a fake Instagram account or something and comment these horrendous things on people's outward appearance and it's like what's the need in that? Where is that beneficial to anyone, Right? And it's not.

Hannah:

You've seen the rates and self-harm and suicide raise and I hate to even bring that up, but it's true. With the influx in social media and social media following. It's supposed to be a positive platform, or it very well could be a positive platform if used correctly, but people are using it as a catalyst for bullying and it's become extremely detrimental and I'm terrified for my children to grow up and want social media.

Hannah:

I don't even want to think about how I'm going to address that one day, but when it comes to the difference between social media, or like being bullied out for the public to see, it's not that it makes it any better, but at least these you know, like famous tiktokers and instagramers, have people to back them up right on their, on their comment section. You know if somebody says something ugly about there's usually 10 to 12 people for that one comment. That's right Backing them up on these forums.

Hannah:

You can't take up for yourself, right? No one's going to sit there and be like that's not true, she's a great person, or she's been working on her fitness or yada yada. It was just. It was left plain as day so that you started to believe those words that you read about yourself online. And I'm so glad that I'm so glad that doesn't exist for the program that I'm in now, or at least I haven't seen. I don't even want to see it, right? I don't want to go there. I don't wish that upon any young adult, any older woman, anyone, honestly, because you think you don't have self-confidence issues. Then you read something about well, you would have won if you had just lost five more pounds, or your talent's terrible. You sound like a dying cat on stage, like no, that makes sense, sticks with you forever.

Johnna:

So it wasn't the actual loss of the competition that, like, made you think any differently of yourself it was these anonymous bullying forums that for sure you would see things about yourself and you're like starting to believe it a little bit, because you're just like. Well, maybe that is true, Like, maybe that is why.

Hannah:

I lost 100%. I mean I carried that with me even far after pageantry. Self self image as far as my health and fitness went I had. I had pretty bad body issues after pageantry and that did not become. That not come as a result of having competed in pageantry it was the bullying that came with it. It was in the acceptableness. It was just like it just happened. Everybody knew that if you got talked about on the forum, you know you're.

Johnna:

You're somebody that kind of reminds me of like an art. So like you know how, like we watch reality tv or whatnot, and we watch it. And then when people start bullying them on their social media accounts and they're like Well, what did you expect? You put your life out there. So it's kind of similar. Like people are like well, you put yourself in this beauty competition.

Hannah:

So what did?

Johnna:

you expect. Well, not that, because it's still bullying at the end of the day. Exactly, it's no different than going to school or being on a reality show, or signing up for a beauty competition or, heck, even playing in sports, where it'd be basketball, football, and someone getting online being like they did this. I'm not even about to try to do sports analogies.

Hannah:

I was going to try. I don't sport, so you lost me there.

Johnna:

But you're just like anything. It's still bullying at the end of the day, so it makes sense what you're saying now and it's kind of giving me a different perspective. Where you're like, it wasn't the actual competition, no, it was the bullying that came with it, and not from anyone in the pageant, it was from these anonymous forums.

Hannah:

Exactly, and for so long after pageantry I always felt like I've got to prove them wrong. You know, they even talked about my, my future husband. He's my boyfriend. At the time no-transcript when I was pregnant with my first child, all I could think about is don't take a picture of me, do not post that picture. What are people going to say?

Hannah:

I was pregnant for God's sakes right, you're supposed to gain weight. You're nurturing and growing a life inside of you, and so I'm not going to lie. That kind of spurred me to go into bodybuilding. Yeah, after after pageantry, after getting married, after having a baby Not that it was an identity crisis, not that I was kind of like, well what, now I got to do something. Now it was just what goal am I going to set for myself to get myself back in shape and what do I feel like is missing? I've always felt like there was this hole missing since I competed for Miss Tennessee years ago. Maybe bodybuilding was going to fill that hole. Yeah, I had a coach that really impacted my life. He gave me the most self-confidence. He showed me that I can change my body by building muscle and that's okay in a positive way.

Hannah:

Yes, I don't have to spend my life marking off miles on a treadmill to try to get stick thin, because that's not reality for a lot of people. Muscle can be celebrated if that's what makes you feel good, if that's what gets the endorphins flowing and makes you feel confident, that's okay. And that's the biggest message I'd like to spread for pageant competitors is you don't have to chase this unattainable image. If your body is meant to be strong and muscular, go with that for the swimsuit competition, if that's what makes you feel good. Confidence is going to outshine a great physique on stage every time.

Johnna:

And I love that because I in college had restrictive eating.

Hannah:

Like.

Johnna:

I would undereat or overwork out every time and I love that, because I in college had restrictive eating, like I would under eat or overwork out, and I think this is just in general, like as a society we were bad about it. I I try my best now not to comment on other people's bodies, even if I know that they're trying to lose weight and it could be a positive thing, because we also, at the end of the day, don't know what other people are going through exactly someone might have lost a ton of weight because they were under a lot of stress or

Johnna:

maybe they have a health issue, right, and then we're going and telling them oh my gosh, you look so amazing, right, like for me. That's what happened to me when I was under eating and working out too much, like I had a lot of college friends that would come up to me and go you look amazing. What are you doing? Being miserable. You know what I'm doing, but but lying about it and going, oh, you know nothing. You know, and that stuck with me because I'd be like so I didn't look good 10 pounds heavier like why?

Johnna:

is people now complimenting my smaller body right? And then that perpetuated a cycle where it was like under eating, or, if I restricted so much, like no cake, no cookies, no, no sweets. And then I saw it.

Hannah:

I would just binge, binge on it. I'm glad you're talking about this openly, because years ago it was not talked about enough.

Johnna:

It was shamed.

Hannah:

You had to hide it. Um, and I? I would do that every year. I would lose weight and then gain it all back, plus some cause it's crash dieting. Oh yeah, oh yeah.

Johnna:

But I don't know what woman couldn't relate to that Like I feel like, which is funny, because the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar company and if something like a crash diet worked, then why are they billionaires, right? Well, that statement didn't make sense, but I know what you're saying. Like why would you have to, why would there be all these diets if they worked?

Hannah:

I think that's one positive thing I will say about social media or maybe that's just like my For you page on TikTok but the fact that people have figured out the cheat code. You know, they figured out the secret to feeling good about yourself, looking good, and a lot of that is getting your cortisol under control, eating what fuels your body and makes you feel good. That doesn't necessarily mean nothing but tilapia and asparagus and zero carbs. You know and it's telling others about it, it spreading the word that you don't have to purchase this crash diet plan, or it's not all about the atkins diet. We didn't have that. No, we didn't. We grew up in the 90s, where it was.

Johnna:

You know, being as skinny as you can is beautiful and that was the beauty standard in the 90s right, which you know. Transitioning into the 2020s, like the body positivity, movement or body neutrality or whatever you want to call it is moving towards, like, appreciating your body and respecting your body and fueling your body, and that doesn't mean you have to restrict. I actually think, like you mentioned your coach earlier and how he kind of changed your trajectory because he taught you about nutrition. We were talking before the podcast and you were like.

Johnna:

He taught me about macros. He taught me that I need to fuel my body with proper calories and not under eat and not over right out and it took a coach like that for me to teach me that, because I was under eating and we had to reverse diet up and get, because the goal should be you should be eating as much as you can yes, and still being able to burn yes.

Johnna:

So that way, when you do want to go to the beach or you do want to compete in a beauty pageant, you don't have to restrict so much, right, and people will ask my secret.

Hannah:

Now they're like oh you, your body is better than it looked whenever you competed 10 years ago. What are you doing differently? And I'm like, I'm just happy, like I'm content. I'll tell you what I prioritize protein. That's a. That's about it, you know. If I know, I've had a snack cake like this morning this morning I had a Christmas tree snack cake because they're so good. I found a box at the grocery store.

Hannah:

I feel like they sell out so quickly, so don't tell my director, but I had a Christmas tree cake for breakfast this morning and then I was like you know what that is fine. I didn't beat myself up over it, when in years past I probably would have. But I had a protein shake as well, because I knew that I needed to, what makes me feel good about my body what keeps it looking more toned is when I've had adequate protein for my, for my body weight, and so I had a protein shake and that's what I did.

Hannah:

The whole, the whole prep for Mrs Tennessee and Mrs America, which I by no means was the most fit or the thinnest competitor on stage but I did what made me feel good and I didn't stress the whole time about my body. I didn't stress about getting two workouts in a day. I went to the gym in the morning and I brought my kids and if my baby threw a fit, or she was sick and I couldn't go that day, or I only got a 2030 minute workout, in the world didn't end, whereas years past it would have ended.

Johnna:

No, and I'd love to hear you say that, because when I was in college or I was in high school, I remember, like I was in my senior year of high school and I was dating a freshman in college and I remember, like um driving, because I lived in tennessee and I remember driving to huntsville and our I remember he was like, hey, do you want to come down this? You know, this day, like there was some kind of event going on and I was like you know, no, I need to go to the gym. Like I need, like, and I couldn't break that routine. But now, like, having the knowledge and that confidence, like now, like if someone said, hey, like do you want to go to do this? If my plan was to go to the gym, I'd be like sure, let's go do that. I'll go to the gym another day.

Hannah:

Yeah, or go at 4am, get it over with, start your day early, right? That way you're not beating yourself up all day. If it's something that you don't, you don't feel like you're obligated to do, but you do it because you enjoy it and it makes you feel good.

Johnna:

Right, and so I do appreciate you also being this platform and this local celebrity to. Nashville and now Mrs America. I really appreciate you sharing that journey because there are plenty of young girls that look up to you, especially like you have two girls Right.

Hannah:

And that was my biggest thing. I told myself this could be a slippery slope, because body image was a huge part of why I toyed with never being involved in pageantry again, and so I promised myself as a mother, if I'm going to get back into this, I will never talk negatively about my body or anyone else's body in front of my children, or, hopefully, in front of myself or my husband. I just didn't even want to go there, and I will never let them see me eating something differently than them, or different than them when we're at the table as a family like you're not going to prepare them a meal and then prepare you something different, right, Right.

Hannah:

I never wanted them to think, well, mommy's doing all this stuff and taking time and attention away from me just to go do a pageant, like I never wanted them to see a change in me, right, a negative change, or like something outwardly different. So, like I said, I would prioritize protein during the day and eat what made me feel good, and then at night I would cook a meal for the entire family. Usually it was not super healthy. It'd be, you know, taco night, or we'd have spaghetti or sloppy joes and I was sitting there eating it. If I wanted seconds, I would eat seconds in front of my kids, but that's okay. I didn't gain a pound because I knew what made my body feel good. I knew what it needed to continue to go in the right path and, I'll be honest, I did far less cardio, this whole prep and walking. Walking can really change your body.

Johnna:

You don't have to do high intensity sprints and that's what I've learned Lift weights, walk, fuel your body, move on on, live life and your body will relax itself. I promise you like it, it does unless you have health concerns and stuff like that like and everyone who I've done a whole podcast on this where um I had to be put on um Manjaro um. I was in pick first and then Manjaro because I started having metabolic dysfunction. We won't get into all that.

Hannah:

Um, because I had, like, thyroid issues I was pre-diabetic and all this other stuff. Oh my gosh, wait, I didn't know that. Yeah, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Thanksgiving over some, over some mashed potatoes.

Johnna:

Let me talk about my diabetes but, um, it was a whole thing, but it was. It was cortisol, thyroid, it was from years of restricting and it caused all this metabolic dysfunction, which that's for a whole nother day but I want to get into some fun questions because you mentioned being a mama, and that's one of your proudest like proud moments in life so what are your duties as mrs america? And like, how do you perform your duties but also not take away from what you love being a mom? Yeah?

Hannah:

so similar to the way that I I told myself I would prepare for this job. That's the same way I'm fulfilling this job. I don't want to take any time and attention away from my children if I can help it. So the cool part about being Mrs America is that you are celebrated for being a wife and if you're blessed with children, a mother, and so a lot of my appearances that I've done, even out of state, I've been okay to bring my children. You know I always ask and they're kind of like yeah, you have responsibilities, bring your kids. You know, it's never been frowned upon or people always ask about my kids and I think that is so cool. Or I don't have to hide my husband from social media posts.

Hannah:

And I'm like this is a whole new world to me. Like you, guys want to know that I have a husband and I can wear a crown at the same time, so that has been a learning curve for me. But, as Mrs America, a lot of my responsibilities are, of course, continuing to work with my personal platform, which is advocating for abused and neglected children. I have been a court which is advocating for abused and neglected children. I have been a court appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children for almost 10 years now.

Johnna:

Oh wow, that's amazing. Since 2015.

Hannah:

And so I did take a break from taking cases while my children are young. But I'm actually changing counties. I've been a Davidson County CASA all these years and I think I'm going to switch over to Sumner, not because I don't love Davidson County, but it's closer to home and as a CASA, you have to go to court for your cases, usually during the school day. So getting my kids to and from school and going to court for other children that I'm advocating for is going to be a lot to juggle, but I want to do it. That is something that I'm very passionate about. So, um, fulfilling my personal platform goals and initiatives as part of my um my job. And then I also am a national spokesperson for our national platform, and it is called Victoria's voice. Um, victoria lost her life at the age of 18 due to accidental drug overdose.

Johnna:

Oh, that's, so sad yes.

Hannah:

And so very sad. And so the Siegel family, jackie and David Siegel, have started Victoria's Voice Foundation in her honor, and they also released her journal writings.

Johnna:

Oh, wow.

Hannah:

And their whole. I'm getting. I have chills right now. Do you see these?

Johnna:

chills yeah.

Hannah:

They beat themselves up because they didn't spot the warning signs. Their daughter was a beautiful blonde, just glowing soul.

Johnna:

Vibrant for life.

Hannah:

They would have never pegged her for a drug addict. They had no clue that she was experimenting with drugs and until, unfortunately, she lost her life from it. And um. That is their um first mission is to teach parents, siblings, friends, the warning sign so we can stop the accidental overdose. Uh, fentanyl is running rampant, not only in our own country, but it is just sweeping the United States and it's taking children's lives, as young as like 11.

Hannah:

It's invading our elementary schools and so, as Mrs America, being able to talk about the importance of having naloxone or Narcan on hand in public places of business and schools. It's really important for me to ensure that all public schools K through 12, have school resource officers on staff and trained to use it. Exactly, exactly. It's actually supposed to be a requirement in the state of Tennessee that SROs are present in our schools and we're not adhering to that law. So I do have some law reform that is on my to-do list this year.

Johnna:

Again, going back to just thinking about something as simple as oh, you're in a beauty pageant, but all the things that you're saying that you get to do is really amazing work.

Hannah:

A lot of people don't know that we do these things. It's not just a beauty competition.

Johnna:

This is literally education for me, because just even interviewing you I'm learning. I didn't even know all this stuff.

Hannah:

You got to tell me all about you. I got to learn all about the diabetes and all the things. There's so much I missed. I missed out on, apparently, um, but yeah. So, aside from Victoria's voice, uh, my main mission and I spoke with this to the judges, like I I can't remember if this was in this recording or the last recording of the other podcast, but part of the reason why I competed in pageantry in the past was I wanted to be Miss Tennessee so badly, to be the governor's spokesperson for character education and be able to meet thousands of school children and impact their lives in whichever way they need it most. I have never let go of that goal and dream for myself and I want to do that as Mrs America and I shared that with the judges that, even though it's a lofty goal, I only have 52 weeks to accomplish this job. I want to meet as many school children across our entire country as I can.

Johnna:

Right.

Hannah:

And speak on behalf of my platform and Victoria's voice, and so that's part of my mission. That's in the works, starting in January.

Johnna:

So now, when you I know that was your goal as Mrs Tennessee, but like being Mrs America and still making that your goal can that now expand past Tennessee? Because you're Mrs America? It absolutely can.

Hannah:

So that's amazing. Absolutely can. If you know anyone who wants to sponsor my nationwide school?

Johnna:

tour. We need to get Kim Kardashian to listen to this podcast so she can help you break into the justice system.

Hannah:

Hey, actually I'm not lying.

Johnna:

That's not a bad idea, I know like she's definitely not listening to this podcast, but if she were to. Come on, kim. Hey, do you have a blue checkmark? No, I was like, once you get that blue checkmark, slide into her dm so she can see it. I'm being dead serious. Is that how it works? You have to have a blue check mark and then they can see your message if you are.

Johnna:

So, if you have a blue check mark, you're probably not going to see the request from people who don't have blue check marks. You're going to have a better chance. Not saying that they'll see it, but you'll have a better chance okay, maybe I will.

Hannah:

that's a good idea. Well, I'm very, um very lucky because my mrs t Tennessee director is very involved in the political sector and so she has some connections to help me get on the House floor and discuss some of the bills that I propose that we that is cool, at least in Tennessee, yeah, but still that's really cool.

Hannah:

Yeah, my biggest issue is that we're spending like $220 billion every year in our country just cushioning the blows of child abuse and neglect. We're housing abusers in our prisons for $30,000 to $60,000 a year. One prisoner one.

Hannah:

When we could be investing that into our communities for resources for these families before abuse even begins. You know we can have parenting courses, drug treatment facilities that are not going to kick you out based on what type of insurance you do or do not have, and after school programs for these kids so they can have an escape and maybe their parents can work. You know, there's plenty of things we can, we can be doing with our funds that we're not, and I don't understand why, other than I mean child abuse is a money racket.

Johnna:

Maybe you can figure that out and fix it for us.

Hannah:

That's another duty of mine is to solve all world problems. I'm just kidding, but how I juggle that with my kids is very similar to my, to my state prep. I just don't want to take too much time away from them, so I work on my stuff during nap time. I'll work on it while I'm on the stair master at the gym. I'll make my phone calls, do my emails um respond to stuff on social media. I try. You know I'm a really bad texter Um that, actually that has been probably the most overwhelming part of the of this Cause.

Johnna:

Everybody's trying to text you yeah. Yeah, and that's not because I'm like popular no, you've always been that way I'm just really bad she's always taken like three or four days to respond and and that's just who you are and I've accepted it.

Hannah:

I'm bad about it and I don't, and it weighs on me. I'm telling you, when I lay my head down on the pillow at night, I think I still didn't respond to so and so, oh my gosh, they're gonna hate me. It got really bad whenever my youngest daughter was in the NICU, when she was born six weeks early. Undoubtedly, we got a lot of text messages and phone calls and Facebook messages we're praying for you and we're thinking of you. What can we do to help? How can we? And there were so many messages and I read, I read them all. I was so grateful for them all, but I said, oh, I will respond in you know a couple hours when I can, and and that just snowballed and can you tell it stresses me out but I mean also be so.

Johnna:

Just a just a word of advice, because I'm a lot older than you you really I am so you want to be authentically you. That is who you are. Yeah, so embrace it.

Hannah:

So here's the PSA everyone, if you try to message. Mrs America on Instagram. I might get back to you in five to seven business months months guys, I'm being serious, like to do this podcast.

Johnna:

Like I didn't know her address because I haven't been to her house, I've only been to her mother's house. So I was like I sent her a message, I said, hey, don't forget to send me your address. And then two days later I hadn't gotten it. I said I'm gonna text her two days before I have to be there, just in case she doesn't respond till the day of. So I texted her two days before and I was like hey, oh, by the way, don't forget to give me your address.

Hannah:

And you're like oh, yeah, please don't think that it's because I'm ignoring you and you're never gonna, for anyone who's listening to this you're never going to annoy me. I'm never going to be mad at you for double slash, triple texting me. It's not because I don't value your time or your friendship or your cousinship. I knew.

Johnna:

I knew that's who you were, so I was like, if worse comes to worse, I'm just gonna text her mom and get her address.

Hannah:

Yeah, no, I would have been like, oh, you know what, I probably didn't give her my address the day of no. I would have opened the text.

Johnna:

I just think it's funny. I have actually one of my best friends mal is like, mal is like that. I think I used to get annoyed by people who were like that because I'm a quick responder, but then I just had to be like no, that's just who they are, it's not a personal.

Hannah:

Oh, no, jab, it's just who you are, but you know what this is. I'm really exposing myself right now. It's one of my biggest pet peeves, like if I text somebody and they don't text me back. I'm like what did I do? Why are they mad at me?

Johnna:

Now you just have to give people grace, because we give you grace?

Hannah:

I do. I sure hope y'all give me grace. Thank you for doing that, because you certainly don't have to.

Johnna:

All right. So how do you pick a dress, shoes and jewelry for your events?

Hannah:

So I think I mentioned earlier that I went into this balling on the budget, right. So I have so many gracious, gracious sponsors that have provided me hair services this year my hairdresser, Brian Wood he has been a friend of mine for years and he has so graciously offered to do my hair, sponsored this year. And Lux Style Boutique has given me outfits to wear for appearances. He stocked me up for Mrs America week and he's going to make sure I'm prepared for every day. At Mrs World. We have to wear literally like four outfits a day.

Johnna:

I'm not even kidding you, oh gosh.

Hannah:

Yes, that's stressful in itself, right? A rehearsal outfit? Like a lunch outfit and I'm talking like cocktail dresses, not just jeans and a t-shirt, like we're going all out an evening gown at night. Um, so my friend jennifer and her husband josh own a boutique called or not boutique. They have one of those two, but a formal and bridal store here in town called twirls, and, um, they so graciously supplied me with evening gowns to wear to these events. Dear friend of mine, we've been friends for years and years. She is page of Joanne's in Tennessee and she so graciously sponsored a portion of my winning evening gown. And I have many other sponsors that I'm not naming at the moment. Oh, my new Botox lady, rachel at Relive here in Hendersonville. So there are quite a few. I will be making posts to thank all of them, but I couldn't do it without them. So, a lot of ways, that's how I pick my wardrobe. When people ask how do I pick my wardrobe, it's picked for me some of it and I love it every single bit of it.

Hannah:

Because I have zero fashion sense of my own. I wear workout clothes.

Johnna:

I was like to piggyback off that yeah like I know they're picking your outfit, but do you also have a stylist, or is it just they're picking?

Hannah:

no girl.

Johnna:

They're the sponsor, they're the stylist, they are um supplying the outfits.

Hannah:

Yes, okay, yes, you would think with the title of Mrs America you'd get, like a nanny, a stylist, a limit? No, I'm just kidding. A private jet Maybe? No, I'm just kidding. That's the beauty of this. It is still a volunteer organization, so I'm volunteering a lot of my time and my resources, or or finding resources which is you're.

Johnna:

You're finding the sponsors, or do people just come to you and say, hey, I would love to sponsor you?

Hannah:

a little bit of both, and and there are national sponsors as well. There are international sponsors for Mrs World. So it's it's been truly a village that have helped me succeed and continue to be successful, and I truly could not do it without each and every one of them but yeah, so that's, that's how the wardrobe thing goes.

Hannah:

As far as my Mrs World dress, I think I'm going to have to spoiler alert anyone that's listening. I'm going to wear one dress for preliminaries and I will probably rewear my Mrs America gown because it is very, very beautiful and it was not the cheapest gown in the world, and so I will wear that one again for either prelims or finals, and then Debbie Carroll she's a Las Vegas designer is going to so graciously sponsor a portion of an evening gown that she's designing herself, so I have not seen it yet.

Hannah:

I've seen the design, so I'm excited to see what it'll look like in person.

Johnna:

That is exciting. Now somebody did ask when we put up our question box how do you break in your heels?

Hannah:

I think I mentioned earlier that I broke them in too hard because they were dry, rotted and I brought broke my ankle, not my heel um that would have been bad. Yes, honestly, pain is beauty. A lot of a lot of girls, I will say. I see them wearing socks with their heels to break them in so they don't get blisters on their feet and it like kind of stretches out the straps.

Hannah:

Okay, I learned this through bodybuilding. Don't do that, okay, because then when you wear your heels actually on stage they're going to be too loose. That makes sense and you're gonna be slipping, sliding, you're gonna get more blisters and they're gonna be uncomfortable because you haven't practiced in the right way, you know, know, so I just kind of walk around in them.

Hannah:

Go for it. Yeah, we have a base. We have a finished basement downstairs. That's where all of my kids junk is right now that you saw us moving when you walked in the front door, y'all. She walked in and we were still cleaning up our house.

Johnna:

I was like stop Embarrassing, Nobody cares.

Hannah:

But no, we have our whole little like mirrors and little training area downstairs for that, so I'll just clumpety, clump downstairs after the babies go to sleep. Yep, don't use a walking coach, I just kind of do what I feel like looks good and feels good and go with it.

Johnna:

No, I appreciate that, like you're being super honest and I just I love that, because I love that you like it's kind of like that full theme of like you're just being authentically yourself and I like that you're doing that even in this interview, because you've always been a humble person Like you've. I've always, I've always admired you. I've always, I've always admired you. I've always looked up to you, even though that you're younger than me, because you have always been this beautiful person that I have looked up to, I've always looked up to you.

Johnna:

Well, that's sweet, but always I have and but you've always been the same person, from day one, like. You've never changed like, no matter how many pageants you've won, no matter what you've accomplished, you have always been very humble and I tell that to all my friends. When I'm like, look at my cousin, I'm like and they're always like, oh my gosh, she's so pretty. I was like. And you, because you think, like someone who is as beautiful as you are, like, some people do come across very, you know, bratty or whatnot, and you've never been that way.

Hannah:

You've always been super humble oh, thank you and I love that about you.

Johnna:

So that is the running theme through this podcast is you are being authentically you.

Hannah:

I'm sure my directors wish that I'd be a little bit more. What is it PC? They wouldn't. They wish that I wouldn't be so transparent, I'm sure. But no, that's. I think it's relatable, right, and what's the point? I mean, what's the point? It's almost like putting on a mask every, or you know, my uniform is my dress that I'm wearing for the day. It's not my facade, it's not my faux personality that I put on when I'm Mrs America.

Hannah:

I'm just me and I think that is what gives me fulfillment. It's what has helped me um inquire or incur sponsors, um meet with nonprofits, as I'm just talking to them as if I'm Hannah.

Johnna:

People can see that, just like you were talking earlier about, like how you decided to go back into pageantry and decided to be you, and the judges could see that it was very genuine versus people can tell authenticity right People can just read it right.

Hannah:

And if this is a message for any woman listening to this that has considered competing in pageantry or has competed in pageantry and has not had the chance to to win the crown, take this from me. The only thing I changed other than having two kids and a husband for this pageant was just listened to people when they said all you have to do is just be yourself and show up. Right, I'm telling you, show up. Every pageant orientation that I've ever been to, beginning of pageantant week, the director always says we are looking for the girl who is who is the most relatable. All you need to do is just be yourself and relax. Ladies, have fun. You know how hard that is to do. When you know you've spent all this money and all this time and you've got all this competition in the room with you, you can't relax and be yourself very easily Right in the room with you.

Hannah:

you can't relax and be yourself very easily Right. So whatever that looks like for you, like I said earlier, you can't teach that to someone. These ladies that I mentor, I can. I can preach it till I'm blue in the face. Be authentically you if that means posting like car talk videos on your Instagram with no makeup on, so people see you um. If that means I don't know posting unfiltered pictures on instagram. If that means I I really don't know.

Johnna:

It's different for everyone. Whatever it is for you, right?

Hannah:

yeah, right, and that's no, that's all I did. I mean that's.

Johnna:

That's truly the only thing that changed and the only thing I took in preparation, wise to mrs america, and it worked for me so, so would you say that just going in and being authentically you and genuine, would you say, that would be your one tip that you would give women who are about to compete.

Hannah:

I would 100%. Now that doesn't mean going willy nilly you know, still, still train still do all the things.

Johnna:

But like when you're you're talking about, like when it comes to the interviewing portion and your personality, don't change that right to fit a standard right.

Hannah:

That's what you're saying I'll tell you, at the miss mrs tennessee pageant, um the the lady that was next to me in the lineup, we were the last two. We were sitting at a hair and makeup table together doing I was doing my own hair and makeup and before the interview and before the onstage questions she was sitting there flipping through a notebook and these index cards and I should have probably just minded my own business. But I looked at her and it was anybody's game. I knew she was a great competitor. I knew she would make a great Mrs Tennessee. I looked at her If she's listening to this, hey, kim. I looked at her. I said Kim put those index cards down and she's like why it's almost I got to do this. Before my interview I said what are you learning right now that you didn't know 10 minutes ago?

Johnna:

Right.

Hannah:

She just kind of looked at me and I said what are you learning? What are you going to go talk to them about that you don't already know? Right, are there things on your paperwork that you don't know about yourself or about your platform initiative? And she's like well, no, but this is kind of this is just what I do so I remember everything I said okay. But then after afterwards I talked to her about it, I was like I hope that didn't come off yeah ugly or the wrong way she goes.

Hannah:

no, I have taken that with me and I she's actually letting me wear something of hers for mrs world and when she met me to drop it off. She goes and hey, I'm not going to bring those index cards because she's competing in another pageant.

Johnna:

No, that makes sense. When I podcast, like when I first started, I was very nervous. I would write everything down, I would read it verbatim. And then I realized like I was like no, I need to be just who I am like have a conversation. But also when people would ask me, they would be like I am like you have a conversation, but also when people would ask me they would be like, hey, can you send me questions or whatever. I'd be like I really just want this to be a conversation. I want I'm gonna ask you stuff that you answer all the time. It's about you right, kind of like you should know this about you?

Hannah:

exactly that's exactly what it is it's. It's easy to tell somebody just be yourself, be authentic. What it really is is spending time and getting to know yourself. Yes, you have to know you. You have to know why you chose your platform. What does it mean to you? What do you want other? Why are you passionate about it? Are you passionate about?

Hannah:

it if not don't keep going with it, because you've already said that your platform. Change it right. Go with it, because if you can sell that to yourself, you can sell that to other people, right? I truly believe that I know yeah, yeah. And that goes for job interviews, for anything. Being a good friend I mean just being authentic will take you miles and miles further than not.

Johnna:

I have a couple more questions. What coaching is most beneficial for pageants?

Hannah:

I think it just depends on the competitor and what area they feel they're lacking in or what area they need a little bit more confidence or reassurance in to to feel their best. Ok, so it kind of individualized A lot of a lot of times people will say, oh, how did she win that pageant? She was not the best on stage. People forget, especially just like viewers or onlookers. Stage people forget, especially just like viewers or onlookers. They don't realize that, um, like at least in the mrs america program 50 of your score lies in the interview room.

Johnna:

Oh okay, so so would you say like interviewing is probably one of the bigger hands down coaching that you would probably lean?

Hannah:

towards. Yeah, I mean, think about it. You're crowning a winner that you're sending out in public, right, you don't want somebody that can't form a sentence or comes off disgenuine in their interview.

Hannah:

And you know like, in our program you have what's called a round robin interview. So there are five judges and you have I can't remember it's three or four minutes. I should probably know that before Mrs World. But you sit down at a table across from them, like this Nerve wracking. But you sit down at a table across from them, like this nerve-wracking, it's not panel style. I'd at one time preferred panel style interviewing, but I love this now because you just conversate like this, yeah, and they can see how you really are in person, but you only have three or four minutes to quote sell yourself to them and that looks differently for everyone.

Hannah:

So, yeah, I feel like interview is very important because if you feel like you nailed that interview, you're going to be more confident in what you would do on stage and those judges are still thinking about the interview, the girl they met in an interview. They're looking at your body during the interview. They're looking at your facial beauty during the interview. They're seeing everything up close, hearing you up close. All you got to do is just seal the deal on stage. So.

Johnna:

All right, and then I did want to touch on this just a little bit. You recently put your oldest daughter in a pageant. Does she ask to be in the pageant? She did.

Hannah:

My baby has been begging to do a pageant after she. She had no clue that mommy did pageants to begin with she until I finally told her and she could grasp the concept when she got old enough.

Hannah:

But, like I said, I've I've mentored young ladies who are competing um in various organizations and I've also worked production. So, um, she's gotten to see these other girls that I mentor. She's gotten to see them in their pageants. She's gotten to see what it looks like backstage when mommy's on headset you know, hustling backstage, and she's obsessed with that. But but for the longest time she thought being in a pageant just meant getting on stage and twirling in circles like just dancing around on the corner of the stage.

Hannah:

That's all she wanted to do was listen to the pageant music. So, like she would always listen to the swimsuit production number, from whichever pageant we had, you know, seen last, that would always be her favorite song for like a solid six months.

Hannah:

We heard that's my girl in the car over and over and over again, and so that was what she thought. But now that she got old enough, I, as Mrs America, had agreed to judge a pageant and I was talking with the director of this, this pageant, and all she overheard was pageant, yeah, and she comes running. She was I'm doing a pageant, I get to wear my dress. I've had a dress in her closet for like years now just waiting, and um, so I told this lady. I said, well, can I judge the older girls and put my little girl in in the younger division? And she was like, yeah, yeah. Was like yeah, yeah, that'll be fine. And, needless to say, I ended up not judging at all and just being mom that day, and she would not practice to save her life when I'm telling you she is her daddy made over.

Hannah:

She has the attention span of a flea I mean she. But she won, girl. She would roll around. All I was trying to teach her was there are two x's and this is what pretty feet looked like. She looked like she was trying to clench a quarter between her little thighs every time she was trying to do this. Pretty feet, I'm just like you know what? Forget it. Forget ugly feet. Do any feet, but not that. Whatever you're doing, just stop, and she would roll on the floor. I'm so itchy, I'm stretchy, mommy, I'm like, forget it. We could not practice, practice. I'll be darned if this little girl did not stress me out for weeks and then get to the pageant and just rock it like natural, she's just a natural.

Johnna:

She's like mom, I don't gotta practice.

Hannah:

She's like I tricked you, mama. Look, I guess that sounds like me. Now you have to practice.

Johnna:

Just go be authentic, or that's what she did, she did and she got up there and she. So, hey, going back to your tip, that's right that's right.

Hannah:

It's just not as fun when you're the mama and your baby's not listening to you. But anyhow, yeah, she got up. There was so funny. They had the big girls kind of like leading them, showing them where to go. And her her big girl was was like okay, eloise, it's time to to come off the stage now. And, um, she was like no. She just would cut her eyes at her and be like no, and they and they'd be like okay, thank you, eloise, it's time for our next contestant. And she'd look over at the emcee and be like no, and then turn back to the judges and just smile and stand there. It was kind of it was hilarious.

Johnna:

She's adorable anyway.

Hannah:

But she won. And they asked her her favorite part about the competition that day and she said in the summertime, when I get to go on my boat and swim and when it's sunny and warm, and she got the emcee goes. Oh, did you do that today? And she goes well, no, and she goes okay. But what was your favorite part about today? And she goes, oh, winning.

Johnna:

I was like oh, mercy, we're gonna have to do a little work on the PR front now, when? When is Mrs World? And like, how can we all watch and support you?

Hannah:

Yeah, so Mrs World is January, the 29th are the prelims and the finals are on January 30th, so it will be live streamed. You can go to Mrs World dot com and find the link there. I will be posting it all over my socials so you can follow along at Mrs America presents on Instagram and on Facebook, and so all of that information will be plastered all over and doing updates from the week and it'll be really, really fun to watch and get to meet ladies from all over the world.

Johnna:

Thank you for doing this interview for a second time tonight.

Hannah:

Thank you for finally convincing me to do it. It was actually really enjoyable, and I wish I had done it sooner.

Johnna:

I know and I'm super, super happy for you for winning Mrs America, I'm happy for Mrs Eloise for winning her pageant, little Miss Tennessee Pearl, and tell everyone where they can go follow you on socials. It'll also be posted in the show notes where they can just click on it and go right to you so that they can support your charity events and all the endeavors that you're doing. That sounds super amazing and wonderful Right.

Hannah:

So, yep, that Instagram handle is at Mrs America presents. On Facebook it's just Mrs America presents and you can also follow along the Mrs World socials. Just type in mrs world, mrs, don't forget, we're these old married ladies now not the miss and you'll be able to follow along on all the excitement preparing for mrs world and my journey um the rest of the year.

Johnna:

Is mrs america so all right, ladies and gentlemen, if gentlemen are listening, I have mostly female listeners. But thank you so much, hannah. Again, I know time is valuable and you got to go back to being a mom now. I got to go eat some chips and queso. But thank you, and thank you all guys for listening to this interview. Until next time. Bye, bye, thank you.

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Johnna

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