WQYK 99.5, Tampa Bay's Country Station

To hear the interview, click on the link below :)
http://wqyk.radio.com/2010/07/01/miss-florida-megan-clementi/

Article and Pics from the Sanibel Islander, posted June 30th 2010

Article and Pictures
http://www.captivasanibel.com/page/content.detail/id/507816/Miss-Florida-USA-climbs-Sanibel-Lighthouse.html?nav=0

Tampa Area Lighthouses and Radio Stations

I spent the next two hours jumping between radio stations to highlight my Climb For The Cure as well as to promote the upcoming state pageant on July 10th. I feel like I connected with the entire Tampa area as I was featured on 1010 Sports
WQYK Country 99.5,

Smooth Jazz 98.7



, and WILD Hits and Hip Hop 94.1Before I knew it, it was 10 am and we had only an hour before our ferry was leaving Ft Desoto Park to Egmont Key Light. That is me driving the boat...lol
Upon arrival we were greeted by Tom Watson, Park Ranger, who has lived on the island for 9 years and absolutely loves it. We had just enough time to climb the light and travel the island via golf cart. There was definitely way to much to see as this island used to be a military community.
My dad and I plan on traveling back to Egmont Key Island soon. If you notice in the pic this light has no top!

Egmont Key fun fact…..The island has decreased in size by over 50% by sand washing away into the ocean. In recent years, sand was brought to the island to keep it intact. There is an old power plant that was orginally in the center of the island. When we passed it, you can see it has completely crumbled and half of it is in the ocean.

We hit the road again for our final lighthouse stop of this crazy week! We hopped on the boat with Chris B, Assistant Park Ranger of Anclote Key Island and Linda Seabol, President of the Friends of Anclote Key Lighthouse.

We had worried about the weather, but it seemed clear enough to cross the 3½ miles from the marina to the island.

Chris, like Tom, lives on the island and manages the surroundings. He has been there for 4 years and is also very passionate about his job. As we were finishing up, the rain came and we hid in Chris’s home on the island.

We waited out the storm for an hour or so and then came to the brilliant decision to weather the storm for the 3.5 miles……kids do not do this at home! I do not want to say it was scary, but it was. Needless to say, we survived…lol

Anclote Key Fun fact….opposite of Egmont, the island’s beach has expanded due to natural beach renurishment. There is an area below the flag pole next to the lighthouse where people donate to the lighthouse an in return receive an engraved brick. Within the next few months there will be a new brick with MEGAN CLEMENTI, MISS FLORIDA USA 2010 written on it.

Now, I am writing you from the car, 1250 miles from where I began this journey on Sunday! I cannot put into words how exhausted we are from the sun exposure, lighthouse climbs, long drives and little sleep…….BUT WHO CARES! This week was amazing! I have some awesome pictures, videos and great new friends. I cannot wait to return to all these stops in the near future!

Love Always,
Megan Clementi
Miss Florida USA 2010

Ft Myers Lighthouses

Dad and I met our contacts John and Kathy Kennedy at The Lighthouse Café for breakfast and then the Sanibel Island Light where the press were awaiting. Several TV news stations and local papers were there to learn about Climb For The Cure. From what I was told, the interviews were seen on the local news that evening on the 4pm and 5pm hours. The climb was a simple one. It was just Dad, me and my two favorite Coast Guards (Eric Smith and Erick Toval).

The Sanibel Island Light was recently taken over by the city of Sanibel in which the city requires a waiver to be signed and notarized before a climb is to occur. You can assume that this light is not open to the public….I was fortunate that I was approved by the city and the U.S. Coast Guard. Anyway, the view was beautiful and I am happy to report there was NO OIL in sight. It seems there is a misconception amongst many that the oil spill has reached the west coast of Florida. This is simply not true as you can see from the posted photographs. Next, we made detours at the City of Sanibel offices, and the Sanibel Historical Society and Museum. We finished our time in Sanibel with lunch at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille. I spent most of my lunch signing autographs for locals and mingling with staff. The owner, Marty Harrity, was so sweet as he sponsored Climb For The Cure for $500 and wished me luck on my journey. By the time I boxed up my lunch, I was 30 minutes late to Boca Grande, but Climb For The Cure was $600 richer! YAY!

Sanibel fun fact…..there are no fast food restaurants, or big businesses (Target, Walmart etc) on the island except for a single Dairy Queen!

Being late was not an option as it was too difficult to leave the people of Sanibel! They were so sweet and supportive of my cause. 2 hours later, I was happy to find my contact Sharon McKenzie, my coast guard guys, media, and locals waiting for my arrival at Boca Grande. One family actually saw that I was coming to the light, ran home to get their camera, and came back to meet me :) Isn’t that nice! Ft Myers rocks! Sharon (and her daughter Alex) gave us a complete VIP tour of Boca Grande including visits to both Boca Grande Lighthouse, Gasparilla Island Lighthouse, and a golf cart tour of the island. Last leg of the day was dinner at PJ’s Seagrille.

Dad and I enjoyed the best dinner we have ever had. Just imagine Tomato Basil Crab Bisque, Shrimp Pad Thai, Bread with coconut and pineapple, and Tuxedo Bomb dessert (dark chocolate filled with milk and dark chocolate mousse!) I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in the area.

Boca Grande fun fact….there is nearly no crime despite the occasional spring break incident due to out of towners. The middle and high schools are located off the island.

After dinner, we traveled north to St Petersburg Florida. We checked into our hotel around 11:30pm. Just enough time to catch a few Z’s before arriving at the local radio station before the 7am hour!

South Florida Lighthouses

Hello CrAzY Week! Ummmm…where do I begin??? The last three days have to be the most action packed days of my reign. There was never a dull moment and barely time to breathe.

I started my week at 7am shooting stand-ups for Tel Air at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa. From there it was off to Pompano Beach to visit the Hilsboro Light (stop 11 of the 30 Florida Lighthouses). Grant, Dad and I met up with several people including Hib Casselberry, a lighthouse enthusiast. Hib is 88 years old and believe it or not he climbed to the top of the Light! He is a very interesting guy. Apparently, his parents founded the city of Casselberry in the Orlando area…pretty cool.

Another fun fact….Grant is scared of heights! He was so cute. Grant almost made it to the top when he looked at me and said, “You can video tape right??? I do not do heights!” I had no clue! I told him no problem as my dad was the King of home videos growing up. Sure enough Dad took over video duties. I would not be surprised if he used the entire video memory as my dad never stopped ‘rolling’….

Our next and final appearance for the day was an hour away at the southern tip of Key Biscayne, Fl. There we met Art Levy who gave us a guided tour of Cape Florida Light. All these lighthouses have fascinating history, but Cape Florida really caught my attention. In 1836, Cape Florida was under attack by the Seminole Indians. The lighthouse keeper, John W Thompson, ended up surviving the attack and wrote his account in a diary which was later published as part of book titled Captured By The Indians. John survived being trapped in the burning lighthouse, his friend dead by his side, and 3 rifle balls in each foot. If not for the U.S. NAVY, he would have died a miserable death. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had a long drive to the west coast. We said goodbye to Art, but before we even left the ranger station there was a ‘situation’.

Apparently, there have been random break-ins for the last several months and another one had occurred while we were there. As we waited, we listened to the two-way radio as rangers chased down a white BMW. Once the situation was under control, Dad and I headed to Sanibel Island. The next day Art informed us that the criminals were caught and the stolen items were returned! Great Job guys!

Going Away To Miss Teen USA!

I started the day nice and early…which I must admit felt good being up at the crack of dawn. As you may have noticed I have been sleeping in until 9am. The next two weeks are definitely going to be different so I am getting my body ready for the excitement. It is all about muscle memory!

Anyway, off of my tangent and back to my day. I spent the morning in Ormond Beach speaking with the titleholders from Exquisite Coaching. Kim Antos had planned a full day of fun to give insight on competition week as well as life after the state pageant for the winner (that is where I come in :). Unfortunately, I did have to leave early as I had a 4 hour drive to South Florida for my sister queen’s Miss Teen USA Send Off party.

I made one pit stop at the infamous Flying J’ and a second at a Publix near my destination. All of my friends make fun of me because I actually really like the Flying J truck stop. My dad introduced me to it years ago and I think it is fabulous! I filled up on gas using my dad’s Reward Card (lol), re-curled my hair and re-applied my make-up in the rather spacious restroom, purchased celery/carrot sticks with ranch and a XXL chocolate chip cookie! My car was full….I was full….the rest of the drive was a breeze! By 3:30 I arrived at the Crowne Hotel to support Miss Florida Teen USA Alyssa Rivera!

I am so proud of the young woman she has become and I am so excited to see what the future has in store for her. She is beautiful from the inside out and has worked incredibly hard to get to where she is today. I know she will make Florida proud at Miss Teen USA…..Alyssa has already made us proud throughout her year!

I finished my day at IHOP with my dad and then watching Entourage with my guy….Tomorrow starts a crazy week!

Good Night!
Megan Clementi
Miss Florida USA 2010

Lighthouses Galore!

Good evening everyone! With Miss Florida USA 2011 right around the corner, I am stretching my reign as much as I possibly can…shocking, I know! This is going to be a busy week and next week will be even crazier! Here’s the run down!

Monday June 28th – 7am shoot at Westin Diplomat with Grant
10am ‘Climb For the Cure’ Hillsboro Light in Pompano Beach, interview
with local paper
3pm ‘Climb For the Cure’ Cape Florida Lighthouse in Key Biscayne,
Interview with Islander News
6pm drive to Sanibel Island
Tuesday June 29th – 10am ‘Climb For the Cure’ Sanibel Island Lighthouse in Sanibel
3pm ‘Climb For the Cure’ Boca Grande and Gasparilla Island
Lighthouse in Boca Grande
Drive to St Petersburg
Wednesday June 30th – On air with Sports 1010, WILD 98.7 Hip Hop, WQYK 99.5 Country,
WSJT 94.1 Smooth Jazz from 7am to 9am
11am Catch Ferry to ‘Climb For the Cure’ Egmont Key Lighthouse in
Ft Desoto Park
3pm Catch boat to ‘Climb For the Cure’ Anclote Key Lighthouse in
Tarpon Springs
7:30pm Orlando Magic Pre-audition Jazz class in Orlando
Thursday July 1st – SLEEP, PACK, SLEEP, WORKOUT, EAT, Wash my hair…lol
Friday July 2nd – On air as female host on Mix 105.1 Scott and Jay in the Morning 5:30am-
8:30am
On air with Real Radio the Buckethead Show at 12:50
Appointments throughout the day to get pretty for final pageant: Nails,
eyelashes etc
Saturday July 3d – Assist with Orlando Magic Dancer Auditions 11am-6pm

Sound exhausting? Yep, feels exhausting and I have not even done anything yet…lol In the end it will all be worth it; lots of great memories and pictures for my scrapbooks…hehe. To me this will be a fun week. I will be sure to post pictures :)