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Mrs. Florida and Mom
By TERRY JONES CARROLLWOOD -- A panel of judges recently crowned Hayley Norman with the title Mrs. Florida. But the 34-year-old Carrollwood pharmaceutical representative says her most treasured title is Mom. Mrs. Norman won the Mrs. Florida pageant on June 8 in Safety Harbor; the Carrollwood Village mom is scheduled to compete for the Mrs. United States title in Aug. 1 in Las Vegas. A 1986 graduate of Chamberlain High School, she earned a master's degree in therapeutic science from the University of South Florida. She is a third-generation Tampa resident whose great-grandparents migrated from Spain via Cuba. She says she is probably related to everyone in the area with the name Priedo. "Both my grandmother and great-grandmother worked in the Ybor City factories rolling cigars," Mrs. Norman said. "Beauty pageant competition is not new to our family. My mom, Sylvia Priedo, was the first Cigar Queen in 1955. I won the Miss University of Tampa title in 1989, while still in college." Contestants in the Mrs. Florida pageant compete in three categories -- swimsuit, evening gown and a judge's interviews -- but the focus is primarily on intelligence and family. Although Mrs. Norman works full time for GlaxoSmithKline, she said her primary focus is her husband, David Norman, and their children, Kimilee, 4, and Davin, 8. "Hayley is the same in our home with family as she is before judges talking about family," her husband said. "We were there when she won and plan to be with her in Las Vegas. We are all so proud." Norman, 37, said co-workers and friends have given him a title: Mr. Florida By Default. "That is okay with me," he said. "We have been married 13 years and I hope many more." The thing he loves and respects most about his wife "is her total devotion to family and absolute commitment to her role as mom to Davin and Kimilee." A chance meeting a few years ago with local Fox 13 news anchor Secily Wilson led Mrs. Norman to enter the Mrs. Florida pageant. "She had been Mrs. Florida and encouraged me to seriously consider competing," Mrs. Norman said. To help Mrs. Norman prepare for the national Mrs. United States competition, pageant officials have provided her with a team of assistants to coordinate her activities and help her look her best. Her platform for the pageant is the "Too Good for Drugs" program founded by Tampa resident Charles Mendez. "We target sixth-graders by going into schools and talking to them about the dangers involved in taking drugs," she said. "We try to convince the children at that age, they are simply too good to get involved in the drug culture. I have been involved in the program since 1994." Mrs. Norman believes her new title carries a big responsibility. "I believe I have achieved my full potential as a woman at this point in my life and I want to encourage other women to do the same," she said.
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From the Times |
