Accessible Wellness by Alyssa Contreras

Ever wondered why access to wellness seems like a privilege rather than a basic human right?

What if I told you that achieving fitness and nutrition goals shouldn’t be reserved for the privileged few? What if there was a way to make wellness accessible to all, irrespective to economic status or prior experience? Welcome to Accessible Wellness- where we challenge the status quo and pave the way for inclusive, equitable access to physical facets of well-being. 
I’m Alyssa Contreras, the founder behind the initiative Accessible Wellness. With the mental and physical costs that accompany financial constraints, living a healthy lifestyle is not easy.

Accessible Wellness strives to break down these barriers and collaborate with local fitness and nutrition companies to host free events and classes for underserved communities. By offering free resources, classes, and education about the benefits of physical fitness and proper nutrition, I hope, through Accessible Wellness, to empower people to take charge of their well-being and lead healthier lives. 

My journey began with a realization of the familiar barriers preventing many individuals from embarking on a path to better health. Drawing upon my education and expertise in exercise science, coupled with my certifications as an Exercise Specialist and Yoga Instructor, I leveraged my knowledge to design inclusive and empowering wellness programs. By offering free resources, individuals from all backgrounds can access valuable information on exercise, nutrition, and overall well-being. From an early age, I have always been drawn to the transformative power of fitness. I looked up to people who I thought were the epitome of healthy. It led me down an obsessive path where I ended up with an eating disorder in my pre-teen years and through high school. I got all my information based off of internet advertisements like, “Get a Flat Tummy in 3 Days!” I blissfully ignored the symptoms of tiredness, and weakness. It was a struggle to get through and recover from. 

Fortunately, I have since been over two years recovered and have grown a healthier relationship with all aspects of fitness and wellness. Though, through this experience, I have been motivated to use my education for good and focus on spreading correct information, free resources, and love to everyone struggling with their path to a healthier lifestyle. 

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the Miss Ohio class of 2024 as Miss Greater Columbus. My title provides me with a unique platform to promote Accessible Wellness and inspire others to prioritize their health. 

-Alyssa Contreras

Regenerative Tourism by Shyla Victor

Hawaiʻi, viewed by tourists as merely a beautiful tropical vacation destination. Being born and raised in Hawaiʻi and working in the hospitality industry, had a great impact on my interpretation of tourism. Tourism is Hawaiʻi’s main private capital. Although there are still families today that continue to live a sustainable lifestyle, Hawaiʻi residents are no longer able to solely rely on hunting and gathering to survive. Hawaiʻi has changed to Western ways and is now reliant on imported foods and products to sustain. My mission is to educate and emphasize the importance of this transformation to a more regenerative industry. 

Regenerative Tourism, “The idea that tourism should leave a place better than it was before'', defines the nature of how my ancestors lived. I am fortunate to have a year of experience educating myself and others on Regenerative Tourism. I’ve been a Pono Pledge Ambassador for a year, under the Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau, collaborating and educating on the 8 principles that encourage safe, responsible, and respectful travel while on Hawaiʻi Island, and throughout the State. With this opportunity, I have taught in several classrooms, hosted educational booths, incorporated programs within businesses, and traveled across seas to educate visitors, and residents, of the Pono Pledge. When I began, there were 20,423 people who signed the pledge. I am proud to say that there are now over 3,000 more signatures, totaling 23,875 as of March 5th.

Promoting this idea of being regenerative is beneficial for the people and the place. For example, tourists who travel to Hawaiʻi come for the beautiful beaches and breathtaking scenery, but their return depends on how nice these places actually are. I had a vision, spoke with the County of Hawaiʻi Mayor, Mitch Roth, in June, and within 3 months hosted a Community Day, partnered with the County of Hawaiʻi, Department of Public Works, Community Policing Division, and Keauhou Shopping Center. On September 23, 2023, over 50 volunteers helped pick up 942 pounds of trash along the Hokuliʻa Bypass. Following the clean up was a celebration at the shopping center with free food for the volunteers, live music, and kid activities for all. This experience left me speechless with the community's involvement. Networking within our community has had a huge impact on the many opportunities, like Community Day, I created and became a part of. My goal is to continue Community Day annually and also encourage other businesses to provide similar opportunities for the visitors and residents to partake in across the State of Hawaiʻi.

Tourist “hot spots'' can be found within seconds at the click of a button. As the next Miss Hawaiʻi 2024, this platform will help continue educating my community on how to care for our home and the world. Especially for those on vacation, having the opportunity to give back is a simple way to encourage involvement from everyone. Networking with businesses around the Island and State of Hawaiʻi, to include the Pono Pledge or community service opportunities through their businesses, will accelerate the Regenerative Tourism transition. Through partnerships with Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, the management of a regenerative tourism industry will improve. Encouraging more visitors to support local and keep the funds within Hawaiʻi, will greatly benefit our economy and overall quality of life for our Hawaiian people.

If you would like to read, watch, and sign the Pono Pledge, please visit ‘ponopledge.com’. “E ʻapo i ke aʻo a hoʻohana, a e ʻoi mau ka naʻauao.” Those who apply their teachings increase their knowledge. 

Me ke aloha nui,

Shyla Victor

Miss Hawaiʻi Island 2024
@misshawaiiisland

Ime Ekpo Visits Section 36 Forevers!

Ime Ekpo is the founder of Walk With Ime, a pageant consulting service. I was flattered that she wanted to visit with us and talk about her business and how is can benefit others in the pageant world. I'm sure you'll love to hear what she has to say.

So, let’s see what happens when Ime Ekpo visits Section 36 Forevers!

What can you tell me about your program “Walk With Ime”? 

Walk with Ime is a pageant service designed to help aspiring queens take command of the stage with fundamental modeling and styling techniques. My goal is to help restore the lost art of poise that pageant titleholders are traditionally known for but which is sorely lacking today. 

What made you decide to start that venture? 

Walk With Ime was a happy accident born out of my sister's business, Mock With Me.  Both my older sister Mweni and I were successful pageant girls years ago. So when I wanted to start a business utilizing my marketing skills, she founded Mock With Me - a service that offers interview practice opportunities and expert feedback to aspiring queens - giving them the confidence to command the interview room on competition day. Mweni had a client who mocked with her many times and was a great interviewer but who competed in several local pageants without placing or winning a title. After Mweni showed me a video clip of the client competing in evening gown during one pageant, I noticed some things about her performance that I thought she could improve on with proper guidance. So I offered to give the client some help with her walking. I also advised the client on how to restyle her hair to be more flattering and impactful. We worked on adding poise to her fitness and evening gown walks. And after only a couple of sessions with me, the client secured her first placement of the season – and it was First Runner-Up! After three additional sessions with me, the client finally won a title, and Mweni and I were so overjoyed! Mweni had observed my first session with the client, and she was very impressed with my knowledge and with how easily I taught the client. She suggested that I consider coaching, and before too long, Walk With Ime was born.

What has been the most rewarding part of the sessions?

Paying goodness forward. When I was a doubtful young woman, the goodness of the women who volunteered their time to my pageants was instrumental in helping me become confident, poised, and fearless. Years later, I remember and honor those women and am truly grateful for the knowledge they willingly shared with me and that I’m now passing on to others. So if I can impact another pageant girl's life the way I was impacted, that's reward enough.

What short or long-term goals do you have for Walk With Ime? 

I'd like to see Walk With Ime serving queens in all 50 states and I aspire to serve 500 queens in 5 years.

What has surprised you the most about running Walk With Ime? 

The poise fundamentals that I'm teaching queens today are the same fundamentals I learned well over 20 years ago. What's most surprising is that those fundaments STILL hold true today even though they are not universally practiced. And it surprises me how quickly queens can improve their performance enough to win a crown, simply by applying these fundamental principles.

What has been the most challenging aspect about running Walk With Ime? 

It's difficult watching beautiful, talented, and intelligent girls and young women measure their beauty against others based on social trends. Some deal with so much pressure to look a certain way to align with today's beauty standards, even when those trends don't enhance their natural beauty. I wish more pageant contestants would have the courage to make choices based on what most flatters them rather than based on what everyone else is doing.

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I can definitely see how that would be a challenge.

As always, I want to give many thanks to Ime for doing this interview, and for sending along the picture to be used. 

I'm sure that after reading this, you may want to find out even more about Ime and everything she has going on. I would definitely suggest checking out her website, and following her on Instagram at her Walk With Ime account. 

And, if you talk to her don’t forget to tell her you saw her on Section 36 Forevers!

Thanks again Ime!