I'm not a real pageant person because it's so much the external and I think a person is made of inner beauty, ... As I found out more about the pageant then I began to get interested and it's about what you're doing to help other people.

My oldest daughter (Teresa Anderson) is developmentally disabled which that's mentally retarded it's just a new word for it that most people don't know, ... I came to have a love for the developmentally disabled and found a need for people serving them in the areas they need help.

They've always got to make you wait at least 30 seconds,

I do think it's a worthy thing to be involved in and I would encourage anybody to try for it,

just very humbled, and appreciative, and amazed; it was a very happy experience.

[The pageant is not just about charities and talents for Kirkman it also shows a respect and love for her maturity.] Our happiness level depends on what we focus on and I choose to focus on the good, and that's the way I survived. I look at my age so much differently now. Really, I do anything I want to do, ... We don't have to hit a rocking chair when we get 60 years old; we still have a lot of energy and talents to contribute to our society.