Phoenix Guide: Tell us a little about your platform, and how you were able to support it during the year.
Audrey Sibley, Miss Arizona 2005: My platform is Be AWARE: Preventing Child Abduction and Exploitation. For the past three years, I have mentored children and encouraged them to strive for excellence, but most importantly, I have been actively teaching them how to protect themselves. I have spent thousands of hours working diligently to inform children, parents, and teachers about the realities of these heinous crimes and to ensure that everyone has the knowledge and the tools they need to keep our children safe. In August 2005, I traveled to Dallas, Texas and attended the Crimes Against Children Conference, which is the largest child safety conference in the country. I was able to meet many national leaders in the fight for child safety and educate myself on different aspects of child sexual exploitation as well as child sexual predators.
I am also very grateful to be a part of many wonderful national and state organizations that work exclusively to protect our children. As the nation's resource center for child protection, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) spearheads national efforts to raise awareness about ways to prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation. I have joined forces with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to educate parents and children about proper Internet usage through NCMEC's NetSmartz Workshop. Additionally, I am featured in two Public Service Announcements promoting both the NetSmartz Program and NCMEC's CyberTipline, an online reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation.
I am also a spokesperson and interned as the Special Projects Coordinator for the AMBER Alert Web Portal. This next generation AMBER Alert System uses the Internet to reduce the time it takes law enforcement to disperse information about a missing child from two hours to seven minutes. Arizona was one of the first states to adopt this free public service, and since its launch in 2004, the Portal is now active in eight states across the country. I encourage the public to sign up to receive AMBER Alerts on their cell phones, email accounts, and wireless devices by going to www.amberalert.com.
Additionally, I am a spokesperson for the Qwest Communications/NCMEC Incredible Internet Safety Initiative. This national campaign (www.incredibleinternet.com) promotes online safety by offering Internet Safety tips for safer, more responsible online behavior by children and teens. I spoke at the October 2005 Kickoff Event alongside Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Chairman of the Board of Directors for NCMEC Dennis DeConcini, and Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Sergeant Frank Kardasz.
Most recently, I was named an Arizonans for the Protection of Exploited Children and Adults (APECA) Board Member. APECA strives to preserve the dignity and well being of commercially and sexually exploited children and adults through prevention, intervention and education. I was very honored to be named a finalist for the 2006 National Quality of Life Award at Miss America for my platform work.
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