A Present of Support

Happy Holidays to everyone! With school break I have been trying to catch my breath and revamp for the second half of the year. As Miss Perham, I have had a very bittersweet time during this break. I went down to Texas to visit my grandmother for Christmas. On the way down, I saw the highways littered with plastic bags and bottles. Then I was very astonished to find out that her community did not recycle their plastics at all! I even had the pleasure of debating the importance of recycling plastics with a gentleman from the area, who did not think that recycling was worth the effort, that plastics break down, and does not cause harm. As you can guess, I see things very differently than him.

When I sat down to a computer I looked up recycling centers and recycling drop off places near my grandmother and sent a list of a couple centers near her to her and a couple friends in the area. I hope that they will take the information I have provided and make personal habits of recycling. Just a reminder, I have plenty of information on plastic and plastic recycling on past blogs and on my facebook page,"Cut The Plastic." If you have any questions please look through the material I have provided and do not be afraid to use the internet to find more information.

My spirits were lifted when I came home to find a letter from the 5th grade class of St. Henry's Catholic School. The children raised $100.00 (in about one week) to give to the Children's Miracle Network and asked me to make sure the organization got it. I am honored to help the children with such a great cause. What a wonderful way to start a new year!

Thank you for the support and have a safe and happy New Year!

St. Henry's Presentation

I just got back home from my St. Henry's Catholic School presentation. It was so fun to see all the children and teach them about Miss Perham and my platform. They were all so eager to tell me how much they knew and wanted to learn. I was happy to see all most every hand raised when I asked how many recycled at home. One boy even brought up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, that he heard about on the news. They loved the pencils and canvas bags I gave out and loved the crown. They were polite and at the end thanked me for coming. "Thank you, Miss Perham," are some of the sweetest words I have heard for weeks. I have to thank the St. Henry's principle, Mr. Jason Smith, for letting me come in for a half hour to talk to the students. Here are some pictures from today.

Parade of Lights

Once again, I am late on keeping you all updated. Last Friday was the Parade of Lights in Perham. It was my very first parade as Miss Perham! Although it was cold, I had an absolute blast. Kallie and I had to stop by the Wild Goose and get some Chai tea before we went to the parade to make sure we would start the parade out warm. Miss Heart of the Lakes and I sat in the back of the Perham Express with Santa Clause. It was a cold evening and I was very happy to see how many people came out to watch the lighted floats go by. It was a real delight to see all the children light up when they saw Santa. I am thinking I was outshined by the Jolly man standing in the middle of my sister queen and I. But then again, who can outshine Santa? He was very kind and fun to talk and joke with throughout the parade. I would like to thank all the people that made the parade possible and froze putting it all together. It was beautiful and I feel blessed to be asked to be apart of such a wonderful tradition. Happy holidays and God bless!

Plastic Presentaions in Environment Science Classes

This will be a quick one! I had my Environmental Science class presentations today. It was tricky fitting a hour and a half worth of information into 20 minutes but I did it! They were on their last day of the trimester so I hope that some information sneaked in while the students were thinking of their future tests of the day. I was welcomed warmly and the students were very respectful and entertaining. I would like to thank the teachers that fit me in to their busy end of the trimester schedule so readily. I will posted some pictures! Happy Thanksgiving!

Taken The Scary Out Of Halloween

Last week I gave away 50 canvas bags to children for trick or treating! I would like to thank the Perham community for being so supportive! During my first hour I thought I would not give a single bag away but after school got out I had plenty of takers. If it were not for the warm faces and hand shakes I am sure I would have froze! Thank you, Dave Howey, for helping me put my message out to the public, you are always ready to help me out! Again, I am so proud to be representing such a wonderful community and thank all of you for your support.

Pictures from the Past Couple Weeks :)

Crown Craziness

This past week was a whirl wind of Crown Craziness! I started with a News Paper interview and planned a Miss Perham news paper blip for our local paper. After that I went to talk and perform at my two households in the Perham Nursing home. That was a wonderful time! Seeing all the residents and having them tell me how proud they are of me will mean more to me than they will ever know. They truly are my second family. Then I moved on to the radio station, Lakes 99.5, where I ran a radio public service announcement to advertise my free canvas bags for the children on Halloween. A friendly reminder: I will be giving away Halloween trick or treat canvas bags this Friday, October 29th at the Chamber Office from 2 to 5 p.m. There will be an opportunity to donate to the Children's Miracle Network if you so choose. After having a wonderful hour of recording my advertisement with Dave Howey I went to St. Henry's school to say hi to all the children and teachers and set up a day for me to come and talk to the whole school about my platform. And that was the end of my busy Wednesday. Of course I can not forget to congratulate the new Miss Twin Cities and Miss Capital City- Lauren Johnson and Aja Majkrzak! All the women that competed that day did a fantastic job! I am so blessed to know so many great young ladies!

9th Grade Civics Presentations

Today I gave my first presentations on my platform, "Cut The Plastic: Reducing Our Plastic Waste." I was invited to talk about my platform and how it relates to civics by the ninth grade civics teacher Mrs. Shelly Bunkowske and I was very happy to accept her invitation. At first I was very nervous because I did not know how my audience would react to my power point or if they would be interested in what I was talking about. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how well received I was. The three classes that I presented to were involved and interested in what I had to say. I would like to thank the young men and women that gave me their undivided attention. I will be more than happy to come back to Perham High School anytime!

Miss North Metro

Congrats to the new Miss North Metro -Bethany Beinick and the first ever Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen-Bailey Wacholtz! All the young women performed wonderfully this afternoon. I also want to give a big hand to Tiffany, Miss North Metro 2009 for emceeing and give her a congratulations on her new job in California. Good Luck in all you do Tiffany! Although the show was great I had  fun seeing all my lovely pageant friends and catching up on everyone's busy lives. I am so proud to be apart of such a wonderful organization that brings all these fantastic young women together. We make life long friends and memories that will never be forgotten.

September 11

When I woke up this morning I got a rush of excitement because today is the day that a new Miss Moorhead and a new Miss Red River Valley Outstanding Teen will be crowned. I thought of my wonderful friends that would be giving up their titles tonight and thought of my friends running for the titles. Good luck to all the contestants! As for Miss Bethany and Miss Paige I would like to thank you for all your hard work for the Miss America organization, CMN, and your personal platforms, you both are amazing role models for young women everywhere. You girls make me so proud to be apart of all of this and remind me of how blessed I am to have people like you, talented ladies, around me everyday! After remembering the pageant, I got a rush of sorrow, today will be remembered as the most tragic day in my life time, for my country. That is my prayer anyways. So as I sit here, safe in my home, I am reminded to thank God for all the brave men and women that keep me safe everyday. I would like to thank all the brave firefighters and police officers that risk their lives everyday to keep us safe and I would like to thank our brave soldiers, who fight for the freedoms that Americans take for granted. I remember that I am blessed to live in a county that I can write all of this for you to read with out the fear of being persecuted, to be apart of an organization that promotes young women leadership, to go to school, and to praise my God the way I want to praise Him. So, I would like to wish all the contestants and the ladies giving up their titles tonight, GOOD LUCK! And to everyone today, please remember the events that happened today and never forget the lives that were lost. Remember we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Introduction

In my rush to start my blog I forgot a major detail. I forgot to properly introduce myself! So I will do that now before we get too far down this road. I graduated from Perham  in 2009. I am the oldest child and I have seven younger siblings. I am going to Fergus Falls campus of M State and I am currently working on my R.N. and my associates of science degree. After I get my R.N. I plan to work towards my masters and become a Nurse Practitioner. I am the College Ambassador President, coach the Fergus Falls High School dance teams, and work part time at the Perham Nursing Home. I have a wonderful family and support group, I am very blessed to have the life I have and thank God for all my opportunities, talents, and the people who have made all of this possible. I think that covers all that you would want to know, God Bless!

MISS MINNESOTA WEBSITE HAD A MAKE OVER

I have been waiting and waiting to see  my picture on the Miss Minnesota website ever since my crowning and it is finally up there! I am so excited, it makes it feel that much more real. The Miss Minnesota webpage has a brand new look thanks to Nicole Sutterfield and looks fabulous! I suggest that everyone goes and checks out the site and see all the girls competing for Miss Minnesota 2011! 

Last Day of Turtle Races

Today was the last day of turtle races for the 2010 year and we had a blast! I would like to thank all the volunteers that have helped with turtle races for all their time, devotion, and welcoming smiles! I will miss our hugs and silly conversations. Today we held turtle races next to the chamber, as we always do, then at 1:30 we went to the nursing home so that all the residents could race turtles also. This was a special treat for me as well as them, because I am an employee at Perham Memorial Nursing Home. I got to see my good friends and fellow workers, along with the wonderful people I take care of! Although I am sad that this was my last day of turtle races till next year I am excited to now devote this time to my classes and my preparation for Miss Minnesota!

First Radio Interview

Today was my first radio interview with Dave Howey at Lakes 99.5. It was wonderful to chat with him about myself, my platform, and my plans for my upcoming year. Dave has seen me grow up in plays, dance, choir, and speech through out my life by either being a fellow cast member, recording the productions, or as a coach. Thank you, Dave, for all your support and kindness through out the years! It was wonderful talking to you today and I look forward to some more talks with you soon!

The Cycle: Chapter 5 Plastic

Charles Moore - the Great Pacific plastic trash island

What A Ride

I cannot believe that I was crowned Miss Perham 17 days ago! I am excited for what this year holds for me and am even more excited to represent my home town. Time has flown by and I have so much to let everyone know and really do not even know where to start. I guess I can start by saying that my first Children's Miracle Network fundraising event was a blast! Miracle Treat Day was a huge success! Not only did I get to see my friend and Miss Heart of the Lakes title holder, Kalli Randall but I got to raise money to help children that rely on the CMN for their medical needs. I have definitely kept busy with other things as well. This past week I went to my first pageant appearance as Miss Perham, the young ladies vying for Miss Vergas and Princess Altona did a wonderful job and I am proud of all of them! Congrats and good luck to the new title holders! I have also been helping out every Wednesday at the unique International Turtle Races of Perham, the volunteers are an absolute blast and I would not trade my time with them for anything in the world. I will be sure to keep everyone posted and up to date with all of my duties and appearances as Miss Perham 2010.