Children's Mercy Hospital

As a local ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, I have been able to be very involved in money raising efforts and spreading awareness.  One of my biggest joys in life is being able to spend time with kids; therefor, through my efforts with CMN of Greater Kansas City I was able to team up with some volunteers at Children's Mercy Hospital.  Children's Mercy is just one of the many children's hospitals that helps to save children's lives. 

Children's Mercy Hospital, located in downtown Kansas City, provides a volunteer program called Monday Night Live.  Every Monday they have volunteers design an activity to do with the kids.  This allows several of the patients to get out of their rooms and do something to take their minds off of the reason they are there. 

On my Monday Night Live session I decided to decorate flower pots and plant flowers to brighten up the kid's hospital rooms.  I thought that this would be a fun idea so that the kids would watch the plants get bigger and bigger everyday. 

After our flower pots were finished I was able to enjoy some one on one time with several of the kids.  Many of the kids enjoyed animals so we rolled out some large drawing paper and drew zoos! The kids had a blast and I enjoyed spending time with them.

Due to security measures at the hospital, I was not able to take photos of any of the patients.

Appreciation

I caught word yesterday of a director who is retiring his duties.  This director has been a huge inspiration for me and continues to motivate me with his kind heart, words, and actions. 
I want to express my gratitude to this wonderful director and thank him for all of his support.  His encouragement and time means so much to me and I know I would not be the young lady I am today without him as a part of my Miss Missouri family. 

Motivating me every day!

Thank you so much and know that I am absolutely honored to have had the opportunity to work with you over the past two years.

Greater Kansas City Day!

This experience has to be one of my most memorable, by far!  I was invited back to participate as a Kansas City Celebrity for Greater Kansas City day!  This year I invited Miss KC, Alexis and Miss Greater KC, Carolyn to come with me.  Alexis and Carolyn joined me before the sun came out and we headed to the Hyatt at Crown Center.  Once we arrived we were greated by several other Kansas City celebrities. 

Along with the band, we boarded our trolley bus to hit the streets of Kansas City.  On this day a trolley full of "KC Celebrities" and numerous other volunteers stood on street corners to raise money to assist underpriveledged kids to go to camp.  Last year we raised so much money that we were able to help over 40 kids attend summer camp!

Selling newspapers and donuts with the Kansas City Chiefs punter, Dustin Colquitt

(notice that the sun finally came out!)

This event is sponsored by the Rotary Club of downtown Kansas City.

The whole "celebrity" gang!

Bud is always a delight!

Can you tell we're having fun?

One of the reasons this event is so memorable is because of my good friend Bobby Bell.  Bobby is a NFL Hall of Famer that used to play for the KC Chiefs!  Last year, Bobby and I hit it off pretty well and it was definitely a treat getting to catch up with him again.  He is a hoot!

When the event ended we all headed to breakfast at the Hyatt Crown Center!  During the breakfast we were greeted by the head of the entire place!!  A few months ago I was invited to speak at a Celiac Conference at the Hyatt and he remember me.  I quickly learned that he too has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and his entire hotel now serves gluten free foods!

After breakfast we all headed to take a quick nap before beginning our volunteer celebrity tailgate at the Opening Day at the K! The Kansas City Royals pulled out a win for their first game of the season and we enjoyed cheering for them.

Change for Children!

I had a great time at the annual Mix for Kids Children's Miracle Network Radiothon! I joined Miss Kansas City, Alexis, and hit the streets to collect change for Children's Miracle.  Each day Alexis and I set a goal to raise at least $150.00 before heading back to the Mix 93.3 station. 

We are great at learning how to dodge traffic and must have looked cold because we were invited into several businesses!  I'd like to send out a special thank you to Angie at Granite City in Zona Rosa.  Angie invited us into her store and allowed us to speak to her customers.  We immediately were involved in conversations with several customers and I enjoyed the opportunity to educate them about the importance of Children's Miracle. 

As always, it was a blast working with Ile, and the rest of the staff at Children's Miracle Network of Greater KC!

The life of a pageant contestant.

Sisterhood

On March 26th I traveled to Mexico, MO for Miss Missouri Orientation!  We have a wonderful group of girls this year and I cannot wait to spend the week with them.  During this time I was able to pick up my Miss Missouri little sister, Kayla, to take her out for ice cream.  Kayla and I have been "sisters" for about five years now! I have loved being able to watch her grow up and mature into the young lady she has become.  We chatted over ice cream and even got to see each other the next morning at orientation.

Motivation

Directly after my radio interview I headed for Southeast Kindergarten School in Warrensburg, MO.  I had the opportunity to visit several classes to speak with them about goals and how I made it to be Miss Mid-Missouri.  I also answered a wide range of questions from "how do you sleep with the crown on?" to "do you have a cow print bowling ball?".  The students were adorable and I loved all of the hugs I received. 

When my time was over at Southeast I headed for Sterling Elementary school.  At Sterling I spoke to several 4th and 5th grade classes and also got a lot of questions from them!  I especially enjoyed one of these classrooms because the educator used to be on one of my preparation boards for Miss Missouri.  I loved getting to see her and catch up briefly. 

When I left Sterling, I went to Martin Warren Elementary School.  This appearance was very special to me because they have a few students with Celiac Disease (my platform)!  I absolutely loved speaking with the student's classes to explain why some of their friends cannot eat birthday cake with them on their birthdays and can't have a school pizza party. The students enjoyed what I had to say and all wanted an autograph.  I love these classes the most because it serves as more motivation for me to further education about my platform.

After speaking with the class I received a letter from the mother of one of the Celiac students, thanking me for educating the students and supporting her daughter.  This is a constant reminder for me as to how important it is to spread awareness.

Radio Interview

On March 22nd I greatly accepted the opportunity to do an interview on the radio.  I joined my favorite interview host, Woody on KOKO 1450.  Woody and I were able to talk about the Miss America Organization, many service events in which I've been involved, and of course, my platform.  We had a wonderful discussion and I look forward to my next interview with him!

Special Olympics Basketball State Championship!

Directly after the expo, I jumped in my car and traveled to Kansas City for the Special Olympics State Basketball Championship tournament! It was a rainy day, but with the amount of teamwork, support and hard work put forth it seemed bright to everyone in attendance. 

When I arrived, I was greeted by the Park Hill team.  This happened to be an all boys team and they were so eager to get my autograph picture.  They played a great game and won their round!  After watching their game I was able to travel to a few other gymnasiums in the building and see a few other teams competing for their division championship. 

After that round of games I headed to the auditorium for awards.  I had the wonderful opportunity to join a few police officers and award the winners. We pinned on ribbons and were able to put medals around the players necks.  One of my favorite teams was Wentzville, MO.  This team had amazing sportsmanship and were so greatful to be standing on the stage.  I received several hugs and even a kiss on the cheek!

I loved this event and cannot wait until next year!

Warrensburg KOKO Expo

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the Warrensburg KOKO expo.  The expo was filled with organizations, small businesses, and a lot of people from across the state of Missouri.  I was able to experience several events from marketing the Miss Missouri Organization to learning to shoot a bow and arrow!!!

I hit it!

This event was definitely exciting for me because I grew up in Warrensburg.  I got to see a few old friends and some others who didn't recognize me until after I autographed a photo for them and they read my name!

Scarlett O'Hatters

On Saturday, March 12th, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with the Scarlett O'Hatters of Johnson County.  Growing up in Johnson County, this appearance will definitely hold a special place in my heart. We were able to talk over lunch and I got to learn about all of their upcoming events and interests.  When we finished lunch it was time for my presentation!
I told the ladies about the Miss Missouri Organization and all that it has done for me.  I discussed the importance of service and shared some of the service events in which I have been involved.  They loved hearing about Celiac Disease and the strides I have made in creating an awareness.

One of my favorite parts of visiting with these ladies was being able to speak with one of my 6th grade teachers!  We talked about how much I had changed and were able to laugh at the fact that I used to be such a tom-boy!

A huge thank you to Miss Jean! She is such a sweetheart and truly one to look up to.

Last but not least, I LOVED hearing their "Princess" names and of course, seeing their gorgeous hats.  Each lady has created a meaningful duchess name for herself.  They wear their name-tags proudly and shared them with me!  It was such an honor to be able to speak with and learn from these lovely Red Hatters

  

Chowin' Down for Children

National Pancake Day at IHOP was a blast!  The International House of Pancakes provided hungry visitors with a free short-stack of pancakes on March 1st, 2011.  In return, several of those visitors made donations to Children's Miracle Network.

I had opportunity to visit with customers and explain the importance of Children's Miracle Network and the link with the Miss America Organization.  All of the donations made will stay directly in the Kansas City area, where I was able to visit several different IHOPs.

Not only did I visit with the customers but I was also able to assist in serving and flipping some flapjacks!

The day was definitely a success (even after a little girl told me that I smelled like pancakes, haha)!

Miss Mid-Missouri 2011

Wow! I am so blessed to have such wonderful support from my family and friends.  I was recently crowned Miss Mid-Missouri and cannot be more excited to see what this year has in store for me.  A new door has opened and I am ready to embrace every second to the fullest.