Number 11, Sigma Group

October 5, 2006 - That's the group and contestant number I will have at the Miss America prelims in January! What does this mean? I will be the 11th contestant (out of 18 in my group) to compete in Interview on Wednesday morning, Swimsuit and Evening Wear on Thursday night, Talent on Friday night, and On-Stage Question on Saturday night. As you may already know the final night of the Miss America pageant will be held on Monday, January 29th in Las Vegas and broadcast on CMT! On the final night of competition, only the Top 10 (as determined by the preliminary competition) will compete for the title of Miss America 2007! Tickets go on sale December 1st at ticketmaster.com.

Stepping towards a wish-come-true

October 1, 2006 - Sunday was one of the most meaningful opportunities I have had as Miss Michigan thus far - the Ann Arbor Walk-for-Wishes at "the Big House'. When we first arrived, we had plenty of time to mingle with the walkers, take in the beautiful fall day and enjoy lunch donated by Buffalo Wild Wings. After that, I visited with the folks from Coldstone Creamery for the second day in a row! Their support of Make-A-Wish is incredible - fortunately I was able to walk it off later that day.

I was honored to be a small part of a very touching opening ceremony. The Foundation usually invites wish families to partake in these events so that the walkers have a deeper sense of purpose as they walk and the families can share their incredible stories and gratitude. None was quite as incredible as that of 'Mighty Matt,' an energetic 8-year-old Michigan fan who passed away shortly after receiving his most heart-felt wish in that very stadium, almost one year ago to the day. To read about mat's story, please see the post entitled "Mighty Matt."

After the opening ceremony, the walkers were off! Terri Doodge (my fabulous traveling companion) may never accompany me to another event again! I warned here that we would be walking the 5K but I forgot to mention how many hills there are in Ann Arbor! (Sorry Terri) Fortunately, I had to be back to the stadium early to prepare for the closing ceremony so we only walked half the route. We made it back with plenty of time to review the script with Susan Lerch, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan President and CEO, and Mark from Ann Arbor's 107 One and media sponsor for the event.

In addition, we were fortunate to have with us one of Michigan's first wish-recipients, Derrick.
In 1985, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan granted his wish to meet his favorite Detroit Tiger, Lance Parrish. Today, Derrick is a successful, cancer-free, freelance film and photography artist. During the closing ceremony, he shared with us how much a wish-come-true had meant for him during one of the biggest trials of his life. His presence was just one example of his continued appreciation for the work that the Foundation does and we were grateful to have him back. During the closing ceremony, I had the privilege of introducing Paul and Amelia to the hundreds of people who had walked to make their wishes come true. Paul will soon be experimenting with the wildly popular duo on the Discovery channels "Mythbusters" and Amelia will finally experience the peace and beauty of Hawaii with her family.

Finally, thank you to all of you who helped me raise more than $800 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! My personal fundraising total was added to those of the many UM Stars members who also come out to walk. A big congratulations to UM Stars Team for being named the top fundraising school group for the 2007 Ann Arbor Walk-for-Wishes!

Go Green! Go White!

September 30, 2006 - Saturday I had the chance to go back to visit my alma mater, Michigan State University, for the homecoming game against Indiana. The weather was miserable but East Lansing was a buzz with students and Alum celebrating Spartan pride! I joined Warren Pierce on air for the WJR MSU homecoming tailgate show before the game to talk about my time at MSU and my plans to return, my platform and the beginning of America's Stars for the Make-W-Wish Foundation, and the 2007 Miss America Competition! I was honored to open for the real celebrity and Grand Marshall for the homecoming parade - Kermit the Frog. As for the game, let's just say 'it's not easy being green. . . "

A cold, sticky, yummy good time . . .

Main Street in Royal Oak was THE place to be Thursday evening to mingle with champions, enjoy free scoops of ice cream and make wishes come true! Coldstone Creamery’s around the country gave away free scoops of wish-kid Cole’s Creation – a wonderful concoction of chocolate ice cream with yellow cake, chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles mixed in - delicious! In exchange, ice cream lovers made a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help make wishes come true. I joined a few of the Detroit Tigers wives to scoop, mix and serve on the famous ‘cold-stone’ in Royal Oak. So many people stopped by and I ended up standing near the cash register signing autographs and checking out all the different creations. I did manage to catch up with a very special wish-kid, Evan who just a few months ago realized his most heartfelt wish to travel to Washington D.C. and meet President George W. Bush! As his father recounted the experience for us, Evan was twisting and grinning with excitement as he re-lived his wish-come-true. I also shared a scoop of ice cream with Kimberly Craig of WXYZ Channel 7 News after a quick interview for the 6 o’clock news. Mike Meroff, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, joined his wife who was working hard behind the stone for a quick bite himself! Many children (of all ages) were pleased to enjoy their free Cole’s Creations, their own creations, samples of Coldstone’s new smoothies, and some good old fashioned family fun downtown. When I caught up with this young lady, she wanted to get a better look at the Miss Michigan crown. When I assured her it was okay to touch it, she slowly reached out her hand. When I asked her what she thought, her reply was “it’s kinda sticky.” Hummm. I don’t know if it was the ice cream or a few months worth of hairspray, but either way it was not the reaction I had expected.

A huge thank you to all of the managers and staff at the Royal Oak Coldstone Creamery on Main Street – who no matter how long the lines got or how many scoops they helped us amateurs mix - they remained most energetic, friendly and helpful. They are the true heroes of the day!

Did you miss it? It’s not too late! Visit your local Coldstone Creamery anytime in October and make a wish come true by purchasing a hanging star with your ice cream! To find a location nearest you, visit www.coldstonecreamery.com.

Miss America Lottery!

Have you ever wondered how the contestant’s numbers are chosen at the Miss America pageant?

The Miss America Lottery process is quite exciting and this year you can watch as it happens! Log on to http://onlineselection.missamerica.org.at 6pm EST on Thursday, October 5th and watch as the computer randomly chooses a state one-by-one. Once ‘Michigan’ appears on the screen, I will have exactly five minutes to call in my choice of the available groups and spots within the group!

There are 3 groups; Mu, Alpha and Sigma. Each group will compete in a different phase of competition each night of preliminaries. This is how it will breakdown:

Mu:
Thursday (AM) – Interview
Thursday – On Stage Question
Friday – Swimsuit/ Evening Wear
Saturday - Talent

Alpha:
Wednesday (PM) – Interview
Thursday – Talent
Friday – On Stage Question
Saturday – Swimsuit/ Evening Wear

Sigma:
Wednesday (AM) – Interview
Thursday – Swimsuit/ Evening Wear
Friday – Talent
Saturday – On Stage Question

I do have a particular spot in mind . . . but you’ll have to wait to see what I choose!

The World's Largest Ice Cream Social!

I scream for Coldstone Creamery’s Ice Cream . . . and you can too! This Thursday Coldstone Creamery’s across the nation will be participating in the World’s Largest Ice Cream Social! Visit your local Coldstone for a complementary scoop of wish recipient Cole’s Creation in exchange for a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Thursday, September 28th! If you are in the area, visit me at the Royal Oak Coldstone from 5 – 7pm as I scoop!

One Step at a Time . . .

On Sunday, October 1st I will join hundreds of volunteers at the ‘Big House’ to make wishes come true one step at a time. It’s the annual Ann Arbor Walk-for-Wishes! I will be a part of the opening and closing ceremonies, sign autographs and take pictures with the walkers and do a few laps myself! I will be joining the UM Stars as we walk to grant wishes of some very special Michigan children.

If you would like to support me by making a donation, please visit my fundraising page at http://wishmich.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=159706&supId=149187649

If you are interested in joining us as we Walk-for-Wishes, please visit http://wishmich.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=3&i=159706

Miss Southwest Michigan 2007

What an honor to be the emcee and perform at the Miss Southwest pageant this past weekend! The highlight of attending any local pageant for me, is catching up with my Miss Michigan sisters and the local directors – and Miss Southwest was no exception! I had the pleasure of spending the day with Tiffany Griffin, Miss Southwest 2006, Nina Davuluri, Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen and also Melissa Moser-Stamp, Miss Southwest 2005 and this year’s producer! Fredric and I found some time to catch up with one another as well and it was a treat to see Kimberly if only for a few minutes. Kathy Dood, former executive director of the Miss Greater Grand Rapids Pageant was a judge. Alongside her was Maria Kamara-Hagemeyer, Miss Michigan 1994 and my judge at state this year!

Congratulations to Ashley Swanson, the new Miss Southwest Michigan’s Outstanding Teen and Bethany Johnson, the new Miss Southwest Michigan!

Tiffany – I can’t wait to see you compete throughout the year. The Miss Michigan program is so blessed to have you. I’m going to ignore that little Irish outbreak because I love you – best of luck to you in everything you do!

Thank you so much to Fredric and the entire Miss Southwest crew – you made me feel right at home! Thank you so much for all that you do – it is volunteers just like you that make up the foundation of the Miss America Organization.

Making Wishes Come True with 100.3 WNIC!

On Thursday, September 14 I was honored to be a guest celebrity on 100.3 WNIC’s annual “Making Wishes Come True Radiothon” presented by Gordon Chevrolet in Garden City! I joined Kevin O’Neill and Tamie Lockheart on air to talk about my experiences with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and how I will be using my position as Miss Michigan to share the power of a wish! I was on-site during the drive home from 4 – 6 pm to sign autographs and pose for pictures in exchange for a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I was having such a great time however, that I didn’t leave until 7:30! Many people stopped by including a former teacher, wish recipients that I had worked with, and our own Miss Sprit of the State’s Outstanding Teen Sarah Leahy and her Mom Amy! As it turns out, Kevin O’Neill is a huge fan of the Miss America Organization and couldn’t resist trying on the crown after Tamie!

This year’s event was a success! We reached our goal and raised more than $30,000 to help make wishes come true for children across Michigan.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible including Kevin O’Neill, Tamie Lockheart, Lou Dallman and the entire WNIC team, Gordon Chevrolet, and of course everyone who called in and made a pledge. I also want to thank Jeanette and Meredith at the Make-A-Wish Foundation for including me in this fantastic event!

Top Secret! Confidential! Shhhhhhh . . .

That’s what we were told about practically everything we did in L.A.! It was so secret that even we (the contestants) didn’t know what we were going to do until we did it. Unfortunately, I really can’t talk much about the L.A. trip. If I do, I get fined a lot more than a Miss Michigan could afford to pay. All I can say is this - for the first time in Miss America’s 86 year history, all 52 contestants met months before the pageant to prepare to become the next Miss America. All the super secret stuff we did will be featured in a 2 hour special to be aired before the Miss America finals. In addition – YOU will have the chance to vote for Miss Congeniality! It is definitely worth watching . . .

I will say that the entire experience was overall very exciting, fun, challenging and interesting. Camera’s followed us for three full days documenting our every move! I have definitely gained a newfound sense of empathy for anyone who participates in a reality show – it can be trying at times. Perhaps the best thing about the experience was the chance to get to know and bond with my Miss America class. I think one of the most stressful parts about competing in a competition like this is the anxiety about not knowing anyone. That is one thing that none of us will have to worry about in January. We have gotten to know practically everyone and already developed some close friendships. Overall, I think that this has the potential to become a valuable part of the Miss America tradition. I can’t wait to see the finished product!

We did have some downtime during filming to enjoy the pool, go shopping and visit the Santa Monica Pier. If you know me at all, you know how I chose to spend my free time. . . at the pool! (and I had a lot of company!) The weather was perfect, the view of the ocean was beautiful, and the pool waiters made sure that we always had enough water and fresh fruit 

On the final night in L.A., we were wisked away for one more final surprise . . . a Miss America party Hollywood style! When our bus arrived at the Kodak Theatre for our first stop, we were greeted by hundreds of people with cameras ready! It was a surreal experience as we each stepped off the bus to screaming fans and walked the corridor to a picturesque view of the ‘Hollywood’ sign in the California mountains. After a million photographs were snapped, we continued down Hollywood Blvd. At our final destination we were welcomed to the Roosevelt Hotel by Mr. Hollywood himself who entertained us with stories of ‘old Hollywood’. Next we were escorted to a candle lit pool deck to rub elbows with former Miss Americas, Marilu Henner (from Taxi), Doris Roberts (aka Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond) and the national Miss America execs. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera that night! Luckily, Emily (Miss PA) snapped some photographs of me and the VIPs. (as soon as she sends them I’ll be sure to post them for you).

Each of us went to sleep that night feeling like a star!