Another 500+ miles in the past week and a half!

On Monday, I went to the Life golf tournament for Gillette Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. It was a hot day! I always joke that pageant girls don't sweat; they sparkle. Well, I was definitely sweating! I was so thankful to have my friend Aja Majkrzak, Miss Capital City, there to spend the day with me! It was so wonderful catching up with her. She has exciting plans up ahead as she moves to Louisiana to attend graduate school. 

Our job for the day was to make sure people were honest about their golf game! If they got a hole-in-one, they would win a new car from Wally McCarthy's Cadillac. I told Wally that I would be happy to take the car off his hands if no one won, but I don't think he took me seriously. Wally, my offer still stands! Thank you to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this event a huge success for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals!

After a long day at the golf course, I headed to David and Rod's house to finalize my Miss America paperwork. It's done! What a relief! Thank you to David and Rod for helping me out and for treating me to my very first Jucy Lucy burger at Matt's Bar!

On Tuesday, I went to the Miss Minnesota board meeting. It was great seeing the board, looking at some photos from pageant week, and making some plans for the coming year! The Miss Minnesota board deserves a huge thank you for all the time they give to making our program a success!

On Saturday, I headed to Morris for the Miss Morris and Miss Midwest pageants. We ate a delicious brunch that morning, met the contestants, and crowned the most adorable princes and princesses! I loved this aspect of their program for several reasons. 1) What a fun experience for these kids to get crowns and sashes and to be on stage with the contestants!, 2) What a fun experience for parents and grandparents to come see their children and grandchildren in the pageant!, and 3) What a great way to sell more tickets and boost the scholarship program! Each contestant had their own designated prince or princess. The kids took a photo with their contestant before the pageant and presented a flower to them during the show. I even had my own little princess, Kianna, Miss Midwest Rachael's sister!

After the brunch, I headed to the Sonia Meyer's house (she is the executive director of the Miss Morris/Midwest pageant) to have some downtime. Her granddaughter Ivy was in charge of entertaining me. We rode around on her grandpa's Gator and I did her hair for the pageant. We had so much fun together! Thank you so much to Sonia and her husband Leroy for being such wonderful hosts! Sonia also prepared the most delicious meal for the judges, committee members, and me. Thank you!

I had such a wonderful time in Morris! Everyone was so warm and welcoming. It is obvious that this committee works incredibly hard to make this program a success. I had so much fun spending time with the contestants. I hope they will continue their involvement with the Miss America Organization! They are all incredible role models for their communities! Congratulations to the new Miss Morris Katie Huot and the new Miss Midwest Kacy Nehoig! Also congratulations to Miss Morris 1st runner up Katia Vantries, who will serve as the Miss Morris Ambassador this year, and Miss Midwest 1st runner up Jackie Thurlow.

Talk about a fun day! Yesterday, I attended the Paynesville Dairy Queen's 3rd annual Family Fun event! All proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. This Dairy Queen is truly exceptional in its work to raise money for CMN. Last year, it raised over $9,000 for the cause! Thank you so much to everyone who made this event possible, and thank you for including me! I hope that Miss Minnesotas will be able to attend Family Fun Night in Paynesville for years to come!

I have a crazy couple of weeks coming up! Please pray for safety in travel! 

Just a reminder: The Autism Society of Minnesota golf tournament is on Monday, August 1! To register or make a donation, please go to www.ausm.org! Thank you for your support!

God bless you!

I tacked on another 400+ miles to my journey as Miss Minnesota in the past two days! Call me silly, but I think it's fun to keep track! Miss America flies an average of 20,000 miles a month! By the end of this year, we'll know how far Miss Minnesota travels!

As I mentioned before, I met with Sherrie Kenny, the CEO of the Autism Society of Minnesota, on Tuesday to discuss my role as AuSM's new official spokesperson. I am so excited to use my voice as Miss Minnesota this year to advocate for something I am so passionate about.

On Wednesday morning, I headed to Gillette Children's Hospital for the Firefighter's Carnival fund raiser. For over 50 years, the St. Paul firefighters and other emergency response personnel have hosted this carnival for the children at Gillette. The kids had a blast! They could play games, win prizes, have their picture taken and made into buttons, and get their faces painted! This was my first time at Gillette as Miss Minnesota. I enjoyed meeting the people with whom I will be working as I advocate for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. It is going to be a great year! 

To support this wonderful charity organization, please donate to my CMN account. 

That afternoon, I hopped back into my car to drive down to Minnesota Lake for the annual Festag Days Queens' Tea, parade, and queen coronation. This was the most fun I have had so far during my first month as Miss Minnesota! I arrived in Minnesota Lake just in time to enjoy a delicious dinner provided by the Festag queen committee. Afterward, I rode in a fabulous red Corvette in the Festag parade. A big thank you to Ken for being my chauffeur! Following the parade, I headed to the outdoor stage with the 11 ladies vying for the title of Miss Festag. I had a fantastic time joking around with George the emcee. We had the audience in a complete uproar. A huge thank you to the Festag queen committee for hosting me and many former Miss Minnesotas over the years at their event! I had an amazing time! I hope they will continue this wonderful tradition for years to come!

I am excited to announce that I am the new official spokesperson for the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM). For my year of service as Miss Minnesota, I will not only be a face and voice for the Miss America Organization, but also for people receiving services from the Autism Society. AuSM is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The self funded 501c3 organization helps its members (parents, families, individuals, professionals, employers, and educators) with autism education and advocacy. AuSM spends limited time on deciphering a cause and cure for autism, but rather it focuses on being the local voice for the state of Minnesota on autism awareness and action. The organization has been instrumental in creating and changing public policy by leading the State Autism Task Force at the Capitol. AuSM prides itself on providing a strong support system and resource for families to turn to when deciding which path to take on their lifelong journey with autism. I am so honored to have the chance to join the Autism Society of Minnesota in their incredible effort to help people with autism find a place in this world. Thank you to Sherrie Kenny, the CEO of AuSM, for inviting me to play a role in this important cause.

Please come support AuSM at its annual Golf Benefit on August 1, 2011. I will be appearing as Miss Minnesota at the Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson, WI. Golfers and sponsors will spend the day raising awareness and funds for AuSM. Lunch starts at 11:00am; Shotgun at 1:00pm; Awards Dinner and Silent Auction at 6:00pm. AuSM supporters who don't wish to golf are welcome to join us for dinner at $25 per person.

I hope to see you there!

I added another 700 miles to my car's odometer in the last week. I am having so much fun exploring our state!

On Wednesday, I had my official photo shoot with our wonderful sponsor Paula Preston. As always, she was a pleasure to work with. I'd like to thank Rod and David for taking so much time out of their schedule to be there! Keep checking the Miss Minnesota Facebook page and the Miss Minnesota website to see the new photos.

On Friday night, I headed up to Detroit Lakes for the Miss Northwest pageant. Congratulations to Melissa Paakh on an incredible year of service. I enjoyed paging through her book Sparkle Lake, which was illustrated by the fourth and fifth graders of Detroit Lakes. By publishing this book, she sought to increase awareness of the importance of protecting Minnesota lakes and to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Well done Melissa! Also a big congratulations to Siri Freeh, the new Miss Northwest! Thank you to Cindy and the rest of the Miss Northwest committee for being such wonderful hosts! They run a phenomenal local program!

On Saturday, I was in the Mankato Fun Days parade. I road in a snazzy Volkswagen convertible donated by Mankato Motor Co. with KTOE radio hosts Pete Steiner (who was my judge at Miss Mankato) and Red Lewis (who has also served as a Miss Mankato judge in the past). This parade was huge! Over 20,000 people were there! It was great to hear the applause and excited chatter when people found out that Miss Mankato was now Miss Minnesota. Kids liked seeing "the princess," but they liked me even more when I threw candy to them! I also got to sing "Happy Birthday" to Pete Steiner's mom and sister-in-law. I love the community of Mankato. It is another home for me in the state of Minnesota. It has been a pleasure representing the Mankato community for the past 7 months. 

From there, I traveled to Owatonna to meet with several autism advocates involved with the Boy Scouts of America. Big things are in the works! I am so excited to advocate for people impacted by autism this year! Stay tuned!