Happy Fall!

It is finally feeling like fall in South Dakota. It is my favorite time of the year! I have been anxious to keep you updated on where my Miss South Dakota adventures have taken me since the last time I wrote.

After I talked with Huron High School I went to Sioux Falls to speak in Sertoma Park. Cornerstone Financial in Huron asked me to speak at two client events they were having. The topic of the appreciation events was "Honoring our Veterans". I was so happy to be able to be a part of it. The reason why we have such an amazing country is because of all of the folks that gave their time, lives, and energy to allow us to live the way we do. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to them and to be a speaker at an event such as this was an honor to me. I was able to meet with many of them, share a few laughs, and hear some inspiring stories. I gave a speech on my platform letting everyone know that a phone call or a text can wait.

I was lucky enough to be able to partner with State Farm Insurance on my Distracted Driving presentations. Soon I will be doing my presentations with some of the agents. I think this will be a GREAT addition.

I visited Madison South Dakota to welcome back troops from overseas. It was mind blowing to see the relief on their faces knowing they were safe and out of danger again. After taking some pictures and visiting with some active troops I headed back to Huron to be a part of their homecoming parade since I spoke during their homecoming week. It was beautiful weather and I had an excellent time!

I headed out to Hot Springs for the weekend. We had a fundraiser for the organization, a Victorian Tea party, I dressed up and everything. Wow, am I glad that I didn’t live back than the clothes weren’t overly comfortable! Later I went out to dinner with some of the Miss SD board members and made an appearance at Crazy Horse.

Once back on the eastern side of the state I signed up for my Miss America competition number! I am in the Sigma group. On the first night of preliminary competition (Tuesday) I will be competing in swimsuit and evening gown, on Wednesday I will be doing talent, and Thursday on-stage question.

I spent most of the following week finishing up some fundraising, working out, making phone calls, and meeting with others. On the 24th of September I went to a small, private supper to announce the keynote speaker for the 2010 South Dakota Women’s Expo - JULIE HADDEN! She was on the biggest loser and had such an amazing story to tell. She was absolutely hilarious and had all of us rolling. After spending some time talking to her she told me her husband and her met through the Miss America system. He used to be a judge. That was incredible to me and she said she hoped to make it out to Vegas in January to cheer me on!

The next day at the Women’s Expo I was the emcee. I spent the day running back and forth to announce shows in my high heels! It is a good thing my feet have been conditioned for this. I had the chance to give a speech of my own and visit with some women about it afterwards. I am glad that many people believe in what I am doing and tell me that I have gotten them to think twice. I had a great day at the Expo, it was so much fun!

I spent sometime at the Bauman’s Pioneer Seed Customer Appreciation Dinner Event and signed some autographs and took some pictures. It was by coincidence that one of the band members was the father of the South Dakota CMN Champion Children of the YEAR! I signed autographs for the absent girls and recorded a short video for them. What an inspiration.

Very soon after I headed to Vermillion South Dakota to crown a new Miss Vermillion. Congratulations to Jill Furan - we will see you at state in June!

I had the chance the following day to do a fashion shoot for the amazing Anita Kealy. She is a designer out of Sioux Falls and truly has some AMAZING pieces. I had so much fun shooting with her. To check out some of the things I was wearing go to her website: www.dakotabydesign.com or check out the photographer’s website : http://www.reistrofferdesign.com/modeling/

The next few days I spent in preparations for my fundraisers the next weekend. I saw Jim and Anna Simpson in Sioux Falls to meet about a commercial for the local CW stations. We recorded one so look out for this very soon!

I have been working on getting my talent music straightened out and I absolutely love it! You will have to watch for it on the Miss America Stage. It has a Latin vibe and the costume we are working out is fantastic. I am so excited!

The weekend of the 9th I was very busy. We had a 5K walk fundraiser to help me on my way to Miss America. A family friend Mary, helped put it on with her place of employment,the Center For Independence. They did such a wonderful job - even the shirts were fantastic. Along the way we stopped at the Center for Independence and they gave out free water. It was so nice of them to volunteer their time to help me out! Did I mention the first part of the walk was in the Harvest Day parade!

The next day I had a fundraiser golf tournament. We had a good number of teams and some awesome prizes. I do not golf but I wanted to make sure I was able to meet every one that came on my behalf. I sat at a hole and was a 5th bonus putter for the teams of 4 in a scramble competition. I made my first putt! I guess that is what you call beginner's luck. Thank you to all that participated. A big thanks to Bush Fullerton for donating all of his time to make it possible.

Next I headed to Presho for a fundraiser Pheasant Hunt for the Republican Party. We had kuchen (SD’s state dessert) and some other delicious foods. I had the chance to meet John Thune, Kristi Noem, Dennis Daugaard and many other amazing people. It was a great experience.

I had one of my ramp gowns altered - I am in love with it. It is black and silver!

The next day I spent packing and getting ready to leave for Rhode Island for my cousin Luke’s wedding. While I was there I did some shopping in New York. New York is insane! You could walk down the street and there were dress shops EVERYWHERE. That is a big stretch from South Dakota. I went to SAKS 5th Avenue and another great store. I am in love with a certain designers brand, I think they made their clothes just for me! Needless to say I bought the rest of the Miss America cocktail dresses that I will need.

When I got back to South Dakota I got up early to be a part of South Dakota State University's HOBO DAY Parade. It rained! Soon after the parade it cleared up and the rest of the day was beautiful. SDSU won the homecoming game!

I shot a story for Alex Hoffman (Miss SD 2008). If you would like to see it, visit her blog. It turned out really nice.: http://ahoffman433.blogspot.com/2010/10/miss-sd-speaks-out-against-distracted.html

Here is another story you may want to check out: http://www.newscenter1.tv/stories/6650.aspx
There are THREE parts to it. So if you watch one make sure you look at the others!

The next day I gave a Safety talk for some federal workers! It was great and I think my message resonated with them. I took another photo shoot with Anita the following day with some new materials. This will be featured in Sioux Falls Women magazine. So exciting!

I meet with Jim Simpson again about doing a fundraising commercial with fashion, health, and beauty tips. Look for these - I am excited to do them!

I spent the rest of my week working on my talent routine! We have it mostly choreographed and now we just have to work on perfecting it.

My judges came back for a pheasant hunt in South Dakota! I had the chance to see them again and shoot at some pheasants for the first time. It was a blast! Scheels donated a hunting vest and a hat. Sally Isburg thinks of everything and even ironed on a crown to each. She showed me how to make the most amazing homemade German candy. I couldn’t stop eating it.

I am looking forward to an exciting November. Stay tuned!