Stranded in Chicago!

WOW! It has been such a long time since I have had time to write an update! As you can probably tell, I have time now because I am stuck in the Chicago airport because my flight into S. Carolina was cancelled due to fog! But no worries! This gives me time to continue to work on my interview for Miss America and to catch up on emails and other things!

Since I updated last, I have been doing so many things! Some highlights were attending the Festival of Trees fundraiser for the Liberty Place in Hamilton, Montana. The Liberty Place benefits people with brain injuries. This was such a touching event for me, for it continued my work that I did with patients with brain and spinal chord injuries at Craig Hospital in Denver. It was such a pleasure to meet the patients. They are so inspirational, and their comments to me were so kind, that I even cried!

It was also a pleasure to attend Pine Creek School for the day. Pine Creek School is such an amazing place! It is seriously a one-room schoolhouse! The students were so much fun! They all drew pictures for me and even played part of their Christmas Concert for me! I really hope that I am able to visit them again!

I am continuing to enjoy my partnership with Whittier school in Bozeman. Whittier school provides so many amazing opportunities for its students including allowing them to set up a savings account at a local bank. I was able to promote this endeavor and speak about the importance of learning how to save at a young age.

I have also been spending a lot of time meeting with all of my Miss America coaches–who I LOVE! I will be sad when this is all over because I have enjoyed working with all of them SO much. It is so neat to think that a girl from Montana is able to make connections with these top-notch coaches. Whatever happens, I have no doubt in my mind that I am prepared! That is such a great feeling! 🙂

Right now I am on my way to S. Carolina to pick-up my wardrobe for Miss America! On my way home, I am stopping through Houston to meet again with my Miss America coaching team, before I head home to provide Christmas cheer to the kiddos at the Children’s Hospital in Helena!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

xoxo

B

Women’s Expo, Red Ribbon Week, and Downtown Halloween Bash!

This has been a busy busy week! Along with all of my Miss America preparations I was able to visit some of my sponsors at the What Women Want to Know Expo at Montana State University here in Bozeman. It was really fun to be in my hometown and to visit some of my sponsors who helped me get to Miss Montana! It was also really exciting because I saw some girls who would be perfect for the Miss Montana’s Outstanding Teen Program at the fashion show!!

I also gave school presentations this week in the Billings/Columbus/Absorkee/Park City area of the state. The kids were just great and according to the “test” I gave them at the end of my presentation, they were actually paying attention! 🙂 That was awesome because that means they learned some life-saving information about depression, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and suicide. Even if I impacted one life at the school presentations last week, my whole year as Miss Montana will be a success!

The night before Halloween I visited another one of my sponsors at her beautiful clothing store–Elizabeth and Company–in downtown Bozeman. Everyone who lives here in Montana should go and check out her clothes! She definitely has the best selection of nice women’s clothing in the state. We handed out candy to about 3,000 adorable kids. We even handed out dog biscuts to all of the dogs!! 🙂 Ashley, the owner of Elizabeth and Company–was going to put a sign up in the window that said, “Yes, she is the REAL Miss Montana” because that was the most commonly asked question of the day! But it was fun because I was photographed by some Montana magazines and really got to make a lot of kids happy–including some of my friends from the special olympics who dropped by and invited me to their tournament in Butte! I will definitely be there!!

Overall, combined with preparation and appearances, this was a great Halloween week! I hope that everyone else had a happy, safe, and fun Halloween, too!

 

Miss America Prep and Speaking at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado!

This past weekend, I drove 2 hours to the Billings airport to catch my flight to Denver to meet with my interview coach and to speak at the Leadership classes at the University of Denver! It was so much fun and so beneficial in my preparation for Miss America! I was able to meet with my interview coach a couple of times this weekend, and am starting to make a lot of progress! I really appreciate his approach because it really focuses on being an individual and even more on the proper mindset and attitude to approach this whole thing with.

One of the first things I did in Denver was go to Whole Foods–my favorite store ever–for their famous fish tacos! 🙂 Then, I met up with my friends from the University of Denver and hit the Park Meadows and Cherry Creek Malls to search for the perfect interview outfit for Miss America. Of course, as usually happens when you are actually looking for something, I found nothing suitable! Haha, oh well! I will just continue my search at the Galleria next month when I am in Houston!

After my search for the interview dress, I went to the University of Denver–my alma mater–to speak to the Pioneer Leadership Program Sophomore Class about their HUGE Community Change Initiative Projects they will be working on this entire year. I talked about my sophomore Community Change Initiative, which was called Project H2O. In Project H2O, my team members and I were able to teach residents of the rural Ixcan region of Guatemala how to build bio-sand filters to provide themselves with clean, potable water. Our project has been very successful and sustainable, for when members of the University of Denver go there each year to check on the project’s progress, they have found that the bio-sand filters are spreading all over the region, for the residents are teaching other villages how to build them.  I also spoke about my personal platform and, of course, they were all interested to know about Miss Montana and Miss America. That afternoon, I was able to meet up with one of my dear family friends, Ron, to talk about Miss America and life in general, and that evening I met with my interview coach.

The next day, I woke up bright and early to meet with my interview coach again and then went back to the University of Denver to speak to the second section of sophomore Pioneer Leadership Program students, then headed off to the airport to catch my flight home!

My weekend in Denver was absolutely amazing and so beneficial! Thank you to the Pioneer Leadership Program at the University of Denver for making such a difference in my life and letting me hopefully make a difference in the lives of future student, as well as to my most AMAZING freshman-year roommate, and dear, dear friend Jess for letting me camp out with her!!

Homecoming Activities at the University of Montana in Missoula and Montana State University in Bozeman

This week I have been participating in all kinds of activities for the University of Montana in Missoula and Montana State University in Bozeman! I kicked off the week in Missoula to attend events to honor the endowment of a music scholarship in the name of my esteemed vocal coach, Esther England. In addition to my regular vocal coaching sessions, I was able to attend a master class taught by a former student of Esther’s, Michelle Berger, who has been performing for the Opera in Switzerland the last twenty or so years. The workshop involved body work from Pilates to help breath support and sound–it was quite amazing how Pilates can really make a huge difference in a vocalist’s sound. It was also really fun to see Holly Matz, my Miss Montana’s Sweetheart and first-runner up, and to hear all about her preparations for next year’s Miss Montana competition!

When I was done in Missoula, I hurried back to Bozeman, and thankfully beat the huge snowstorm that hit that evening. The next day I participated in events for the Homecoming at Montana State University in Bozeman. At the President’s Luncheon, I was honored to meet Geoff Gamble the President of the University and to mix and mingle with other University administration and alumnae. After the luncheon, I headed off with the marching band as an escort to the dedication of the new Alumni Plaza and sculpture of Spirit the Bobcat.

Oh! A major highlight occurred on the way back to my car after the dedication. I met Katie Blair’s brother!! A few year’s ago, Katie Blair was our very own Miss Montana Teen USA who went on to represent us so well at Miss Teen USA and won the the national title of Miss Teen USA! It was so exciting to meet one of her family members!

Overall, this was a wonderful week of homecoming activities, and it was wonderful to be able to support the wonderful educational institutions in the state of Montana.  

 

Special Olympics Basketball Workshop

This morning was one of the best Saturday mornings I have had as Miss Montana! I was invited to attend a basketball workshop for the Special Olympics and was able to meet many of the special olympics athletes from the Bozeman area as well as some of the MSU Bobcats basketball players, and catch up with some of the athletes that I have known from other activities. It was so wonderful to reconnect with special olympics athletes Truman and Coral, who I cross-country skied and snowshoed with this past Winter through the Eagle Mount Program. It was also great to see my good friend and special olympics athlete, Rose, who performed in a summer camp musical production of “Grease” with me during high school.

It was also wonderful to meet a whole roomful of new friends who I am so excited to support throughout the year! The athletes are simply amazing! I met two homecoming kings, the speaker for the closing ceremonies of last year’s state games, and a young lady who just got an A+ in English! These athletes are well-rounded, accomplished, and quite frankly, superstars!!!

Like with most volunteer opportunities in life, I really feel that I gain just as much, if not more, from the experience than the people I am helping. Today I was so excited to see how all of the athletes really support each other no matter what–whether their teammate made the basket or not–the entire team was there to cheer each other on. This atmosphere of unconditional love and support was truly inspirational for me and is something that I hope I can incorporate into my interactions with others. 

Thank you again to the Special Olympics for including me today, it is an experience that I truly will never forget. Thank you, too, for inviting me to attend the Winter Games and the State Games this Spring as well as other Special Olympic events. I am more than happy to do anything I can to support this extraordinary program!

Montana BAR Association and Suicide Prevention Education

Today I was honored to be able to present information about my platform of Suicide Prevention Education during a continuing legal education course for members of the Montana BAR Association. Lawyers have one of the highest suicide rates among all professionals, so I was very excited to share some information with them about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide and how to start helping people who display these signs and symptoms–whether themselves or others. Suicide is the most preventable cause of death, so I really appreciate the Montana BAR Association’s efforts to work together to save lives. Thank you!

Miss America Prep in Houston, Texas!

These past few days in Houston have been absolutely unbelievable! I was so fortunate to be able to meet with my interview and modeling coaches and to get in some hard-core training! They are the BEST! While in Houston I was also able to try on some amazing clothes and to get a better idea of what I want for Miss America!

Also, on my first day here, I was lucky enough to befriend a cab driver who took it upon himself to make sure I got everywhere I needed to be while I was in Houston these past few days! Let me tell you, that was one tough job! He drove me everywhere I needed to be this whole week, and oftentimes, if my appointments ran late, he would patiently wait for me to finish. Thank you so much, Nick! What excellent service!

My time here has been so productive and jam-packed with activities, that even though I am staying right next door to the Galleria, one of the best shopping malls EVER, I have not even been able to go check it out! Well, I guess I will just have to come back! 🙂 

Thank you again to everyone who has made this trip to Houston truly memorable! I appreciate you all!

xoxo

B

Photo Shoot in LA with Michael Segal!

Here are some photos from my photo shoot with Michael Segal in Los Angeles last week! A HUGE thank you to Michael for taking these awesome photos! We had an absolute blast!!

 

New Blog!

Hello and welcome to my NEW blog! I will be updating this as often as possible, so please check back often to stay updated on my adventures as Miss Montana 2009!

xoxo

B