Pancakes, Pageants, And Preparing for the Future

Last week was National Pancake Day! I had a blast going to IHOP in Idaho Falls to help greet all of the customers who came to get free pancakes and support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The proceeds from the Idaho Falls location go specifically to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake. It was fun to see people from all over Southeastern Idaho who came to support such a great cause. I even ran into a student from Teton Valley High School that I visited last October. Many high school students came on their lunch breaks – it made me feel so old that I didn’t recognize many of them from Idaho Falls High School! It feels like yesterday that I was in their shoes.

A group of girls from IF High after enjoying some free pancakes at IHOP.

A group of Shelley High students who were taking an "extended" lunch break. ;)

Just last night, I had the opportunity to speak to the girls competing for Bonneville County’s Distinguished Young Women next month. I was also able to help a few of them individually with their closing statements for their interviews, and I must say that I was blown away by the caliber of girls who are competing this year! WOW! It was a lot of fun to revisit the organization that jump-started and preceded my involvement with the Miss America Organization. The Idaho Falls area is so lucky to have such dedicated volunteers to run scholarship organizations like Distinguished Young Women and Miss Idaho Falls’ Outstanding Teen and Miss Idaho Falls.

Between a few speaking engagements at service clubs like Kiwanis International, elementary school visits, and teaching piano lessons, I have been trying to get my life organized to return to school. I finally have a housing agreement, the best roommate ever, and tuition paid!!!! It is such a sweet feeling to be able to use my scholarship money from Miss Idaho to further my education. I’ll be returning to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for 2nd block Winter Semester classes, which start February 28th. However, my credit load will be pretty light so that I can return to Idaho Falls and Boise on weekends to do appearances. One of my courses is online through BYU Independent Study, and it will be a blessing to work on that course at my own pace, on my own schedule since I will still be traveling a lot. BYU Independent Study was a fabulous sponsor to have for Miss America this year, and they were a lot of fun to work with.

This week I’ll be in Boise to volunteer at the St. Luke’s Children’s Medical Center Pediatric Department, and for a Valentine’s Day VIP Celebration at the Veteran’s Hospital. And I’m hoping to deliver some handbags along the way. Keep on the lookout for pictures coming soon!

Until next time,

Whitney Wood

Miss Idaho 2012

National Pancake Day

What do Crowns, pancakes, and fundraising have in common? National Pancake Day. It isn't just a day for free pancakes at IHOP. It is a day to help raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Miss Southeastern Idaho, Kayli Schwendiman spent time at her local IHOP raising funds and meeting everyone coming in. She was there to help raise funds but also to encourage other volunteers and let them know how much they were helping. 

Kayli said, "All of them were so excited when I told them that they were helping to raise money for kids who were sick and needed some help. All of them loved my crown and wanted pictures with it."

Beyond that, she was able to reconnect with a girl she had met at one of her previous appearances. "One of girls [with the cheer leading outfit on] was actually at a previous event I had done in August and she was so excited to be there with me. I ended up eating dinner with her and her mom and we had a great time eating, looking at her cheer leading pictures, and having her try on my crown."

Crowning Moments

One of the most exciting part of the pageant is to see that crowning moment. After months and sometimes even years of preparation  you got to see that moment of sheer excitement and shock as women gets to wear the crown! Did you see Mallory Hagan when she was crowned Miss America?

The thing that is so beautiful about this Miss America Organization isn't the woman up front being crowned, but the women in the back. Do you see their reactions? They are so happy for Mallory! Well we are so happy for the young women we have competing at Miss Idaho this year. So here are a few crowning moments from this year's locals.

Would you like your own crowning moment? We would love to have you compete in one of our locals and then at state. Upcoming pageants are:

Miss Canyon County || March 2nd

Miss Rexburg || March 9th

Miss Meridian || March 22nd & 23rd

Miss Riverview || March 29th

Email missidahoboard@gmail.com for more information || Subject: Become a Contestant

Seeds Sprouting Up as Part of Healthy Diet

By Tetona Dunlap - tdunlap@magicvalley.com

"Emily Hosman of Buhl uses flax daily. Hosman is a student at Brigham Young University studying exercise science with an emphasis in wellness and science. She also represents Twin Falls in the Miss America Organization as Miss Canyon Rim. Hosman said she started to use flax seed after learning she had Candidiasis, a fungal infection caused by yeasts that she said had made it difficult for her to lose weight.

“It’s really common and there’s a lot of women who have it, but don’t know it,” Hosman said.

Since incorporating flax into her diet, Hosman said she has lost weight.

She said flax seed is a low carb, high protein, nutrient dense food that she incorporates into her meals all the time now.

“It has a fairly neutral taste,” Hosman said.

She likes to mix flax seed in her peanut butter and vanilla shakes.

Hosman also uses flax meal because she often craves bread. Instead of milk she uses flax milk, which Hosman said tastes like watered-down milk."

You can read the full article here.

Woman overcomes challenge to win Miss Gate City/Miss Pocatello title

By David Ashby

  "Sierra Sandison, 19, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year ago. But Sandison said that she learned that addressing her ailment one day at a time and keeping a positive attitude was enough for her to overcome the disease....

    Every contestant is required to have a platform, which is a social or community issue that is important to the contestant and society at large. Sandison’s platform will focus on diabetes education and prevention. Diabetes, a disease that has greatly affected Sandison and her family members, is classified as an “epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with an estimated 26 million Americans diagnosed.

    The disease is divided into two classifications: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in patients who often require daily injections of insulin due to the body’s failure to produce natural insulin. Type 2 diabetes is when a patient fails to utilize the insulin the body naturally produces, leading to insulin deficiency.

    The disease can serve as a precursor for a large number of other ailments, including cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, or vascular diseases that can lead to amputations of the patient’s extremities.

    “I really want to educate people, especially children, about how to identify the symptoms for Type 1 diabetes and to seek treatment so it can be diagnosed as early as possible, and to encourage those with Type 2 diabetes to make the necessary dietary and lifestyle changes to fight the disease,” Sandison said."

You can read the whole article here.