Promoting Healthy Relationships

This Valentine's Day Miss Tri Counties, Laura Hampikian spent her day doing something a littler different. "While my Facebook news feed blew up with Valentine’s posts, single ladies posts, and a lot of pink and red yesterday, I was driving 300 miles round trip to Wallace, Idaho."

Laura was invited to Wallace Sr/Jr High by their art teacher to speak about her platform, Love What's Real.  he was asked to share her story and to talk about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Oddly enough, while she was preparing her thoughts for the assembly she saw a "Love What's Real" campaign poster hanging in the hall that she was featured in with a friend her senior year.

Once inside the gym students started filing in for their Valentine's Day Assembly. And after playing a few “relationship” games, Laura was asked to step up the microphone and share her story.

Laura said, "What was incredible was how these teenagers really listened. You could have heard a pin drop. They treated me with such respect. I love teens, I love high school, I love what I do, and I love that the Miss America Organization has allowed me to speak out about my experience and help others."

Miss Idaho Amazing Pageant

On February 9th Sarah Downs, Miss Nampa 2013, Megan Wilson, Miss Gem County 2013, and Ashley Smith, Miss Western Idaho 2012, volunteered at the 1st Annual Miss Idaho Amazing Pageant. It is a pageant for women with mental disabilities. Sarah, Megan, and Ashley volunteered for the pageant. They were paired up with a contestant to be their buddy for the day. 

On pageant day all the buddies and contestants for the pageant met up to practice pageant walks and interviews. The interviews were first. Each contestant had a one minute interview with each of the five judges. After that it was lunch time and then show time! There were professional hair dressers and makeup artists to help the girls get ready, and they could wear anything they wanted. Categories were judges interviews, introduction, and evening wear.

Sarah said, "My contestant's name was Cassie Warner... I had a wonderful experience and am so glad I decided to volunteer. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but everyone had the best attitude and every contestant had the time of their life! I plan on volunteering next year again for sure."

Sarah Downs, Miss Nampa 2013, with her contestant Cassie Warner during practice. 

Sarah Downs, Miss Nampa 2013 | Kaley Sparling, Mrs. Idaho America 2013 | Ashley Smith, Miss Western Idaho 2012

Sarah Downs, Miss Nampa 2013  | Ashley Smith, Miss Western Idaho 2012 | Megan Wilson, Miss Gem County 2013

 Sarah Downs, Miss Nampa 2013, and Megan Wilson, Miss Gem County 2013 with their contestants back stage.

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