New Surroundings
It has been a fun yet crazy week for Miss Idaho! Last
Monday, I had the opportunity to speak at an anti-bullying assembly in St.
Anthony at South Fremont Junior High. A fellow contestant and friend from Miss
Idaho 2011, Makenzie Stevens, recruited me to help out, since her older sister
Mikaela was spear-heading the event. For a senior project, Mikaela, along with
the BYU-Idaho public relations students decided to plan this assembly and a
whole week of activities focused on anti-bullying for the students at South
Fremont.
When Mikaela first asked me to speak and share my own
experiences with bullying, I thought, “What in the world am I going to say?” I
never had anyone physically push me over or threaten to beat me up. But then I
realized that the majority of bullying cases are not physical, but social and
emotional. When I was in 6th grade, I not only had braces, but a
contraption similar to headgear to fix my jaw. It was called the Herbst
appliance, and it irritated my mouth so badly that I had huge sores in my
cheeks and my face swelled like a balloon. All of the sixth grade boys in my
class called me names like “squirrel face” and “chubby chipmunk cheeks.” As I
look back on it now, it’s funny, but when you’re an insecure 6th grade
girl, those things can really hurt! After remembering that experience, I
actually thought of quite a few other cases where I was bullied in Junior High
and High School. Whether it was the mean girls that put me down with their rude
sarcasm, stole my things and turned other friends against me with their rumors,
or the emotionally abusive boyfriend that said I was no good without him, I was
bullied. Thank goodness I have always had such supportive parents and family to
lift me up and help me through those experiences.
Speaking at South Fremont reminded me how regularly bullying
occurs, especially in schools. To all those who have felt bullied, don’t be
afraid to stand up for yourself, remove yourself from the situation if
possible, or ask for help. Surround yourself with others who will lift you up
and empower you. Most importantly, don’t ever let someone else define you or
influence your self-confidence. God created each of us to be unique, beautiful
individuals. Embrace and love yourself for who you are! J This is also a good reminder
to everyone to watch our words and actions, that they are only positive and
uplifting to others around us.
After speaking to the Junior High students on Monday, I
spoke to a group of 4th graders at Sunnyside Elementary in Idaho
Falls on Tuesday. I played the piano and spoke to the group about goal setting
and perseverance, and used stories from my Miss Idaho and Miss America journeys
to illustrate how we can overcome any obstacles that may stand in our way. I
LOVE those elementary kids! Spending time with them is definitely one of the
sweetest parts of this job. There was a little boy named Alex who kept running
over to give me hugs, wanting to pose for more pictures, and even asking for my
autograph. I don’t have any pictures to post right now, but I’m hoping to get
some of the photos back from the teacher soon! J
Wednesday made for a busy day moving back down to Provo,
Utah to start 2nd block classes at Brigham Young University. Man is
that scholarship money useful!!!! I am so grateful to the Miss Idaho Falls,
Miss Idaho, and Miss America Organizations that work so hard to fundraise
scholarship money to empower women like myself to seek higher education. I plan
to get my Bachelor’s in Public Relations with a Marketing Minor. Since I’ve
been here since Wednesday, I can already see a difference in myself from April
2012 when I was last in school. All of the public speaking, walking into
appearances with unfamiliar surroundings, and emotional stamina that I’ve
learned as Miss Idaho is definitely translating over; I am much more confident
on a college campus and in seeking employment than I was before Miss Idaho. My
many trips from Idaho Falls to Boise also makes the shorter drive to Provo seem
like a piece of cake. ;) I am excited to jump back into college life and see
where my studies take me!
A huge congratulations is order for HannahSarah Davis, 1st
Runner Up at Miss Canyon County this weekend, and Kacie Bitzenburg who took
home the crown! These ladies are absolutely incredible, and are responsible for
adding to the high quality of the Miss Idaho Organization. After competing at
nationals, I can conclude that Idaho is home to some of the sweetest, most
talented, smart, and down-to-earth women in the nation, and I feel so blessed
to have become friends with these ladies like HannahSarah and Kacie.
See you all at Miss Rexburg this Saturday!
Whitney Wood
Miss Idaho 2012
Kiwi Loco and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
Did you know the Miss America Organization works hand in hand with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals? The Miss America Organization has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to raise funds and awareness for children’s hospitals throughout the United States. Contestants competing in Miss America-sponsored pageants are now expected to raise a minimum of $100 in donations for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Miss America Scholarship Fund. It’s not an entrance fee, but a new service requirement. In addition, each new Miss America becomes the goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, speaking on behalf of kids treated at children’s hospitals and raising awareness around the country. It’s just another way the Miss America Organization helps young women leave a legacy of service, scholarship, and support.
Our very own Miss Southeastern Idaho has put a new twist on raising her funds by working with a local business, Kiwi Loco. If you stop by Kiwi Loco and donate a dollar to Kayli's CMNH fund you can receive 20% off of your yogurt purchase. A steal of a deal and for a great cause. Come join Kayli and Kiwi Loco in Rexburg as they team up to raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals!
Read Across America
March 1 was Read Across America, a day in which America celebrates reading. Miss Tri- Counties, Laura Hampikian, was invited to read to five different classes at Lena Whitmore Elementary School. Her is an accounting of her trip to Whitmore.
"The first class that I went to was a fifth grade class. First I read to them. After, upon finding out that singing was my talent, they asked me if I would sing to them. They specifically asked me to read “Oh the Places You’ll Go” to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner. I am proud to say that I obliged them.
In the second class, one student asked me to sign an autograph for him. I said I could do that, but then nfortunately didn’t anticipate that the rest of the class would want autographs as well. After I read them my book, I signed as many autographs as I possibly could. While I was signing, I took some questions from the class. Again, the class wanted to hear me sing. However, this time the requests were even more fun. I was asked to sing Usher. Usher! I didn’t know that kids still listened to Usher! Growing up in Atlanta, I am proud to say that have a repertoire of Usher songs memorized in my head, so I did a quite review to see if there were any that had clean lyrics. Thank you, Usher, for keeping at least the first verse of “Burn” relatively clean. So I did it. I sang Usher in front of a fifth grade class. And I even got applauded. I did discover that perhaps it is time for me to add some Taylor Swift into my list of memorized songs. I got a request to sing that it every class I went to (as well as a great many protests against me singing Taylor Swift from the boys in the class)!
In the last class I was eagerly asked, “Are you the queen of Moscow??!” To which I replied, “Well, yes, sort of!” Another student asked me, “Has anyone ever bowed down to you before?” I had to reply that honestly, no, no one has ever bowed down to me. Next thing you know the whole class was bowing down! Those kids are so silly."
IBR's Women of the Year
Congratulations to Stacy Pearson, Idaho's Business Woman of the Year. But a VERY special congratulations to our very own Larinda Spencer. Larinda has been volunteering for the Miss Idaho Board and currentlly holds the position of Scholarship Committee Chairperson. She was one of the 50 women nominated for this award in the state of Idaho for her work at Ataraxis, Inc.. We are so proud of her!
“Every one of these 50 women of the year exemplifies what it takes to be a leader,” said Idaho Business Review Vice President and Publisher Sean Evans. “Year after year we are amazed by the caliber of all of these women who are consummate business professionals who also manage to make a real difference in their communities.”
You can read the whole article here.
“Every one of these 50 women of the year exemplifies what it takes to be a leader,” said Idaho Business Review Vice President and Publisher Sean Evans. “Year after year we are amazed by the caliber of all of these women who are consummate business professionals who also manage to make a real difference in their communities.”
You can read the whole article here.
A Weekend in Teton Valley
My big event last week as Miss Idaho was the Teton Valley
Curves open house. I showed up in Driggs at 9 am, ready to workout all day
long! Cat, owner of Teton Valley Curves, showed me around the circuit to give
me a feel the type of workout every lady is getting at Curves. It’s only 30
minutes total, and the hydraulic machines let you control the intensity of your
workout based on how quickly you perform each exercise. At 10am, we had our
largest RE-solution class of the day with about 15 ladies. I helped the coaches
from inside the circuit, motivating each lady to push harder and envision their
end goal. After the workout while the ladies were stretching, I shared a few of
my experiences working towards the Miss Idaho swimsuit competition last June,
and Miss America in January.
Could you see this girl at Miss America some day!? I can!
Two of the ladies I met at the 10am RE-solution class;
It's so fun to see people's reactions when you let them wear the crown and sash!
This is Amy, one of the coaches at Teton Valley Curves who is bilingual
and can help even more ladies reach their fitness goals!
Following the 10 o’clock class, I ran some errands, making
payments and bank deposits for the fitness club, as well as distributing flyers
to people in the parking lot and recruiting them to come to the 2pm or 6pm
classes. I was excited wen Cat from Curves hired me for a contract day job to
do all the marketing for the open house and Curves club in general. It’s always
nice to receive a little compensation for an appearance as well! ;)
On my lunch break, I found a restaurant unique to Driggs
just off Main Street called Wrap ‘N Roll. They catered some of the food for the
open house throughout the day, and I just couldn’t get enough of it! My Curry
Chicken Wrap was heavenly to say the least! If you’re ever passing through
Teton Valley, you ought to stop by. After lunch, I spoke to another group of
ladies at the 2pm RE-solution class, and then headed off to the high school to
speak to the Teton County Distinguished Young Women. The DYW always attracts
such nice girls!!! I had a great time visiting with them, and I even ran into
some of the students that I met back in October when I visited Teton High
School’s choir and band classes. The whole city just has such a homey,
laid-back feel. Gotta’ love Idaho!!!!
I returned back to Curves for the 6pm class, where I met
Teton Valley Curves’ youngest member named Miriam. Throughout the class she
seemed very shy, and she was extremely soft spoken. At the end of the class
when I was packing up my stuff to head home, Miriam pulled me aside and asked,
“Miss Idaho, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind coming to dinner with
me at my family’s Mexican restaurant?” Talk about heart melting!!! It was such
a sweet end to a memorable day in Teton Valley. So Miriam helped me carry the
rest of my things out to my car, and we headed down Main Street for Hacienda
Cuajimalpa.
I was also able to meet Miriam's older sister who was our waitress, and her father who runs the place.
At the restaurant, Miriam's little sister had fun being Miss Idaho for an hour!
Miriam told me that her family’s place was the oldest
restaurant in town. She opened up even more, letting me into her personal life
and future goals. As a girl who loves soccer, she plans to lose 10 pounds in
order for her hip injuries to heal faster so that she will be able to play.
When she loses those 10 pounds, her family has planned a trip to Disneyland!
After we finished our Taco salads, I had the opportunity to meet the rest of
Miriam’s family at the restaurant, and of course we all got pictures together.
Miriam and the rest of her family proved to be some of the most kind-hearted,
generous people I’ve met! Getting to know Miriam over dinner at her family’s
restaurant is one of those sweet memories that I can add to the Miss Idaho
collection and keep with me for the rest of my life. You can bet I’ll be
stopping by Hacienda Cuajimalpa next time I go through Driggs up to Targhee. J
Until Next Week,
Whitney Wood
Miss Idaho 2012