Canned Food Drive

Service is so important to me as a local title holder. My community has had a big part of grooming me into the young woman I am today, so it is important to me to try and return the favor. One of the great ways I got to do that this holiday season was the canned food drive with Phil Smoley.

We dropped off collection boxes at banks and local government offices in Lakeport. I've done several food drives throughout the years, and was not anticipating a ton of cans especially with our current recession. Once again, I was proven wrong by the wonderful citizens I get to represent! Counting the cans and loading them up in the truck was quite the task, especially in four inch heels! We collected over 1200 cans and several thousand dollars that we got to donate to two amazing causes. Most of the donations were given to the Lakeport Senior Center to assist the Meals on Wheels program that is incredibly important in our county. The second cause is North Coast Oppertunities' new food bank in Lakeport across the street from the bowling alley.

How Many Muscles does it take to make a difference? Just one, your heart!

One of the things the sets the Miss America Organization apart from other pageants is that every girls has to have a platform that they want to speak about for the year. Choosing a platform was easy for me, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has made a huge impression on me. The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) works non-stop to ensure that patients diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy are taken care of in every way possible; they fund research, supply needed medical equipment, make support groups available, and put on an annual summer camp for the children, which I consider the most important.

Muscular Dystrophy is a set of over 40 very devastating diseases that have to do with degeneration of the muscular system, and sometimes also the nervous system. This camp is the highlight of all the children’s year, and they can’t stop talking about it. For one week every summer all across the nation, children with Muscular Dystrophy (MD) can finally be kids. For one week parents don’t need to constantly stress, and kids can learn they aren’t the only one with this type of disease. MDA has found that one of the best treatments for these kids is to be surrounded by love, support, and understanding.

Volunteerism has always been a significant portion of my life, but the first summer I went to MDA camp it became even more important to me as a counselor for the Muscular Dystrophy Associations annual camp, where I met and fell in love with all of the campers. Many of them have a low quality of life by the average person’s standards; however the zest for life in their eyes is incomparable.

That week, I listened to their stories, their worries, and their fears. Many of them have given up on there being a cure for any of the many diseases classified as Muscular Dystrophy. Over the summer camp we clearly became a very close knit family. The last day of camp was emotionally tolling because we knew that most of us wouldn’t see each other for about a year, but none of us imagined that we would be saying our final good-bye to one of our campers that day.When I found out Sam passed away from Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy a week later, I was paralyzed with emotion. It was a reality check, at that moment I realized how short these children’s life’s are, and I saw a small glimpse of their everyday reality. I quickly decided that it would be more productive to turn the pain of Sam’s death into action. The spring of 2009 I organized a fundraising walk in honor of him to raise money for research and camp, but my second promise in honor of Sam will take much more work. The day Sam died I decided that no one deserved to lose someone as awe inspiring as him, who touched every heart, and brought a smile to everyone’s face. Because of this, I decided that I want to do everything in my power to prevent this from happening to anyone else. To accomplish this I have been working to get as many people involved with MDA as possible.

So far I have completed over 500 hours of service for MDA, and I plan to do much more. The most important type of service I would like to do is to raise awareness of the problem. I plan on doing this through awareness programs throughout the community, including more fundraisers and drives to get more young adults involved as counselors at the annual camps. Many people think that because each specific disease is considered rare, that this organization isn't as important as it truly is. At clear Lake High school when I was going there I knew of two girls who have MDA classified disease, as you can see this problem is effecting people even in our small neck of the woods.

So after all that talk what am I personally doing about it as Miss Lake County? One of the first things I did with my title was do an appearance at the Lakeport Safeway. I learned that it's much easier to convince people to donate when they check out if I'm standing there telling them how great my kids are. That day was the highest donations day there by far which was really rewarding! In a few weeks I will be participating in the bay area "Muscle Walk" which is a great fundraiser done all across the country!

Currently I speak about MDA at every event I go to and ask people for donations to MDA for time,money, or legos. It may sound strange to ask for legos but it is a big part of MDA camp. One of the last muscles sets to degrade for most of these kids is their fine motor skills, and we do our best to help the kids keep this ability as long as possible. A fun way to do this is with the lego cabin! Everything the child builds they get to take home which allows them to continue working with their hands after camp. There are fliers Floating around Lake County on drop off site's for legos but if you have any question's do not hesitate to ask! If you know anyone who would like to volunteer with MDA ask me for information!

My Muscle Walk Donation Page is http://www2.mda.org/site/TR/Walk/88-G3-836-GreaterSFBayAreaDistrict?px=1071605&pg=personal&fr_id=1386

Kelseyville and Lakeport lighted parades

As most of you know I have dreamed of being Miss Lake county since I was five, and a big part of that dream includes parades. I've missed a few of them this year because of school but the two lighted parades were so much fun I think it made up for it! Before the Lakeport lighted parade Alice and I got to be Santa's helpers at the candy shop, it was so fun getting to play with the kids! After that we rushed to the fair grounds and got ready for a great parade. The Kelseyville lighted parade was freezing, but awesome! First of all I got to ride in the nicest car I've ever seen thanks to Jeff Hansen! The energy from the crowd was incredible, and most people were doing the classic princess wave right back at me! I tried my hardest to wave and make eye contact with every child there, and I think I got pretty close to it. Overall the parades were two very fun weekends!

Visiting Pageants

One of the really fun things I get to do as Miss Lake County is visit other pageants. It is so great to watch other girls hopes come true on stage just like mine did, and to reunite with some of the Miss California class of 2011 (last year I was Miss Central California). The first pageant I had the opportunity to be a guest at was Miss Marin County which was a really nice commute (It is held at my school, Dominican University of California). I was so excited to see the lovely Brittany Ressa get crowned, she was first runner up last year and it was so well deserved for her to win this year! I've also gotten to go to Miss Merced which was held in conjunction with Miss Sierra Nevada/ Yosemite valley which was a great pageant! The open was like a mini Miss California with so many incredible former's running.The Miss Santa Clara pageant was also such a blast! Next weekend I will be heading to Miss Mendocino to see a lovely young lady crowned in our neighbor county.

Bass Bowl

I have competed in 12 pageants so far, I know what it is like to look at the judges sitting across a table as they determine your fate for the next year. What I didn't realize until the Bass Bowl pageant was that it's just as hard being a judge! As soon as Phil Smoley told me about the pageant I asked if I could judge, I was so excited when he said yes! I had no clue what I was in for though. I'm pretty sure I was more nervous for the interview than the girls were! One thing I was definitely not anticipating was learning so much about my own competition short comings. I had been getting critiques on things for years that I thought were small and a judge would never notice, I was wrong! It was such a great learning experience for me and I couldn't be more proud of the two lovely winners, Laura Pankratz and Brianna Vargas!

Evergreen and Rocky Point nursing homes

According to the U.S. Census bureau 18% of Lake County is 65 or over. That is twice the national average, and yet it is still so easy to forget about one of the most under served parts of our community. As Miss Lake County I strive to help people in my community from all walks of life, and I felt it was necessary to spend time with the people that make up almost 1/5 of our population!The first nursing home Alice and I visited was Rocky Point Care Center on Grandparents day, and we were some of the only visitors. The residents were so happy to see us, and Alice learned how to play domino's from some of the ladies.

Over the last few months Alice and I have frequently gone to Evergreen Nursing Home and Rocky Point to visit with the residents and lend a helping hand to the staff. We went to the Christmas parties for both facilities and helped serve cookies and beverages. At evergreen we even sang some carols (there is a reason why we are both dancers)! It was incredible when some of the residents even joined in and sang some of there favorite Christmas songs!

It's so rewarding visiting with the residents, and we never leave with out an interesting story or a life lesson. One of my favorites was with Honey who we first met on Thanksgiving. We went to her room to visit and got to meet a lot of her family (her son-in-law cooked a traditional dinner and they all came in to eat with her). Honey has a quick wit and she keeps me laughing every time. A few visits later she told me I wasn't allowed to come back until I learned a joke to tell her because she believed I need to work on my personality. During the Christmas party I told her the joke that I had spent days preparing, luckily she loved it! She's been telling it to the other residents since.

This is some of the most rewarding work I get to do. I love to get my hands dirty and really help people. Don't get me wrong, parades are a blast, but this is what it's all about for me.

Lake County Fair

Miss Lake County being at the fair is one of my favorite traditions! I remember being a young girl and being amazed that someone so glamorous was just walking around our fair talking to everyone. Now that I'm in the job I realize that there is much more to it. Alice and I made a point to go into every nook and cranny of our fair (including the train building which was a first for both of us).

Growing up in 4-H it was really important for me to go back up to the barns where I had built so many memories, and share it with Alice for her first time. I raised pigs and several other smaller animals, while my sister raised sheep. 4-H had a big part in making me responsible for my own actions, which is a trait that I find more and more important as i grow up. I found out that girls in crowns, heels, and cocktail dresses is not exactly a common sight in the livestock barns, a group of parents informed me that in the ten years they've camped there they have never seen a Miss Lake County make the trip. One of my favorite parts of the fair was when a young 4-H girl came up to us to ask for our signatures and one reason why we love our fair to send in to Jerry Brown. I absolutely love to see spunky young girls standing up for what they care about!

At the fair I had my first judging opportunity! Alice and I had the honor of judging the Lake County talent show, and I was amazed with the talent hiding in our neck of the woods! With so many amazing acts it was a tough job, but we picked the right winner in the end. Tyler is an amazing Comedian, and an awesome young man!

I met all kinds of interesting people that weekend, and I had to get used to young girls looking at the top of my head. It was amazing how many people wanted to come up to me to ask how I became Miss Lake County and what my plans for the year are. It was great to get community support and to spread the message of the Miss America.

Feather Bed Railroad Car Show

Our next stop on the Miss Lake County journey is the Feather Bed Railroad Inn. Tony Barthel and his wonderful wife Peggy hosted a car show and asked us to attend. There were two things that made this car show very special, first off all of the funds raised went into the Miss Lake County Scholarship fund, secondly it was all cars from the golden age of movies! A little known fact about me is that I adore the forties and fifties, especially the movies and the cars! Needless to say I was in heaven, and because of T.A.C. studios I got to dress the part and show up looking like a pin up girl right out of the forties! It was an awesome appearance and I am so glad I got to play dress up while fundraising for our organization.

P.S. If you've never been to the Feather Bed Railroad, you should change that immediately! It is adorable, each room is in an old caboose with a completely different theme. Recently my parents stayed in the "easy rider" Harley themed room and loved it! Plus the food is delicious!

First Appearance

My first appearance with the lovely Alice Crocket Miss Lake County's Outstanding Teen was at the Lakeport Speedway. Here I ran into my first Miss Lake County challenge. How does one get out of a short limo in a dress and high heels? Alice and I actually decided to practice a few times just to make sure we wouldn't fall on our faces. Once we successfully got out of the car the energy was electric! It took me by surprise how many people were so glad to see us, I quickly learned how special it is that I have the opportunity to make people's day with a smile. Taking pictures with the winners was great because we got to be a little part of the big win, but one of my highlights was making friends with the little ones of course! Over all it was a fantastic day, and a great way to start out the year!

How it all began

I've finally decided to get with the times and have a blog to document this year. It's a little late in the running but I will do my best to update you with all of the things I've already accomplished in short and sweet entries over the next few days.

My Miss Lake County experience actually began in kindergarten when my baby sitter was queen. She taught me the princess wave song (elbow,elbow, wrist,wrist, touch your heart and blow a kiss), but more importantly she taught me how enjoyable it can be to give back to your community. As many of you know, I tried for the title many times as well as running in several other pageants to no avail. I always joke with contestants that I'm a pro at losing pageants. But after Miss Marin 2011 where I completely flopped,a switch turned. I finally realized that if I want it, I've got to work for it.

A few weeks later I was Miss Central California Regional 2011. Going to Miss California was an absolute whirl wind! I was a tiny fish in a big pond and I quickly realized that it would be my "learning year." With the support of my director Rita, and the guidance from friends I'd made along the way like Taylor Butler Miss Lake County 2009 I survived. I learned so much about myself and the organization those several days, and I'm thankful that I went into it with a clear head so I could pick up on everything I could.

While winning an open title as my first title ever was an accomplishment in itself, I still wasn't completely satisfied. I wanted to give back to a community that had already given so much to me, so a month after Miss California, and a day after MDA camp ended, I had the joy of becoming Miss Lake County 2012. It's been a little crazy trying to fit 15 years of dreams into one year, but I am dedicated to highlighting this county for the unsung heroes that volunteer and keep this community going, and to give the children of Lake Count a role model that lets them know they can be anything,even a princess.