IHOP

Today was a wonderful day with Miss Marin County, Brittany Ressa, at the San Rafael IHOP. You have all heard about my personal platform the Muscular Dystrophy Association, but did you know the Miss America Organization has a national platform? Every contestant raises money for the CMN (Children's Miracle Network) at each level of competition and Miss America is the CMN Goodwill Ambassador. This works out perfectly for me because my MDA kids frequently have to use CMN hospitals, so I can easily represent both organizations at the same time. Since 2006 IHOP's across the country have had National Pancake Day where you can get free pancakes and make a donation to local CMN hospitals.

In a collaborative effort Miss America title holders spend the day in their near by IHOP and help share the news of how important every dollar donated to CMN is. Miss Marin and I were in San Rafael and met with probably the sweetest IHOP owner in the country! He introduced us to every customer and every weekend he personally greets and seats his guests. It was surprising how many people wanted to take pictures with us, and so many great donations were made. The cutest donation by far was the little boy at the top of the page, he was determined to make that donation with out anyone's help! It was a really fun day and I am so glad I was able to help raise money for Oakland Children's Hospital which is where one of my MDA kids has been staying for the last several weeks, and where many of my kids have stayed before.

Sponsors

The Miss America Organization is a non-profit scholarship organization, so of course it wouldn't be possible with out our amazing sponsors!  Each Miss Lake County contestant has to get their own sponsor, this helps with scholarship dollars and other support costs of the pageant. My sponsor for many years has been Dr. Grey. He was my orthodontist as a child and from a young age he would introduce me to people as " the future Miss Lake County". He has been so supportive of me and has such a big heart, he also donates to other amazing causes like 4-H and every year does a walk for MS. I am so thankful for everything he has done for me through out the years, including giving me a great smile!

On top of personal sponsors, there are other amazing community members who sponsor the pageant and make a lot of great things happen. These sponsors include: 

Flowers By Jackie

Sheffert's Videography

Padi Kakes

The Feather Bed Railroad

The Martinez Family

TNT Fireworks

Jimmy's Deli

Saw Shop

Konocti Vista Casino

Bicoastal Media

Scentsy

Lakeport Lions Club

Delta Iota Tou Chapter Beta Sigme Phi

Sutter Lakeside Hospital

Twin Pine Casino

Nails by Dee

T.A.C. photography

Thank you so much to all these lovely sponsors! Another sponsorship opportunity we are currently looking for is people who want to put add pages in the Miss California add book. This is a great opportunity to have people from all over the state see your advertising! Please get in contact with me if you are interested, it is a fantastic cause!

Photo Shoot

Had an amazing day working on getting the perfect Miss California head shot thanks to the wonderful Chris Cooke! More pictures and his blog can be found at http://blog.cmc-photo.com/index.php/jennifer-humble-miss-lake-county-2012/

Miss Solano and Miss Napa

I had such a blast last night at the Miss Solano and Miss Napa pageant! I love watching new girls get crowned, they are so excited for the year to come! Congratulations to Shelby Holliday Miss Napa and Courtney Strysko Miss Solano! Thank you Sara and Gabino for putting on an awesome pageant!

Muscle Walk

One of the ways I've used my muscles to make a difference this year is at the Bay Area's Muscle Walk. This walk helps raise funds for my platform organization, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. MDA helps fund research, run support groups, and puts on annual summer camps all across the country for kids with Muscular Dystrophy. We had an amazing turn out! With 500 walkers raising $72,000 it was the biggest MDA walk in the country! I loved being a part of such a high energy positive day!

Miss Mendocino

I love going to visit other pageants! The Miss Mendocino pageant was an absolute blast and I had such a fun time catching up with Miss Marin, Miss Sacramento, last years Miss Mendocino, and last years Miss Marin. The winner is one of the sweetest people I have met and is such a joy to talk to, her name is Herron Spence. Herron did a self written monologue for her talent that definitely made me tear up a bit. The other title holders and I got to visit with her at breakfast the next day and get to know her. I am so happy our neighboring county has such a lovely young woman to represent them and am excited to get to know her better at Miss California!

Tango Mike

As a daughter of a marine I have always appreciated the brave men and women who fight for our country. Three years ago I started working with Adopt a Soldier to try and do my part to thank our troops. I've had several soldier pen-pals but one very special soldier became my best friend.
Luke and I have a lot in common, including our birthday! We have been close since our birthday three years ago and have conquered two tours of duty together. I can not wait until he's back home for good after this deployment to Afghanistan is over. He was a bit of my inspiration for volunteering with Tango Mike this Christmas season, where I got to make care packages to send out to the troops who call Lake County home.
No one warned me when I chose the day to volunteer that it was a homecoming for a few of the guys, let me tell you I cried like a baby! One of the soldiers was the first to receive a package from Tango Mike, after years of serving his country he attributes Tango Mike for helping him through the rough times. As my dad says, "There's no place like home, even if it's coming in a box." It was great to find a new way to help my troops and I can not wait until I have another school break so I can volunteer on the third Thursday of every month to help make care packages. If you would like to make a donation to Tango Mike or find out how you can volunteer check out their website! http://www.operationtangomike.com/

Christmas Day

Christmas time can be really stressful for some people, whether it be financial stress, the stress of getting the house ready for guests, or whatever else the case may be. I had the opportunity this Christmas to help out at the United Christian Parish with their community dinner. They were fully staffed with volunteers for serving but Alica and I were still able to bring a little Christmas cheer and visit with our guests. When we brought out our autograph pads for the kids, I saw a lot of faces light up. A lot of the adults wanted pictures to and were so happy to see us there!

One very special little girl named Nicole really touched our hearts. She is very sweet and followed us around to visit with everyone. Throughout the day we were told little tidbits about how difficult Nicole's week had been. She informed us that her grandmother had just passed away, and then on Christmas Eve her bike had been stolen! We hoped she was getting a bike for Christmas but her mother told us later that the family couldn't handle anymore financial strain and was going to have a small Christmas. She was so sad that she couldn't give her little girl the one thing she wanted for Christmas, it was really hard to watch, and then an idea hit us.
One of our committee members Diana decided that Nicole was going to get her Christmas bike, we rushed to the store and found the best pink bike we could! It was so fun being Santa's helper and getting to light up a families smile for a day!

Public Speaking

I am a big ham! I have been for years, I always got the goofy little acting parts in recitals, and was the first to volunteer to present during class. The first true public speaking I can remember doing was when I was chosen to read my essay about how D.A.R.E. had educated me about drugs and alcohol back in fifth grade. As Miss Lake County public speaking has become a big part of my life.


It still amazes me that as soon as I put on my crown and sash, people are suddenly interested in what I have to say. I've had the opportunity to speak to the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Lake County Chamber of commerce, Clear Lake High School, and the Lakeport Rotary so far. At these appearances I talk about my amazing MDA experiences as well as the Miss America Organization. I get to explain all four points of the crown, and how much the Miss America Organization has done for me. It is so heart warming when I'm sharing my stories how involved people want to get! I am truly a blessed young woman to have come from such an amazing community.