Mrs. Illinois International 2009

Today at the St. Louis Cardinal game, Cardinal team members' wives were busy selling raffle tickets and autographed players cards to raise money for breast cancer awareness. I was priviledged to be pictured with Candice Greene (Kahlil Greene's wife), Ashley Barden (Brian Barden's wife) and Holly, a four year breast cancer survivor. Very lovely and hospitable ladies doing great work in their community!

I have been very busy the last few months promoting Go Red! and getting more and more people in the Southern Illinois area involved and aware of heart health. Today, I mailed over 100 registration cards to the Chicago AHA office. Another 100 will be ready very soon and on their way too!

This year, the Baptist Child Care Executives Meeting was held in Franklin, Tennesse on April 28th. I had the priviledge of presenting information about the SMART Education curriculum that I created and co-authored with Elizabeth Tharp, Director of Southeastern Illinois Pathways Counseling. The presentation was to initiate the use of SMART in the 22 states in our nation that have a Baptist Children's Home. Program Directors from many of the residential care facilities had the opportunity ...

On Friday, May 1, 2009, I was invited to speak at the Galatia First Baptist Church for their Mexico themed Mother's Day Dinner. Everyone was so festive! We had a wonderful meal prepared by a great all-male cooking team, great music by the Praise Team, and fantastic fellowship with the women in attendance. I spoke with the large group about Go RED, getting registered online, and going for their heart health check-up as soon as possible. I shared the story of my jou...

The South Central Illinois Heartwalk was held in Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Saturday, April 18, at the Mt. Vernon mall. Holly Torbeck, Mrs. Vandalia International 2010 participated on a team and graciously invited me to attend. It was a fun morning meeting lots of people and hearing several survivor stories. There are such great people in Southern Illinois.My friend and sister queen Randa Allen, Mrs. Midwest International 2009, was also in attendance as the speaker at the opening ceremony for th...

Students at CWCHS participated in their annual Teen Conference today, April 9, 2009. I presented to a wonderful group of young ladies who were interested in information about Go Red! and relationships. The title of our session was "Mean Girls -- Who they are, What they do, and Why."  Learning how to navigate conflict and respond to bullying behavior among female friends is a much needed skill in any young, or even mature, woman's life. In summary, we focused ...

On March 31, 2009, I was invited to the state capital to be introduced during a session of the Illinois House of Representatives. Brandon Phelps, the Representative from my home district, was a wonderful host for the day. I met so many of our legislators and had many opportunities to discuss the ongoing need for Relationship Education curriculums in the schools for our teens.

This school year, I have presented the SMART Education curriculum to 12 different classes at 5 Southern Illinois Schools. SMART Education (Saving Marriages And Relationships Together) is a seven session curriculum that I created and co-authored for The Illinois Baptist Children's Home and Family Services. It teaches teens to evaluate the personal experiences they have had in relationships and helps them to see their own interactions more clearly. Pictured below are the 7th & 8th grade stu...

Upward Sports is a Christian mission designed to reveal the winner in every child. "Every child plays. Every child learns. Every child IS a Winner!" Our Upward Cheerleading & Basketball Season began in January and ends on March 27th with a closing program by the Jesse White Tumbling Team. My cheerleading team, Ambitions, had a great season learning chants, cheers, and a super-fun pom routine. Our team consisted of 6 girls ages 5 to 7. With practices once a week and games on Saturday morni...

Memorable Moments state pageant was held on Saturday, February 28th. My good friend, Jayme Cowling, and I were priviledged to be the judges for the day for all contests ranging from birth to age 18, for boys and girls. Shannon and Mindy run a great pageant and worked very hard on the stage and picture area, which included a Cinderella carriage. All the contestants for the day were fantastically talented and it made our job difficult. Great job everyone!

Helping with the Jump Rope for Heart event at Norris City - Omaha Grade School was a great opportunity to see how much support  our  younger generation has for heart health! They had a great time jumping rope and raised over $2,000.00. Below is a picture of the first grade classes in "mid-jump."

I had the opportunity to meet our area American Heart ...

Today I was able to share information about heart healthy choices with some very young at heart. The assisted-living residents at Brookstone Estates in Harrisburg, IL were very welcoming and I enjoyed myself so much! We talked about the ABC's of heart health and about Go Red. There were many ladies interested in signing up to receive information from Go Red.

Today I was invited to speak at the break between each Upward Basketball game at Star Chuch in Eldorado, IL. This program reaches 12 surrounding communities in 3 Southern Illinois Counties.  I was able to share my platform, Go Red, and my testimony for how God has prepared me in my life to over 400 people throughout the day.

Go Red Day started very early in the morning on Friday, February 6th. Christine Boll, Miss Illinois International 2009 and I met at the Chicago NBC station before 6am.

We were able to meet some very amazing women, Elizabeth and Helen -- both survivors of heart disease -- that share their amazing stories with othe...

A huge thank you goes to the wonderful people who helped with a successful fundraiser for Go Red!

Mary Melton

Sharon Hazley

Margaret Griswold

Sandra Melton

Jayme Cowling

Randa Allen

Terri Karch

Elizabeth Tharp

Nancy Wall

Melinda Thomas

Doug Devore

Lowell Huffstutler

Carla Donoho

Jill Pruitt

Kathryn Cowling

Kristin Pollard

Vanessa Kiser

A very fun afternoon with some real Christmas beauties!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Illinois Beauty Queens supported the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Awareness walk in O'Fallon, Illinois. I was proud to be there with some very lovely and queenly friends!

Pictured are Julie Rineh...

Riding in the Harrisburg High School Homecoming Parade was a very big event. Lots of people were present to cheer on the Bulldogs. I am proud to say that I grew up in Harrisburg and I am purple & white through and through. This homecoming parade and weekend marks mine and my classmates 20 year reunion.

 September 27, 2008 -- Today was the Norris City Dairy Day Parade. The White County, Illinois Queens were there enjoying the parade and looking beautiful.

September 26, 2008 was the Dairy Day Princess, Junior Miss and Miss Pageants. Dairy Day is our hometown festival in the fall season. I was announced for the first time in our community as Mrs Illinois International 2009.