Spring in the Show-Me State

I can’t believe there are less than six weeks left of my year as Miss Missouri. The realization of how quickly time passes when you’re doing something you love has left me trying to fill each day with the new people, places, and opportunities.  Most recently, I have been enjoying traveling everywhere from Webster Groves to Washburn to Waynesville, and everywhere in between!

As part of my partnership with McCallum Place Eating Disorders Treatment Center, I have been fortunate enough to visit Webster Groves High School on multiple occasions this year to promote my platform program, “Portion Distortion:  The Truth about Eating Disorders.”  I spent the day with Mrs. Unterreiner’s Basic Foods and Nutrition classes discussing body image, nutritional habits, healthy decision-making, and the dangers of eating disorders.  Although the students were well-versed on how to maintain a balanced diet, the impact of the information we discussed was apparent.  Most students I speak to are aware of the physical effects of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, but they have no idea how devastating the effects can be.  Through stories, pictures, and testimonial videos, they students are able to view an eating disorder through the affected individual’s eyes to understand that it is not a glorified diet or a quick way to lose a few pounds.  It is a real disease affecting both the body and the mind. The students shared stories of how eating disorders have affected the lives of their family and one student even shared with me her personal struggle with anorexia at the end of the session.  Educating students about the different types of eating disorders and warning signs and teaching them how to get help is the most empowering part of my job as a spokesperson for eating disorders because early intervention saves lives.

My next event focused on life as well…wildlife, that is!  I joined the Missouri Trappers Association in Edina, Missouri for An Evening with Wildlife, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.  I had the opportunity to learn about some of our state’s unique wildlife and ways to preserve it.  As I ventured from booth to booth, I got became the proud new owner of a twig (which promises to someday grow into a red bud tree), pose with the world record non-typical white-tailed deer antlers (the deer was found in St. Louis County and amazingly, wasn’t even hunted!), and hold a black rat snake (which wasn’t quite as comfortable for me as one would think).  I even had the chance to show off my beautiful fur coat as well!  Special thanks to the Trappers for always treating me like royalty and for continuing to teach me new things about Missouri wildlife! I have certainly enjoyed spending the year representing the MTA and appreciate their generous sponsorship of my official autograph headshots.

I checked another box off my “to-do list” when I met with Miss Missouri volunteer, David Pickering, to record my farewell speech.  This was one of the most difficult tasks I have had to face this entire year.  There were so many people to thank for being a crucial part of my year and my life, and it was so difficult to fit it all into my two-minute time limit. But I can’t wait to see the finished product at the Miss Missouri finale!

Speaking of crucial, I finally had some much-needed family time over Easter and enjoyed catching up with everyone, especially my sister, who is still away at Truman State University.  Although we’re finally back living in the same state, our schedules have been so hectic this year, I feel like I have hardly gotten to spend time with her, so Easter did just the trick!  And in case you’re wondering, that’s our puppy, Sadie, and she was excited to see Jenna too.

As you know, one of my favorite parts of the job is my school tour.  But my visit to Hardin Middle School was a special one because it was arranged by my good friend Bailey Jung.  When I competed in the Miss Missouri Pageant for the first time in 2007, Bailey came to cheer me on, and she has been there every step of the way since – she’s my little good luck charm!  So I jumped at the opportunity to visit her at school and share my platform presentation with her classmates.  I owe a big thank you to Mrs. Orlando for a great visit and to Bailey for being such a fabulous tour guide for the day.

My next school visit was to St. Elizabeth-St. Robert School in St. Charles, Missouri.  The day started off with an all-school assembly where I kicked off their annual parish picnic celebration.  With incentives like pizza parties and prizes like a Nintendo Wii and cold, hard cash, the kids were ready to sell raffle tickets to raise money for their school!  I shared my story of how being Miss Missouri is all about making a difference in my community and encouraged them to make a difference in theirs too, beginning with being role models in their school.  I then spoke to the junior high students in greater detail about the importance of role models.  With celebrities often  in the media for making bad decisions, we discussed what it means to be human and that everyone makes mistakes, but it is important to learn from those mistakes and live with a forgiving heart rather than a judgmental one.  The kids shared some of their favorite celebrity role models with me, and then we talked about how they act as role models in their school and community.  I shared the four points of my crown with them:  scholarship, style, success, and service, and how they apply to everyone who wants to be a role model, not just a beauty queen. 

I visited the classrooms of the younger students and signed autographs and passed around my crown.  I was amazed at how many future Miss Missouri’s I met, because the crown was a perfect fit on so many of the students heads J Afterward, I had lunch with two students from every grade, selected by their home room teachers for outstanding merit.  We dined on Bosco sticks (one of my favorite grade school lunches!) and had a chance to chat one-on-one about what they’re learning in school, their hobbies, and everything they wanted to know about being Miss Missouri.  I can’t wait to for the weekend of June 5^th and 6^th, when I will be hosting their SESR Parish Picnic, and performing my final duties as Miss Missouri 2009.

Springfield was the next stop on the map, where I joined Miss Gateway to the West, Katy Reed, for a day full of activities. Our morning started out at Reed Middle School with an event sponsored just for the girls by the Girl Scouts. I had the opportunity to welcome the girls and speak to them about the Miss America Organization and what it means to be a role model in society today, with an emphasis on taking care of the earth responsibly. Katy and I led a “Go Green” activity where the students were divided into groups and relay-raced their way to recycling everyday household items. Afterward, we brainstormed ways the girls can be leaders in the movement to go green by using aluminum water bottles rather than plastic ones and fabric shopping bags rather than paper or plastic ones. It was a wonderful opportunity to pitch not only the “Green is Gorgeous” platform Miss America has adopted this year in collaboration with Nature’s Bottles, but also the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Organization. Hopefully we met a future MMOT in the bunch!

Next, Katy and I headed to the Missouri State University campus to film a television interview for Ozark News Journal, where Katy spends much of her time as a broadcast journalism major. With Katy asking the questions and me in the hot seat, we made quite the pair as we discussed the Miss America Organization, my platform work with eating disorders awareness, the Children’s Miracle Network, and my quest for the Miss America crown. Finally, we rounded out our day at Cox Children’s Hospital in Springfield, were we had the chance to visit the pediatric ward as ambassadors of the Children’s Miracle Network.  We didn’t have many patients to visit with, but this made me so happy because it meant they had received the love and care needed to return home and live the life of a healthy child.  We visited with 6 month old Peyton, a little girl with a big smile from Joplin, Missouri. Peyton had spent over a month in the hospital and had undergone cranial and brain surgeries, but she was all smiles for us as we spent time with her before she headed home later that day. I owe a very special thank you to Cox Hospital and to Katy Reed for arranging the visit and welcoming me so warmly.  I enjoyed my day in Springfield and am so proud of the amazing work our local Missouri title holders are doing to promote the Miss Missouri Organization and the Children’s Miracle Network.

Miss Missouri has a long-standing relationship with Variety, the Children’s Charity, and I was so proud to represent our organization as Miss Missouri this year after first becoming involved with Variety as Miss Gateway St. Louis in 2008. Variety has been helping children with physical and mental disabilities reach their full potential for more than 75 years.  Saturday morning, I was introduced on the main stage as a guest of honor, alongside the President of Variety, David Steward, and other celebrity guests, including the 2008 winner of America’s Got Talent, Neal E. Boyd.  I rode in the parade through downtown St. Louis in style (a Viper!), but the truly incredible part was watching the Variety kids taking part in the parade.  Some road on floats, some waved from inside cars, and some took to the parade route in wheelchairs and walkers, all so excited and proud to be a part of this experience.  The Variety kids are such an inspiration to work with and a constant reminder of the accomplishment of overcoming obstacles.

I could have stayed all day and spent time with the Variety kids and volunteers, but duty called me to Washburn, Missouri, to the Southwest Little Theater for the 2010 Angel Awards just a few hours later. So I headed to the southwestern corner of the state where I met the junior high and high school students of the Southwest R-V School District drama department, led by Mr. Wyatt Hester.  The show started with a comedic skit starring senior actor Devon Munday (and yours truly!)…then the real show began. The actors presented a series of comedic skits, with some monologues and dramatic scenes in between.  I performed the routine I won Miss Missouri with – a musical theater tap to “A Wild, Wild Party” and emceed the Angel Awards, recognizing students for their theatrical achievements with awards like Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, and Best Production.  Congratulations to all the members of the Southwest Little Theater group for a fabulous show and for their hard work all year, and to Mr. Hester and the SLT patrons for inviting me to be a part of the event and continuing the decade-old tradition of having Miss Missouri as their host.

The next day, my mom and I headed to Waynesville, Missouri, to watch Waynesville High School’s production of Romeo and Juliet.  It was great to be back at WHS, as I have spoken there about my platform for the past 3 years, but this time I was there for a very different reason.  My cousin Aaron, a sophomore at WHS, was starring in the production as Romeo! Though this was his first play ever, he is no stranger to the spotlight, as he is quite musically inclined and involved in the marching band and music competitions.  But on a whim, he auditioned for the play and landed the leading role.  Aaron did a fabulous job as Romeo, and I couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishments. Congratulations for the entire cast for putting on a fantastic production and for the continued hospitality of Waynesville High School!

I had another special school visit the following week, to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, Missouri.  My Miss Missouri Little Sister, Annie Farrell, is in the fifth grade at ASH so I enjoyed visiting her at school and the chance to speak to the fifth and sixth grade girls about body image, self-esteem, and self-respect.  A very special thank you to the Academy for a great visit and the time spent with the young ladies!

Later in the week, I headed to Columbia to meet with the KRCG marketing team to recruit sponsorships for the 2010 Miss Missouri Pageant “Behind the Scenes” documentary.  The program will feature clips of the contestants from orientation, pageant week activities, and prelims.  We visited over 13 businesses in Columbia and Mexico and I am so excited to work with the KRCG team to film the promotions, commercials, pageant, and documentary – and to see the finished product! Be sure to tune in KRCG and its sister stations in Quincy/Hannibal and Kirksville to see the promotions for the pageant beginning this month.

My next school visit was to Kennerly Elementary in Sappington, Missouri, where I visited two more special friends, Jake and Brady Lange, and their classmates.  I spoke at an all-school assembly about the power of setting goals, working hard to achieve them, and making good decisions.  Thanks to all the students for their excellent listening and very thought-provoking questions. One of the more interesting questions from my visit was from a second-grade little boy who, after the assembly dispersed, tracked me down to find out, “How many grams of fiber are in vegetables?”  Well, the number of grams of fiber is different for each type of vegetable, I told him.  “But what about broccoli?”  Turns out he’s been listening to his parents tell him to eat his veggies, and was curious as to the validity of his mother telling him how good broccoli was good for him.  I have to admit, I’ll forever remember him every time I get a heaping helping of broccoli on my dinner plate!

I also visited Brady’s third grade classroom and students had the chance to ask me more one-on-one questions – everything from “How much money do you make when you’re Miss Missouri?” to “How do you keep that crown on your head?”  In Jake’s first grade classroom, the students had similar questions (and plenty of personal stories to share as well!) and we read a book about a man after my heart, a tap dancing grandpa called The Song and Dance Man!  Many thanks to Jake and Brady’s parents for setting up my visit and to Ms. Christopher, Principal of Kennerly Elementary, for ensuring I had a great day!

After much anticipation, I FINALLY had the chance to go to my first Cardinals game of the season that Friday night, against the Cincinnati Reds, and I couldn’t wait!! Those of you who know me (and probably even some of you who don’t!) know how big of a Cards fan I am. Even though the weather forecast that evening was nothing but thunderstorms, I wasn’t going to miss the game…especially since it was Cardinals Snuggie giveaway night!  I enjoyed as much of the game as possible in the seats, and then headed for cover to watch the game from the big screen. No amount of rain was going to keep me from my Molina!  After a very long rain delay, and finally scoring some trash bags to wear as ponchos as we made a run back to the car, I was disappointed to learn that the game eventually restarted and the Cards lost 2-3.  But I had so much fun and it was great to see my Redbirds back in action – can’t wait for more games this summer!

As I finish out my last few weeks as Miss Missouri 2009, I will be staying busier than ever and spending time with the people who made my year such a success – the board members, volunteers, family, and friends who have helped me along the way.  Be sure to check back soon for more pictures and stories!

 Love, Tara

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