The Final Lap
Well…I’m on the last leg of my journey as Miss Missouri 2009, and what a year it has been! I cannot believe how quickly time passes when you’re filling your days with the things you’re most passionate about. But before I get too sappy, let me fill you in on my last batch of adventures.
I had a chance to brush up on my golf skills recently at the Missouri Western State University Celebrity Golf Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. Missouri celebrities like former Kansas City Royal Jeff Montgomery, former Kansas City Chief Art Still, and I had the opportunity to golf with the dozens of teams gathered to raise money for the YWCA Shelter for abused and homeless women in greater St. Joseph and the MWSU Athletics Department. Art and Jeff each paired up with a team as the celebrity golfer in the four-man scramble, while I was stationed at Hole 1 as the celebrity putter for the two days of the tournament. You would imagine that after two straight days of putting at the same hole, I would be getting pretty good, but I learned that golf is much harder than it looks! I did surprise myself (and the teams!) with my skills more than I anticipated, and I think that next time, I’ll be ready to try teeing off.
After wrapping up each day at the Moila Country Club golf course, the golfers, volunteers, and celebrities gathered for an evening event. From live and silent auctions to award ceremonies, an abundance of funds and awareness for the Shelter were raised. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the people of St. Joseph, Missouri, and learned a thing or two from them too! Ever heard of noodling? You’ll have to ask to hear that story, but it made my trip to the Golf Classic one I won’t soon forget!
I headed back home to St. Charles to get ready for my good friend Katie’s wedding at St. Cletus Church. Katie and I have been friends since high school, as members of the cheerleading squad and dance team, and she has been one of my biggest cheerleaders since I became involved in the Miss Missouri Organization. Now it was my turn to cheer for her on her big day! After a beautiful Mass followed by a night of fabulous food, music, and dancing, I am proud to congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Gerwel on their marriage!
If I thought that flash back to high school felt like ages ago, I was sure in for a surprise when I was invited to speak at a DARE graduation for the fifth graders at Mid Rivers Elementary. Their presiding DARE Officer, Tom Forgue, was celebrating his last graduation (57 over the course of 17 years as a DARE Officer!) before retiring from the St. Peters Police Department. Of those 17 years of service, I am proud to have called Officer Forgue a role model, mentor, and friend for 16 of them. When I began the DARE Program as part of my third grade curriculum at Sts. Joachim and Ann, Officer Forgue was my instructor. Over the years, I have been honored to speak as a DARE Role Model to younger classes, apply my knowledge when I served as a mentor for juveniles in drug rehabilitation at Preferred Family Health Care in Northeast, Missouri, and to speak on behalf of the program during my school tour as Miss Missouri this year. Officer Forgue has had an enormous impact on my life, and it I couldn’t have been prouder to deliver a speech on the importance of self-esteem, respect, and the power of making positive choices to the fifth grade DARE graduates. Over a dozen police officers from the St. Louis area were present to support and congratulate Officer Forgue on his service and dedication to DARE. Best wishes, Officer Forgue, on your retirement, and many thanks for the thousands of lives you have touched during your years of service!
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri sponsored P.A.V.E. – Project Anti-Violence Education Rally in downtown St. Louis at Kiener Plaza. Over 700 Girl Scouts attended the rally, where I spoke to them about the “Uniquely Me” Program, promoting self-esteem, self-respect, and developing a healthy lifestyle, giving them the opportunity to earn a badge! Afterward, we enjoyed special performances by Miss River City – Erin Bagby and Miss Metro St. Louis – Claire Thorpe-Klinsky, motivational speeches by troop leaders, the biggest dance party I’ve ever attended, and an endless supply of Girl Scout cookie samples. Needless to say, I was in heaven! I signed hundreds of autographs and took pictures with the girls, and we had a chance for some “girl talk,” discussing the types of pressures they feel at school every day and ways to be a positive role model in their communities. Thank you so much to Mary Ann Owens for arranging my visit and for one of the most memorable appearances of my year!
As the state’s goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network, I have found myself doing everything from making Blizzards at Dairy Queen to flipping pancakes at IHOP to making friendship bracelets with pediatric hospital patients this year. My most recent CMN endeavor took me back to Mexico, Missouri, to fundraise at Wal-Mart, a proud corporate sponsor of CMN. Alongside the CMN team from the University of Missouri-Columbia Children’s Hospital and Wal-Mart associates, I helped sell root beer floats, sign autographs, and collect donations to raise money for the Children’s Hospital. My very first appearance as Miss Missouri last June was at the exact same Wal-Mart. So it was quite fitting to find myself back at the Mexico Wal-Mart, working the check-out lines once again, almost one year later, but all in the name of the CMN kids. Things really do come full circle, as they say!
Even though I joke that being Miss Missouri is far from the glamour you might expect, I did get to feel like a bit of a movie star, as I filmed the Miss Missouri commercial promoting the pageant and the city of Mexico! This year’s Miss Missouri Pageant will be broadcast on KRCG, along with a 30 minute “behind the scenes” documentary featuring the contestants, preliminary competitions, and one-on-one interviews, so the board and I had the chance to spend the entire day with the KRCG team, which just built up the anticipation for pageant week! From the Historical Society to Presser Hall to the front gate of the Missouri Military Academy, the commercial highlights some Mexico favorites, which have truly become a second home to me this year! After wrapping the Miss Missouri commercial, we headed to Melody’s Quality Jewelry on the square to film a commercial for her store. Not only does Melody provide Miss Missouri with a gorgeous pearl necklace each year (I can’t stop wearing mine!), but she also graciously sponsored the 30 minute documentary, and wanted to feature us in her commercial! Keep your eye out for both – you’ll see some familiar pageant faces! Big thank you to Susie, Deb, and Jimmy from KRCG and to Linda, Susan, Alice, and Dana from Mexico for being a part of the day!
Have you ever experienced pure pandemonium? I thought I had until I made a trip to Parkway Northeast Middle School recently to speak to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students as part of my school tour. Since it was my final school visit as Miss Missouri, it was a bittersweet day for me, but they made sure I had the time of my life! 802 autographs, 567 hugs, 343 Facebook friend requests, and just one bottle of water later, I was spent. But I had so much fun sharing my message of goal setting, perseverance, and making positive decisions with the students, and having the chance to chat with so many of them. I had a question and answer segment at the end of each presentation, as I always do, and the kids really kept me on my toes for this one. Everywhere I go, I always get asked my age, which I usually don’t mind answering because most people think I’m 5 years younger than I actually am…hey, I’ll appreciate that someday! You can imagine, then, my shock when one of the boys was telling everyone I was 40 years old. All I could think was – Is it my hair do? My outfit? Are my jokes dorky?!?! Turns out, it was none of the above. He had read on my autograph sheet about the 40th Anniversary, and instead of finishing the sentence to see that it was referring to the pageant being held in Mexico, he assumed it meant the 40th anniversary of my birth. Young minds never cease to amaze me!
I owe a big thank you to Amber Jansson (and Mr. Sachs!) for arranging my visit, acting as my tour guide for the day and especially for the pizza party at lunch!
I traveled to Fort Leonard Wood for the second time this year to partake in the military base’s annual Safety Day Fair, promoting good health and injury prevention on base. After a tour of the entire base, I had the chance to speak to the troops and thank them for their service to our country each day. These men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice by fighting for our freedom, and to be able to partake some of their daily activities opened my eyes to a whole new world. One of the most interesting parts of my visit was drown-proofing with the troops. In full military fatigues, the privates jumped into the pool and learned how to use their jackets and pants as flotation devices, how to swim the length of an Olympic-sized pool holding a rifle above their head, and what it’s like to jump off a high dive blind folded with a regulation military weapon. I was supposed to join them in this activity, but due to scheduling conflicts, I had to settle for watching from the sidelines. But I thought it looked like so much fun that they invited me back to join the troops for basic training at 0500 one morning, and I’m going to take them up on this offer!!
At the fair, I met with General Quantock and his wife and daughter, where I learned a little more about life as a military family and some of their personal experiences. We later joined Miss Pulaski County, Miss Texas County, and their Outstanding Teens for lunch at Tony’s and had the opportunity to teach General Quantock about what the Miss America Organization is all about. Thank you to Chris Billadeau for hosting my visit, to my Aunt Ginger and cousin Aaron for accompanying me on the event, and to all our military troops at home and abroad for their dedication and service.
In the last days before I give up my crown came to a close, I wanted to spend a day with the very first person I got to share the moment of being named Miss Missouri 2009 with – my Miss Missouri Little Sister, Annie Farrell. Annie and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at Applebee’s, caught up on pageant and school gossip, and talked about our year together. Afterward, we headed to the nail salon to get a pedicure together in preparation for the pageant! I’ve said before that we have a very special sisterhood, because it spans much longer than most others. I have known Annie since she was born, and she has been a part of my life for many important occasions. I’m so proud to be her big sis and to watch her grow into the beautiful young lady she has become, and if she’ll entertain the idea, I’m convinced I see a Miss Missouri crown in her future someday.
My very last appearance as Miss Missouri took place in my hometown of St. Charles, at the St. Elizabeth/St. Robert Parish Picnic. I kicked off the parade activities at the SESR School back in April, so I was excited to join them for their parade and to sign autographs for the day. I also helped out at the Cake Walk booth and even got to go for a ride on the swings with a fabulous group of third grade girls! After the thousands of miles I’ve traveled across the state and beyond this year, finding myself back at home among so many familiar faces was the perfect note to end on.
Now, I find myself caught in between piles of things – shoes, clothes, jewelry, photos, and sparkles – as I attempt to pack, just one last time, for the Miss Missouri Pageant in Mexico. The contestants and I will arrive to the Missouri Military Academy on Sunday and dive straight into meetings and rehearsals, with a nice break for a golf tournament on Sunday afternoon. Our week is jam-packed with events, and I can’t wait to watch the week unfold. I’ll be posting updates, pictures, Facebooking, and Twittering from the pageant all week, so be sure to check back often for the latest behind-the-scenes scoop!
And if you’d like to meet the young women I’ve been blogging about all year and see for yourself what Miss Missouri is all about, be sure to stop by Mexico June 9-12 to watch the competition. Tickets are available at the Mexico Chamber of Commerce and range from $6-12 for general admission. Celebrating “Forty and Fabulous,” we sure hope to see you there!
Love,
Tara
