Ashley's Talent Show

Today, May 28th, I attended Ashley's Talent Show at Kennedy Elementary School.  Ashley is my little sister through the Big Brother's Big Sister's Organization and I absolutely love spending time with her.  I meet with her for one hour every week during the school day and yesterday when I was with her at recess, she asked me if I was coming to her talent show.  I was so thrilled that she had signed up with a few of her friends to participate in the school wide talent show.  She plays the violin.  She did such a great job.  It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of a large crowd and perform a talent and she did it in 5th grade! I'm so proud of her!  Over this past year my relationship with Ashley has truly blossomed and I encourage anyone and everyone to look into becoming a "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" yourself.  If it wasn't for the Big Brother's Big Sister's Organization I would have never met Ashley.  We have really became apart of each other's lives.  This program is proven to help children become more confident in themselves and with their school work.  It it proven that children within this program are less likely to use alcohol or participate in substance abuse. They are less likely to skip school and have better relationships with their friends and family.  All these outcomes are made possible by simply being a friend with someone else.  There is a child who wants to be your friend, there are over 800 children on the waiting list for a Big Brother or Big Sister within a 10 county radius.  Help that number decrease and become a mentor yourself.

Always,
Bethany Beniek      

Coco & Chloe Fashion Show

Last night, May 24th, I attedended the Coco & Chloe Fashion show located at Majors in Bloomington.  I was one of the many Miss Minnesota Contestants to model some of the fabulous outfits.  Coco & Chloe is a company that focuses on designing clothing for all ages that are comfortable for sleep wear and playing sports.  They even sell purses, jewelery and dresses.  This was my first fashion show experience and I had a blast, and I got some walking practice for Miss Minnesota!  The great thing about this event was that Coco & Chloe was donating 10% of all sales that evening to the Children's Miracle Network.

Majors was rather hot with the temperature being 90 degrees outside! There was no air conditioning so all of the models were holding their hair up in the back and drinking a lot of water.  Once the show started we forgot about the heat and walked to the fun, upbeat Lady Gaga music.  We were told that "we aren't in New York, so smile and have fun when modeling your outfits" and that's exactly what I did.  I always had a smile on my face and really tried to sell the outfit I was wearing.  My favorite outfit that I modeled was a yellow dress that had a tie around the waist.

It was great seeing a lot of the contestants again and when I left I realized that this is the last time I will see anyone until we CHECK IN for MISS MINNESOTA week!! Only 18 days until we check in, can you believe it?!

I have so much more to do and my schedule is filled to the max these next 18 days.  Wouldn't have it any other way :-)

Always,
Bethany Beniek     

Feed My Starving Children, Fashion Rehearsal and Saluting Veterans

This past week has been jam packed with appearances, driving and pageant preparations!  This past Thursday I volunteered with Brooke (Miss Minnesota), Kathryn (Miss Twin Cities), Samantha (Miss Mankato) and the entire cast of Footloose at the "Feed My Starving Children" facility in Chanhassen.  It was a fun filled experience!  The moment we arrived we all had to put on hair nets that were very attractive :-) Samantha has a great photo of us in our hair nets so stay tuned to her blog to check out that photo!

When I arrived I didn't know what to expect.  I had never volunteered for "Feed My Starving Children" before.  This program is 100% volunteer based.  It provides food for starving children around the entire world.  At this time they are focusing on sending the packaged food to Haiti because of all the hardship that has occured in that area.  Over 18,000 children die a day from starvation.  This statistic is very sad and I am so thrilled that there are progams like this that are helping children in need.

Once we all watched a video about the program we headed into the packaging room where we spent and hour and half packaging bags of food.  It was a BLAST! I was on an assembly line with the pageant ladies and we talked the entire time.  Brooke of course was dreading the idea of giving up her title in a few short weeks!  There were several assembly lines and it started to become a competition who could package the most boxes.  We were a competitive team, but I think we came in second.

  
The photo above is the amount of boxes that our group packaged. We packaged 62 boxes that contains 13,392 meals in them.  This would feed 37 children for a year.  I'm so proud of everyone who volunteered that day.  I really feel like we made a difference.

That same evening was the Fashion Show Rehearsal! There are many local title holders attending this fashion show and all the clothing is funky and fresh you simply must come check it out this coming Monday, located at Majors in Bloomington.  The music is fun and upbeat and it is a Children's Miracle Network Fundraiser.  Although rehearsal went late into the evening, the other contestants and I got giggly and had a great time.

Today, May 22nd, I ran in the "Old Glory Run" located in Cold Spring which benefited disabled veterans.  I sang the National Anthem with the color guard.  It was amazing seeing all the veterans and soldiers salute to me during the entire song.  I have to say I was not only proud to be an American, but it helped me remember how thankful I am for every person who is currently serving and who has served for our nation.

Of course these past few days have been gorgeous outside so the one time that I get to be outside it rains.  It rained for about an hour this morning and we had to pospone the run because of lightning.  It didn't rain for too long and it stopped raining completely before the race.  There was no need in doing my hair that morning, it was drenched by the time I sang the National Anthem.  I didn't wear my crown and sash because I didn't want to get it wet from the rain, but the anouncer still introduced me as Miss Moorhead so I was thrilled to represent the Miss Minnsota Organization!

This is my hair before the rain, with a current soldier

My hair after the rain, singing the National Anthem

These next few weeks are so busy, my schedule is packed to the max.  I take one day at a time and I know Miss Minnesota week will be here before we know it!

Always,
Bethany Beniek 

Fishing to Miss USA

Ever since I started competing within the Miss America Organization I have made it a goal of mine to reach out to as many young women as possible to compete within this system.  I thought to myself how could I possibly do this?  After brainstorming and brainstorming I realized the best way to reach out is to simply be myself.  I want to show everyone that the women competing in the Miss America Organization are real women.  Women who are exciting, artistic, athletic, intelligent, and involved individuals.

One of my favorite hobbies is fishing.  I just got back from fishing this weekend during fishing opener.  I don't want to brag, but I caught the most walleye on the boat this year! I made up for last year when I caught the least.  I love fishing for sun fish, crappies, perch, and walleye. Yes, I bait and unhook my own fish :-) Many people are so surprised that I am a "Pageant Girl" and like to fish.  I want to prove that yes I compete in pageants and that I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.  Who says a "Pageant Girl" needs to be afraid of bugs or disgusted by touching a fish.  I personally love fishing and believe me, I'm a biology major, I do much worse things in lab than simply touching a fish.  As Miss Moorhead I want to let other women who may like to fish know that you can try and compete in pageants too!  You don't have to be the stereotypical "Girlie Girl" to compete in pageants. Look on the Miss Minnesota Organization website to see what local pageant is nearest you   http://www.missminnesota.org/ .  Now this is only one example to show that we contestants are not only worried about our looks, but we have lives and have fun too :-)

On the topic of pageants, I just finished watching the Mss USA Pageant owned and run by Donald Trump.  Many people don't even realize that there are two completely different pageants televised.  Miss America (the pageant system that I compete in and televised in January) and Miss USA (the Donald Trump owned system and televised in May).  I cannot stress enough how badly I want to raise awareness of the differences between the two pageants!  The America System has five areas of competition, interview, talent, evening wear, swim wear, and on-stage question.  The USA system competes in three areas of competition, interview, evening wear and swim wear.  As a personal opinion I do feel that both pageant systems create outstanding opportunities for women, but I do feel that the USA system is mainly focused on looks and beauty while the America system is more focused on the entire individual.  I think the racy photos released by this years Miss USA contestans is giving all pageants a bad image.  It's the publicity of the Miss USA stories that stick in people's mind and competely put pageants down. I still have people within my life who don't think "it's right" to compete in pageants.  They say that it's "demeening to women."  What these people lack is knowledge of the Miss America Organization.  I want to sit down and have conversations with these individuals and explain to them that because of the Miss America Organization I have become a better person by becoming more involved in my community, more aware of important issues, and more confident within my daily life.  So many opportunities and doors have been opened for me because of the Miss America Organization.  Let's not forget the scholarships provided!  I'm a student and we all know how important scholarships are valued especially during this economic time.  Please visit the Miss America Organization website http://www.missamerica.org/  and read about what Caressa Cameron, our current Miss America, has been doing this past year.  Read about the amount of scholarship provided to the women competing.  The Miss America Organization has without a doubt changed my life and I will forever be an advocate for spreading awareness of it's outstanding opportinities.  Please help me educate others by telling them how life changing the Miss America Organization is.

Always,
Bethany Beniek       

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

On Sunday May 9th (Mother's Day) I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  I honestly don't know how I can put this experience into words.  It was one of the most emotional and memorable experiences of my life!

The race took place in Bloomington, right outside of the Mall of America.  I woke up bright and early to be there by 6:45AM, the race began at 7:30AM.  I registered and recieved my race day T-Shirt, which I think is super cute!  Everyone pinned on their race numbers and wrote out pink "In Memory of" or "In Celebration of" cards and also pinned those on their shirts.  I wrote mine, "In Celebration of my Mother on Mother's Day."  When I walked outside into the parking lot there were many tents set up across the entire parking lot.  I walked around a little bit before the race and picked up quite a few free items.  They were also handing out cancer awareness handkerchiefs that everyone wore on different parts of their body.  Some wrapped it around their legs, some around their neck, others around their heads.  I decided to wrap it around my arm :-)

I walked down to where the race was going to start.  Over 7,500 people ran in the 5K Race for the Cure and over 50,000 people attended the 5K Walk for the Cure making this event the Second Largest Race for the Cure IN THE NATION! I was so thrilled to be apart of this event.  Way to go Minnesota for being so supportive of such an outstanding cause!  Breast cancer runs on my mother's side of the family and I have always been taught the importance of preventing breast cancer.  My aunt is a breast cancer survivor!

After the singing of the National Anthem the hosts from KARE 11 gave us the countdown.  The race began! I didn't even have to listen to my iPod at all because there were bands and music along the race path.  There were cheerleaders and families cheering us on and giving us high fives.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of support that was given at this race and I couldn't help but tear up several times while I was running.  One of the most memorable parts of the race was when we all were running through the tunnel and everyone started yelling and screaming with joy! Everyone's voices echoed throughout the tunnel!  I smiled, looked up and joined in with all the shouting.

I ran the whole way and shaved off two minutes from my previous 5K.  I'm no long distance runner so my times are nothing to get excited over, I'm just proud I ran the whole way without stopping :-)  Overall this was an incredible experience.  I would suggest anyone and everyone to participate in something like this.  I will never forget it.

I got this photo from http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=850305 check it out if you want to see more pictures from the day

My next 5K is on May 22, which benefits disabled veterans.  It's called the "Old Glory Run."  I will be kicking off the event by singing the National Anthem.  It is such an honor to sing our National Anthem and if you want to hear me sing, or perhaps run in the race with me, please visit http://www.curtkarls.com/TheOldGloryRun/home.html to register! It would be great seeing you there.

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by.  Before we know it, it will be June 12th and I will be checking into the hotel for Miss Minnesota Week!!

Always,
Bethany Beniek     

CMN Walk

On Saturday, May 1st, I attended the Children's Miracle Network(CMN) Walk located at Como Park in St. Paul.  This was my second year attending this event.  A lot of local title holders came to support CMN and I always love catching up with everyone and getting to know the other contestants better :-)

I arrived at 8:30am and immediately saw Brooke, Miss Minnesota, signing autographs for everyone.  Once all the contestants arrived, the camaras came out and I think we posed for about 50 different camaras.  There were hundreds of people who came to support CMN and many of them being families of patients at Gillette's Childrens Hospital.  One little girl I remembered was "Anna Banana," a patient at Gillette's who was wearing a bright yellow shirt with a big banana on it.  What I found funny was that she was eating an apple.  I laughed and told her, "How can Anna Banana be eating an Apple?!" She giggled and looked at her shirt :-)

When the walk began all the title holders stuck together and walked around the lake.  It was really relaxing walking around the beautiful lake and getting caught up with everyone.  It turned out to be a really nice day and I was so thrilled to of been apart of the event again.

May 1st also marked the first day of my "$1 Donation Fundraiser" for CMN.  For the entire month of May I will be carrying around a beautifully hand crafted box to accept $1 donations in.  I will let everyone know about CMN and hopfully touch them enough to donate $1.  The motive behind this fundraiser is to raise money without hurting anyone's bank accounts.  I know it's difficult to raise money with the economy being the way it is, but I'm hoping to find enough individuals to donate $1 to reach my goal of $1,500.

Please consider donating $1 for an outstanding cause!  You can securely donate online by clicking on the link below.

http://www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx?i=9703E6+A65A0B7

This is my last week of class.  I have four finals and then I'm done with school on Friday!  Once school is over I can really focus on preparing for Miss Minnesota and reaching my goal for the Children's Miracle Network!

Always,
Bethany Beniek