Miss Heart contestants at Miss Spirit of the State

If you are interested in becoming a contestant at other open pageants, please contact the Executive Director of that pageant to see if there are openings left.

Miss Spirit of the State has booked all of the Miss Heart contestants who contacted Noddea last week, so please do not email Miss Spirit for an application.

Best of luck to former Miss Heart contestant, Jodi Beckman at Miss Ludington this weekend, and to several former Miss Heart contestants at Miss Capital City and the other pageants happening soon!

Changes at Miss Heart

If you have not heard yet, Michael and Loretta will be stepping down from Miss Heart. Creekside Grains has grown so quickly that we need to spend our time keeping up with the business.

If you are interested in becoming a Miss America preliminary contestant, please go to the Miss Michigan web site and look for a local pageant in your area, or one of several open pageants throughout the state.

We will miss the time spent with our Miss Heart of Michigan contestants, but look forward to seeing you when we visit Miss Spirit of the State in January.

Katie and Katie

Please pray for two of our favorite Katie's,
as they go on a long journey.

Katie LaRoche will be leaving Saturday
for a year long world travel adventure.
She will be representing One World One Future, which she founded.
One World One Future is an organization run by a group of ambitious women determined to help their brothers and sisters around the world that are unjustifiably facing a life of slavery.

Follow her adventures on www.oneworldonefuture.org

We pray for safety for Katie!


Our other special Katie was a Little Sweetheart Princess
at Miss Heart of Michigan this past February.

Katie will have open heart surgery the week of Thanksgiving.

You can follow Katie's journey on her blog.

www.katiesheartjourney.com

We pray for God's healing hand over Katie and His peace for her family.

Prayers, please

I just received this email from Laura Bloomensaat.

I just wanted to let our pageant family know that Stephanie Frey, Miss Washtenaw 2008, and former Miss Kalamazoo, Shoreline and Lighthouse Coast was hospitalized this past weekend.
She has a brain tumor and will have surgery to remove it on Friday morning.

I will try to keep people posted as we know more.

Stephanie was First Runner Up for Miss Heart 2010.

If you would like to send Stephanie a card, her address is 11970 Jordan Rd, Saline MI 48176.

Please keep Stephanie and her family in our prayers.

Missy at Miss Michigan

Missy spent her first full day in Muskegon in rehearsals for Miss Michigan.

More rehearsals tomorrow!

We know she will have a great week!

Off to Muskegon

I will be in Muskegon on Saturday and Sunday
to get Missy checked in for Miss Michigan week.

Michael will arrive on Wednesday to watch the prelims.

Best of luck to Missy!

Off to Muskegon

Missy and I are on our way to Muskegon for Miss Lighthouse Coast Pageant and Miss Michigan Orientation. I look forward to spending time with Missy and seeing all of the Miss Heart ladies who will be competing at Miss Lighthouse. They were Runners Up at other pageants, so will get a chance to compete one more time for Miss Michigan.

I am so excited to be able to cheer for a bunch of contestants! It will be a fun evening and a great time with Missy.

Missy comes to Traverse City

What a busy two weeks it has been!
On Friday after Miss Heart, Missy drove to Traverse City for
a television interview on ABC 29 and 8,
then stopped downtown to visit all of the Miss Heart sponsors,
then came to the office for a few hours of official portraits,
then drove back home, all in one day!
This involves a four hour drive each way,
so we are so grateful that Missy was able to accomplish this for Miss Heart.

Missy did have some fun along the way!
The merchants were thrilled to see her,
the television interview went great
and we loved photographing her.
We cannot wait to get her back to Traverse City
for more portraits with her evening gown and more places to visit.

This is one of many favorite portraits of Missy.

Congratulations to Missy Brown!

Congratulations to Missy Brown, our new Miss Heart 2011!
Missy will be a wonderful addition to our new Heart family.

Every year, it gets better.
Every year, God sends us the most incredible young women.
They blew me away tonight!
Grace, charm, beauty, talent (amazing talent), it's all there!

We are so proud to be a part of this family and
so glad that we gained 19 more daughters.

Congratulations to all Miss Heart contestants!

Insight from Katie LaRoche

Katie will always hold a special place in our Miss Heart hearts! Here is an insight that she shared with us...Katie will be our special guest for Miss Heart of Michigan on February 12. Join us!

My performance on 1/11/11 for the preliminary portion of the competition for the title of Miss America happened to fall on National Human Trafficking Awareness day, an awesome coincidence. You can watch it through this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgrnA0SlOYo&NR=1

Lying on the floor inside the dance studio of my youth, I am mentally and physically exhausted. Memories from within the walls merge with challenges of the present as I struggle to catch my breath. My mind races as interview prep spins through my head. Should Julian Assange be tried for treason? Should we allow a mosque to be built on ground zero? What is the greatest challenge facing our nation’s youth? Then my focus shifts. Ryan’s corrections of my dance routine surface. “Point your toes. Change your focus. Softer there. Stronger there. That arm is ugly; we need to fix it.”

“Okay, enough thinking,” I tell myself. “Get up and do it one more time… you need to run through your dance one more time…” I’m almost too tired to peel my body off the floor, but I get up. I do it once more.

Looking back, I suppose preparing for the 10 days I spent in Las Vegas competing for the title of Miss America was a lot of work, but it hardly felt like it at the time. Truth be told, that was probably because I was enjoying it in the deepest part of my being. I had been given an excuse to dance, to study world issues, and to speak to organization after organization on a topic I am passionate about: the imminence of compassion and our ability as individuals to make this world a better place, whether they choose to focus on human trafficking or another issue close to their heart.

I could never have imagined that I would get the opportunity to use all of the years spent in my little studio in Bay City—Perry Woodard School of Dance—as a powerful tool in sharing an important message of reality coupled with hope. The piece I performed on the Miss America stage this January was an artistic expression of my journey coming to understand the injustice taking place in our world. Every single movement in the routine has a story, a name, and a face, and each time I am given the opportunity to perform it, I am hardly in the room. My mind takes me back to the villages, to the slums, to the people from different corners of the world that have changed my perspective on life. My body continues to move with a strange out-of-body strength, as I once again look deep into the beautiful eyes of those facing an unfair life filled with suffering and challenges that are unimaginable and unjustifiable. Starving children; people living in shacks with no beds, showers, or stoves; children's brothels operating in broad daylight. There is a great deal going on in our world that need not be, and it has been a blessing to be able to use music and dance to give others a glimpse of its reality and maybe, just maybe, inspire a few to take action.

The experience competing for the title of Miss America and spending time with these young women from across our nation was truly incredible. It is always a blessing to share a piece of yourself with a group of strangers, but to share it with a group of inspiring, kind, internally beautiful and driven women was beyond words.

May Every Sunrise Hold More Promise,

And Every Sunset Hold More Peace.

~Blessing~

Miss Heart Tickets

Miss Heart tickets are now available.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Please call 231-947-6655 or 800-417-2822
to place your order with Visa or Mastercard.

You may also email your order and mail a check.
j701@freeway.net.

We will send a reply that we received the order,
plus provide the address for you to send the check.

Tickets will be held in Will Call.

We look forward to a great evening!

Katie Did It!

Katie LaRoche is the winner of the 2011 Quality of Life Award for her platform of Raising Awareness of Human Trafficking.

She wins a $6000 scholarship.

We knew she would! Katie truly lives her platform.

Lives will be changed because of Katie's compassion! We are praying for Katie and all of the women who will benefit from her platform.

Miss America, tomorrow night, 9:00 PM on ABC!

Love From Miss Michigan Sisters!

This scarf was presented to Katie at Fall Forum.

It is made up of the Miss Michigan class of 2010 garment fragments.

Kaley requested that all contestants send her scraps and remains from the alterations of their Miss Michigan gowns, interview suits, cocktail dresses, etc.

Kaley had the pieces made into a scarf for Katie.

Kaley hopes this scarf brings Katie all the luck in the world at Miss America!

Thanks Kaley and Miss Michigan sisters!

Miss Michigan Katie LaRoche Performs at Miss America Pageant

Announcing, our Little Sweetheart Princess Program!

We are so excited to announce our newest addition to Miss Heart of Michigan!

Welcome to our First Annual Little Sweetheart Princess Program!

Please email j701@freeway.net for details and the application.

Hurry, the deadline for applications is January 31.

We are only accepting twenty applications, so don't wait!

Message from Kaley to Katie!

Well Miss Katie has arrived in Vegas and has already made her mark. Congratulations to Katie for being selected a finalist for the Quality of Life Award. What an honor! I wish Katie my Miss Heart sister and good friend the VERY best in Vegas. I so wish that I could be in the seats with some of my Miss Michigan sisters cheering her on but I will be with her in spirit and "heart" no pun intended hehe. I know that her genuine nature, talent and kindness will shine through in the interview room and on the stage. GOOD LUCK KATIE!

Signing off from the Heart,

Kaley :)

Katie it Top Eight for Quality of Life Award!

It was just announced that Katie LaRoche from Michigan is one of the eight finalists for the Quality of Life Award at Miss America!


This year’s Quality of Life finalists were announced yesterday at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas during the 2011 Miss America Pageant Arrival Ceremony.

The Quality of Life Awards were introduced in 1988 to recognize contestants who excel in their commitment to community service. In order to be considered for the Quality of Life Award, contestants must submit an application describing their involvement with Children's Miracle Network, the national platform of the Miss America Organization, and their own personal platform issue.

The winner of the Quality of Life Award will receive a $6,000 scholarship, the first runner-up will win a $4,000 scholarship, and the second runner-up will win a $2,000 scholarship. Winners will be announced at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on January 14 during the 3:00 p.m. (PST) press conference.

Katie is in Las Vegas!

Hello Everyone:

I have reached Las Vegas and will begin rehearsals, interviews and appearances tomorrow afternoon. I am sending out one last reminder about the Voting! Please remember to vote ALL FOUR WAYS.

Thank you everyone!

Katie

The Public has been given the opportunity to pick one of the finalists for the Miss America Competition that will be broadcast live on ABC on January 15th at 8pm. Please fell free to pass this information on by way of Email, FaceBook, twitter, word of mouth, etc.

1. Facebook

Step One: Go to the “Miss America Organization” Facebook page

Step Two: Click the "Like" for the Miss America Organization

Step Three: Click the “Like” for Katie’s video submission.

2. Cell Phone: text MAMI to 24470

3. The Miss America Webpage: www.MissAmerica.org/VideoContest

4. YouTube (you must have a Gmail account or YouTube account to vote. If you do not have one it only takes 2 minutes to create one)

Step one: Go to http://www.youtube.com/MissAmericaOrg#p/c/5E70361E9BA9B04B/23/-nr5qqdlZLM

Step Two: Click "Like" below and to the right of the video

Step Three: Click the Sign in (if you have a Gmail or YouTube account) or Sign up (if you need to quick create one)

Step Four: Go back to the video and click “like”

Katie Lynn LaRoche
Miss Michigan 2010