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!