Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen Blog

January 2011

Hello Readers! It has been another amazing month as I have begun making appearances again after the holidays, meeting more new titleholders, oh and did I mention I went to MISS AMERICA?

During the week of the Miss America 2012 pageant I had the honor of traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada to support Hannah Smith our stunning Miss Illinois as she competed for the Miss America crown. As I watched her perform, speak, and grace the one and only Miss America stage I was honored to call her my pageant sister. She represented Illinois in such amazing ways, especially when she was called for the TOP 10 during the live pageant January 14th. I am so proud of Hannah; she achieved all of her goals and performed her true passion, ballet, beautifully. I must thank a few people for making my week in Las Vegas possible; first, my wonderful family, Grandma Linda, Aunt Sandy and Danny, thank you for chauffeuring me all around Vegas for my many appearances and wardrobe changes as well as treating me to the full experience and showing me the city—I had a phenomenal week with so many once in a life time experiences. Next, I would like to thank the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association for giving me the opportunity to represent the Miss Illinois’ Outstanding Teen pageant by performing at the second preliminary night—where I danced with the other state teen titleholders ON THE MISS AMERICA STAGE! Last but not least, thank you to everyone who supported Hannah, both in Las Vegas and at home online or on television, your support meant so much to Hannah and kept all of our spirits positive.

As for my Miss Illinois duties, I have been packing my schedule with as many local pageants and appearances as possible. I am also thrilled to announce that I will be attending a training session to prepare myself for my trip to Washington, D.C. with the Veterans of World War II. The Honor Flight that I will be aiding with is the last World War II Flight from the area; the future flights will be sending Korean War Veterans from now on. It is such an honoring opportunity to meet and travel with the warriors who have put their lives on the line for our freedom. Please do not forget to thank any men and women who you may see on a daily basis who are in uniform or proudly displaying their Veteran’s hat or colors. Their service is the sacrifice that has been made to ensure our nation’s freedom.

More pictures have been added to the Miss Illinois Website, remember to check back often to view the pictures as well as learn when local preliminaries are being held. Help me in supporting our new titleholders who will soon be vying for my Miss Illinois’ Outstanding Teen crown! Stay safe during the winter weather, please drive safely

December 2011

Happy Holidays Everyone!

With all the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks it is incredibly exciting to get back to representing Illinois at yet another national event. Hannah Smith our 2011 Miss Illinois is nearly finished preparing for her debut on the Miss America stage in Vegas! I am so excited to be attending her sendoff party and view all of her competition wardrobe. I am honored to be attending the Miss America pageant to support Hannah in her amazing journey to possibly becoming Miss America 2012! I cannot wait to see her shine on stage, and capture America's heart as they watch her on television. She is truly an amazing woman, and an amazing role model. She will be successful wherever life takes her, especially with a new crown on her head!

Aside from preparing to perform at Hannah's sendoff part, I have been busy getting ready for the New Year. I will be flying with the Veterans to Washington, D.C., visiting numerous local pageants to meet the new competitors vying for my title, as well as working on my school work during my junior year in high school. I also plan to continue advocating for Veteran's and sending letters to troops overseas.

Congratulations to the new titleholders: Brandy Miller, Emily Stewart, Mackenzie Meadows-Puckett, Samantha Harre, Ciara Knapp, Grace Khachaturian, Taylor James, and Kathleen Hunt. All of you have a wonderful year ahead of you, remember to always keep smiling, show off your talent and advocate for what you believe in!

I will continue to add pictures to the website as I attend events. Have a safe and happy New Year!

November 2011

Hello Everyone! I have an incredible amount of news to relay to all of you devoted readers this month… But where should I begin?

I will begin by saying Happy Holidays! I was honored to have been a part of the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade that was shown live on the WGN station. Hannah, Kayla, Jane, and I were all very excited to be riding in a horse drawn carriage during the parade. The parade even had a grand finale, Santa dancing the "twist!" It was one of the most memorable appearances I have made during my reign, although I have had so many in just a few months since I was crowned.

I have been busy traveling to local pageants this month as well. I assisted with the Miss Kankakee pageant and was extremely excited to be escorted by a military service man. Thank you to all of the servicemen who helped make the pageant so wonderful. I also visited the Miss Capital City event where it brought back great memories to be helping out as I was the 2010 Miss Capital City's Outstanding Teen. The Capital City stage was where I won my first title in the Miss America system! Congratulations to all of the new titleholders that have been crowned this year, use your titles to share your talents and personal platforms!

A few weeks ago I attended, with one of my best friends, the Dancing with Artstarts charity event that was held in Marion, Illinois. It was a great event, with so much wonderful talent and music. The Artstarts program really is something many more communities should begin; it is fantastic to see the gifted children performing their talent at such a young age. Hannah, Miss Illinois, performed a solo as well as a dance with a dance partner to raise money for Childrens' Miracle Network. I was so proud to finally watch her perform, she looked beautiful!

Last but definitely not least, I sent out my TEN boxes to our adopted platoon in Afghanistan this month so it would arrive in time for the Christmas holiday. I had so much support from my local high school, the local Marine Corps birthday party donations, and my grandfather that I was able to go above and beyond and send ten tightly packed boxes to the men and women we are supporting. I was honored to be able to assist them in any that I was able to!

More pictures have been added to the Miss Illinois website, and as I attend more and more appearances we will continue to add them! A quick thank you to all of the Miss Illinois Volunteers, (especially Scott and Amalia) for all of their dedicated support, and my family and friends who have been such tremendous help as well!

October 2011

Hello again everyone! I have had so many fantastic opportunities this month I do not know where to begin. From camouflage to Christmas photo shoots, my title has been keeping me incredibly busy!

First and foremost, I would like to express my excitement that the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association has adopted a troop of fifteen Army men and women overseas. Someone involved with the association selects a month and sends their care package with goodies and necessities to the troops for the selected month. I am honored to be sending my package out for December; which will include not only food and treats, but also Christmas decorations to make their temporary home as welcoming and warm as possible. The troops serving our nation deserve all we can give them, and because of this at my high school and around my hometown I am collection donations to help fund the packages. Especially with my platform being related to Veterans and soldiers, it warms my heart to know that our youth as well as older generations are willing to spare a few dollars to make the heroes know that we all care for them here at home. Please do not forget to say thank you to any man or woman you meet who currently is or previously has served in our military, they are the reason we can live out the American Dream we all know and love.

While the holidays are quickly approaching Hannah, Miss Illinois, Kayla, and myself were fortunate enough to meet downtown Chicago for a fun photo shoot. It was so much fun getting to see both lovely ladies, do some—or a lot of shopping together, and take beautiful pictures! Limelight Studios is a lot of fun to work with as well as very successful at making us look our best. They deserve a big thank you for their dedication to the association.

This month I have also hosted a letter writing drive at a local elementary school where two of the fifth grade classes wrote letters to Veterans. I am honored and extremely excited to be traveling with World War II Vets on the Honor Flight coming up soon, where we will fly to Washington, D.C. and visit the war memorials. I will pass out the letters the students wrote to the Veterans on the flight to the capitol. Thank you to the principal, teachers, and students of Beckemeyer Elementary School for making the letter drive a success!

Coming up this month I will be attending the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade downtown Chicago with my wonderful family and Miss Illinois family as well, attending local pageants as new local titleholders are crowned, and speaking at the Marine Corps Birthday Party in honor of all the previous and future Marines fighting for our freedom. Included in the group of Marines that have served in past years is my Father, both grandfathers, and many others; thank you all for serving our country. You are true heroes, and we celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday for all of you, Semper Fi!

I will add more pictures and update my blog as I attend more events. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and have safe travels as the winter weather rapidly approaches. Thank you all for reading!

 

September 2011

Hello Again to all of my readers!

Happy Fall! Because I live in the middle of many cornfields it is beautiful to see all of the crops being harvested safely. The scents of fall are so delicious, apples, corn, and pumpkin pies!

I have had yet another wonderful month as Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen this September. I have been fortunate enough just this past weekend to meet with Hannah, Miss Illinois, at Christos Fur and Leather Center! The appearance was very informational as well as exciting. Thank you to Christos for being so hospitable to Hannah, my wonderful parents, and myself.

The past month has included a lot of preparation for my upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel with approximately fifty World War II Veterans to war memorials in D.C. with the Honor Flight Program. I am on the list to travel with one of the many upcoming flights. I am even preparing a few letters from my local elementary school to hand out to the Veterans traveling with me. It is such an honor to be able to assist the Veterans as a guardian while we travel to and from Illinois to the capitol in only one day! It will be an experience of a lifetime. Thank you to all of the people who have helped me achieve this goal of traveling with the Veterans.

As for my life in the next upcoming weeks I will be continuing to balance a fantastic volleyball season at my high school, directing the band at local sporting events, and keeping my grades up during my junior year. People often ask how I stay so involved at school while attending many Miss Illinois' OT appearances and my answer is always related to how thankful I am to have so many supporters. Thank you first and foremost to my parents, who keep me organized. My schedule would be chaos without your help! Next, thank you to all of the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association volunteers, especially Amalia Schwerdtmann and Scott Billadeau, who invite me to so many events, and help me get involved with so many great opportunities. And finally, thank you to my preteen, Kayla and Hannah, my miss. Being able to spend time with both of you has been so fantastic!

I will continue to update my blog with pictures and more information as I attend more appearances throughout the month! Enjoy Fall, and have a great day!

August 2011

Hello Everyone! I am back in Illinois and proud to say that I had an amazing experience in Florida at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. I can officially say that I have a very close friend in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico! This may sound cliché but these girls really were my extended sisters for a week and will continue to be for the rest of my life! I am honored to be a part of the MAOT Class of 2012.

I would like to thank my amazing parents, Bridal Elegance, Hannah Smith-Miss Illinois, Scott Billadeau, and Amalia Schwerdtmann, for all coming to support me at the pageant. It was hearing their cheers while I was competing that really made me feel like a winner. Although the experiences and memories I made were enough to make the week unforgettable, I was very fortunate to tie with Miss Nebraska’s OT for the preliminary formal wear/on-stage question award and win the non-finalist interview award as well.

There are pictures and videos of a few of my performances at http://www.missillinois.org/teen/index.html. I will be adding more details and photos of the pageant to this blog as soon as possible!

As for my future month to come, I will be resuming my state duties as Miss Illinois’ Outstanding Teen and will continue making many appearances across the state. I even have the opportunity to travel with Miss Illinois later this month!

Thank you to all of my supporters who have assisted me throughout my journey to MAOT. I would not have had such a successful or exciting week without your wonderful words of encouragement. So thank you again!

I will be writing again soon, so please keep checking my blog for updates! Have a great day everyone!

July 2011

Hello Everyone! I would like to start by saying thank you to everyone who supported me and was at the Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen pageant at the beginning of the month. Without all of my family and friends I would not have been so successful in the pageant, so thank you! Another thank you to the Marion Cultural and Civic Center, your building made the production of the pageant beautiful and fun. The Marion city has been so gracious and hospitable for all of the new Miss Illinois titleholders! A very heartfelt thank you to Bridal Elegance as well, for their wonderful help with all of my formal competition wear as well as appearance clothing!

To the Miss America volunteers, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your countless hours of work preparing for the wonderful Miss Illinois pageant! Your help before, during, and after the pageant is what allows all the contestants to call the Miss Illinois week a fun and relaxing part of their summer. A special thank you to Mr. Scott Billadeau as well. As the state executive director for the teen and preteen division, he has been a great asset to the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association and has been a tremendous help in preparing me for the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant. Thank you to all of the fantastic volunteers!

As for me, I am the 16 year old daughter of Rick and Julie Robbins of Coffeen, Illinois. I am proud to represent Illinois this year at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen (MAOT) pageant in Orlando, Florida. My reign has been a whirlwind, since I was crowned on July 1st with many appearances and preparations for the MAOT week to come. The pageant is August 12-21 giving me a short amount of time to get a lot of things done! But I am extremely excited to compete at a Miss America pageant, whether I have a week or a year to prepare!

I am having a "Send Off Party" on August 5th, from 7pm until 10pm to show off all of my competition wear as well as my talent. There is a ten dollar donation that covers your meal! The party is also a fundraiser for the Veterans Honor Flight. Please RSVP at 815-614-3415 by August 1st if you are interested in attending!

I am honored to have such amazing "sisters" for my reigning year! My preteen, Kayla Sallenger is an amazing girl, with a fantastic voice and very big heart! And my miss, your 2011 Miss Illinois Hannah Smith, is such an amazing woman who is already representing Illinois in so many amazing ways. I am very excited to get to spend so much time with these ladies over the course of this year.

At the MAOT pageant they are awarding two semi-finalist spots to the two girls with the highest number of votes; they are calling these the peoples' choice finalists! Please vote for me at: http://fourpointsmagazine.com/MAOTPeopleschoice. I also have a Children's Miracle Network page at: www.maoteen4kids.org. If you are interested in donating to my $500.00 goal, please donate there. Thank you for all of your dedicated support!

Talk to everyone soon! Thanks for reading my very first blog post as your 2011 Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen!