Miss Missouri Pageant Just Around the Corner!

I would first and foremost like to say: God bless our troops who have given up their lives for our freedom and all of our loved ones that we have lost. Without you, we would not be who we are today. You will never be forgotten or taken for granted. Thank you. Happy Memorial Day!

Secondly, God please be with everyone in Joplin, Missouri including my dear friends: Megan Montague, Jordan Nolan, and Lauren Alumbaugh. Everyone, please give effort to help those who have suffered from the terrible tornado in Joplin, Missouri. A lot of them have nothing now and need our help more than ever! What better time to come together and support the ones we love than right now?

With that said, what a thrilling time of year it is for Miss Kansas City! Studying for harsh finals at Mizzou is finally over, and preparing 100 percent for the Miss Missouri Pageant is underway (this is the fun part). Though there is still much preparation to be made, I have been able to fit four more appearances in before the pageant.

When summertime finally approached for Mizzou students, my first trip was to Mizzou's Children's Hospital to visit my dear friend, Rylan Newman. I have been keeping up with Rylan and his family for the past few months, and I am very happy to say that Rylan is doing very well. His family is very hopeful and pray frequently not only for themselves, but for all the children in the hospital that they have met.

You can keep up with Rylan and his fight at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rylannewman

When I made it home to Kansas City, I was immediately off to the Park Hill Early Childhood Education Center for their annual festival. There, I got to visit with children, sign autographs and take pictures. The kids were so cute and were very excited about the clown making balloons!

The next evening, I joined the Mizzou Alumni Association in hosting the Tiger Ball at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Kansas City. The Tiger Ball is so wonderful because it is a group of Mizzou Alumni that get together, socialize, have dinner, dance, and bid on items all throughout the night. This is a fabulous way for the Mizzou Alumni Association to raise thousands of dollars for MU scholarships. Because I attended this event last year as well, there were many recognizable faces, including my friends, the auctioneers!



Right where the Miss Kansas City Pageant took place, in Platte City, MO, the Platte County School District held a "Pirate Rock Celebration" honoring the children who have had a successful year as Platte County students. I had so much fun making and passing out cotton candy (the kids loved me for this), going down the inflatable slide with all of the little princesses, signing autographs and taking lots of pictures. The most memorable part of the evening was when I had a conversation with a woman, Ramona Simmons, who had just recently moved to Kansas City from California due to better job opportunities. I was elated to tell her all about Kansas City and all the places she should visit. She was very curious as to what my job was, and seemed very touched after I introduced myself and told her I am an advocate for Children's Miracle Network, Operation Smile, and the Miss America Organization. Her words to me were "May God give you the wings to fly, my child. You are doing something truly amazing." It is remarkable to me that at every appearance I go to, God shows himself one way or another. This time, it was through Ramona.

My last appearance before the pageant will be in St. Joseph, Missouri. I was invited to speak at a Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) meeting where I will enlighten all of the wonderful women about myself, my career goals, my platform, the Miss America Organization, and how they can help.

Other than my appearances, I have been tying all loose ends necessary to be prepared for the pageant and of course relieving stress by working out religiously. To my own surprise, I feel very prepared for the pageant in all aspects and am very excited to show everyone how hard I have worked. I am also thrilled with the girls that have been chosen as contestants this year. It is calming to know that no matter who wins the title of Miss Missouri, the job will be in great hands. I am so proud to be a part of this organization and am honored to hold the title "Miss Kansas City". The next time I write, there will be a new Miss Missouri crowned! What an exciting time. Whomever it is will have VERY big shoes to fill. Erika, I speak on behalf of the entire Miss Missouri group when I say "We love you, we are so proud of you, and we will miss you so much!".

"I direct all my prayers to the end that God's will may be done fully in me and by me."
-Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri

God bless to all,

Alexis

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Instead of the City of Fountains, Kansas City should be known as the City of Fickle Weather. It has been snowy, sunny and 90, rainy and windy all in one week! Silly Mother Nature. Nonetheless, the past month was a fun-filled, exciting week for sure!

No need for strenuous workouts. My sister queen Carolyn and I started the month off right by dancing our little tushes off at the MU Dance Marathon benefitting Children's Miracle Network. It was great seeing so many people supporting CMN!

My lovely sisters came too!

Too much fun!

I then had the privelege of volunteering at the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament. Everyone there was so wonderful, and they had one heck of an introduction night to the state tournament! The place was absolutely packed.

They had me pass out special awards!

My favorite basketball team!

Dance party!

AND I got to hang out with the cheerleaders

After the Special Olympics tournament, the Miss Missouri girls had orientation. There, I met all of the wonderful contestants as well as my roommate, Hillary Overfelt. Everyone, as always, was so sweet and just made me smile! I am so excited for the week of Miss Missouri. It is going to be too much fun!

After orientation, my mom and I got stuck in Columbia due to bad weather, but it is interesting how some mishaps can be a blessing in disguise. At the hotel, I met a little four-year-old boy named Rylan. He and his family were there because Rylan is staying at the MU's Children's Hospital. He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in early December and has undergone a number of Chemotherapy treatments. He and his family are staying so positive, and are very hopeful for the future. It was a blessing to meet them because it truly finalized why I am involved in the Miss Missouri organization and why I want to give myself through service so much.

I decided to go visit my friends at Hawthorn Elementary School and make "get well soon" cards for Rylan. My kindergarten and first grade friends loved the idea and worked hard to make the cards perfect, which they were. We had so much fun making the cards. We took time to pray for Rylan and his family and discussed how important it is to count our blessings.

I cannot wait to give Rylan his cards!

After that, I headed to Zona Rosa with my good friend, Kari Gai, and collected funds two days in a row for the Mix 93.3 Mix for Kids Radiothon benefitting CMN! The sweet people of Granite City let us come inside from the bitter cold to collect and then gave us gift cards. We had so much fun and so many laughs those days.

We then went back to Mix 93.3's headquarters where we dropped off the money we made to the CMN volunteers. They are just the sweetest people!

That same day, I volunteered at Hawthorn Elementary School once again. A staff of volunteers and I made root beer floats for the kids during the science and book fair. There were a lot of neat science projects and a lot of proud kids. It was fun being able to tell kids about my Biochemistry major and how much I love science too!

The next night I was invited to attend "Night with the Stars" held by the Park Hill School District. They announced all of the scholarship winners, the successful students, and myself along with my accomplishments. I am glad I can make my old district so proud, and I am very proud of all of the scholarship recipients!

Bright and early the next day, Carolyn Cianciolo, Kari Gai and I all celebrated Greater Kansas City Day by selling newspapers with Kansas City stars on the side of the street. All proceeds go to a special needs kids summer camp, and boy was it worth fundraising for! We got to hang out with Bobby Bell (a Chiefs Hall of Famer), multiple Royals and Chiefs players, the Chiefs announcer, KC Wolf (the mascot and my seat buddy), and many other local stars. This is definitely my favorite appearances thus far!

I then got to end my week by doing a fashion show with Watercolors High Fashion and Worth Harley Davidson in Kansas City. The proceeds benefitted Shop with a Cop organization which organizes Christmas presents for kids that come from less fortunate families. It was a fun and easy way to support a great cause.

A big thank you goes out to my mom for supporting me throughout my reign, to Angie Young for always being there to talk to when I need some stress-free advice, for Carolyn and Kari for being such wonderful friends and appearance buddies, and for all of the organizations I have listed above for including me to help make a difference. Until next time..


Love and blessings,

Alexis

Early March Adventures

March Madness is right! Now that I have my title, my planner is overflowing with scheduled appearances, and I am very excited for all of them!

For my very first appearance as Miss Kansas City, I spent one weekend going around to my family, friends, and favorite businesses in Kansas City to sell salute pages in the Miss Missouri program book. I am very excited to say that I have sold five so far, and that was with just one visit! A big thank you goes out to Barry Road Dental Group, Roxanne's Cafe, Worth Harley Davidson, Miser's Sports, Watercolors High Fashion, my Delta Delta Delta sorority, and my family.

Roxanne and me. My usual meal: Medium biscuits

and gravy and a cinnamon roll the size of a basketball.

Best food in Parkville, I guarantee it!



My next extravaganza was a visit to McDonald's on Barry Road to support and raise funds for Hawthorn Elementary School at McTeacher night. The staff of Hawthorn and I were to work as McDonald's employees so Hawthorn could receive 20% of the profit made that night. The place was packed with kids, families, and the staff of Hawthorn. Having to work behind the scenes at the cash register, the window, and preparing food was a much different story than I expected. I never realized how much goes into making the whole process run smoothly, and I take my hat off to all of the workers at McDonald's that do this on a regular basis. I believe my favorite part of the night, though, was when a mother pointed me out to her son, about four years old, and said, "Look, honey, there's a pretty princess," and he replied with a frown, "I don't like princesses!" That absolutely was the icing on the cake to a wonderful, hilarious night, and I am so thankful that I helped Hawthorn Elementary raise about $800.



After that fun-filled visit, I celebrated National CMN Pancake Day at IHOP with some of my local queen friends! The day was spent flipping pancakes, serving guests, and of course, promoting Children's Miracle Network. The IHOP in Columbia had a great turnout, and I was surprised by a special guest!

My lovely boyfriend came to surprise me!

That Saturday, I then traveled back to Kansas City to start out the day by raising funds for Children's Miracle Network. I collected money with my big sign in downtown Kansas City where the annual Car Show was being held. It was a great opportunity because so many people were happy to help. I met so many wonderful individuals who truly made my day with their stories.

One lady told a story of how her son died in Children's Mercy Hospital. A pastor came by and dropped in a large amount of money along with some kind words of encouragement. The janitor came by and continuously complimented me on my work while telling me about her family and how proud she was of them. Many young, adorable children came by with a dollar or two so I would take a picture with them. A group of men from London and a few men from the Czech Republic came by and asked me for directions as well as who I was and what I was doing, (we ended up giving them the wrong directions by accident, ha!). Another man came up and we talked for a good half an hour about how he used to work in my sorority house and all of the wonderful things about Mizzou. My most favorite moment of the day, though, was when a family passed by, and the little boy in the family saw me, ran over, dug his allowance out of his pocket, and gave me all that he had.

It is amazing how so many selfless, giving people and all of the little things, the casual conversations, the little gestures of love, the friendly smiles, the words of encouragement, and the prayers can make someone's day. I am blessed to have experienced all of those moments in one little hour and a half. It makes me so proud to be from Kansas City and especially to hold the title of Miss Kansas City.

At the end of the hour and a half, Kansas City and I raised $150 for Children's Miracle Network, success!

That evening, I helped out with my old school district's High School After Prom auction fundraiser. Go Park Hill South Panthers! The night was so much fun, and Megan McWilliams, Miss Kansas City's Outstanding Teen, and I spent the evening selling leis, modeling auction items, socializing with all of the parents and employees of the district, and of course, eating lots of Sonic ice cream they provided! Yum! I know the kids of Park Hill and Park Hill South will be ecstatic with the outcome of their After Prom, thanks to the volunteerism of many employees and the donations from many parents! I cannot thank you all enough for putting this together, and for giving so much of yourselves so your kids can have a fun, safe place to go after prom!

Megan and I :)

Modeling Earrings

Family friends

The heads and tails game. So funny!

Whew! After many very delightful appearances and unforgettable experiences, I am ready to study hard for my exams coming up these next couple of weeks. I cannot wait for many more appearances to come, and for all of the new opportunities in store for me.

Love and blessings,

Alexis

And so it begins!

It is unbelievable to think that it has been almost a month since the Miss Kansas City Pageant in Platte City, Missouri. The day was full of nerves and visions of opportunities that would be in store for the new Miss Kansas City. The evening, of course, went by in a flash and all of a sudden they were announcing the new queens of Kansas City. I remember waiting in satisfaction, knowing that any and all of the girls that I was competing against would be great title-holders.

As they called the teen title-holders, I was thrilled when my friend Megan McWilliams was announced Miss Kansas City's Outstanding Teen and when the sweetest girl, Mickayla Nilges was announced Miss Greater Kansas City's Outstanding Teen. I couldn't ask for better representatives of Kansas City, Missouri. Then, when they called my name as Miss Kansas City 2011, the emotions hit me like a ton of bricks. I laughed, sobbed, and became really jittery all at the same time. The best feeling in the world, though, was when one of my dearest friends, Carolyn Cianciolo, became Miss Greater Kansas City 2011, my sister queen. It was evident that God was there that night and that my journey to the Miss Missouri pageant would be a wonderful ride surrounded by amazing friends.

Very excited to have won!

My sister queen, Carolyn and I :)

Miss Kansas City! Yay!

I am so thankful to be a part of an organization with such wonderful directors and individuals who are willing to go out of their way to make me a better title-holder and person. I am excited for the opportunities ahead and to start making appearances with my new sister queens. Watch out KC, here we come!

All my love,

Alexis