*Miss Northern Suburbs 2011*: June 2011

Sunday, June 19, 2011

"Miss Northern Suburbs to compete at Miss Illinois" PRESS RELEASE

Miss Northern Suburbs 2011 Pageant Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: KRISTEN HADAP
224-717-6112

MISS NORTHERN SUBURBS TO COMPETE AT MISS ILLINOIS

GRAYSLAKE, IL JULY, 2011 - Natalie Sherer, a 22-year-old from Normal, will represent the northern Illinois area as Miss Northern Suburbs to compete for the title of Miss Illinois 2011 on July 2, 2011. Held in Marion, IL, the Miss Illinois Pageant will feature twenty-six contestants from across the state to compete for the opportunity to represent Illinois at the 2012 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preliminary phases of competition, including lifestyle and fitness, evening wear, talent and on-stage question, will be contested on the nights of Wednesday, June 29th and Thursday, June 30th. The week culminates with the coronation of the new Miss Illinois 2011 on the night of Saturday, July 2nd.

Currently a student at Wheaton College, Sherer is majoring in Piano Performance and hopes to pursue a career as a concert pianist and teacher, as well as starting her own organization of musicians who perform benefit concerts for worthy causes.

Joining Natalie Sherer at the Miss Illinois competition will be Sophia Thompson from
Libertyville. Thompson is the current Miss Northern Suburbs Princess. She will be among 36 young girls who make up the 2011 Class of Miss Illinois “Princesses” that will grace the stage during the weeklong competition. The Miss Illinois and Miss Northern Suburbs princess programs enable girls, ages 5-12, to be mentored by local titleholders that will be competing for the title of Miss Illinois.

Established in 2008, the Miss Northern Suburbs Scholarship Organization provides opportunities for young women to achieve their personal and professional ambitions. Contestants also participate in community service activities and develop leadership skills that help them excel in their chosen career and life goals. A not-for-profit affiliate of the Miss America Organization, the Miss Northern Suburbs Scholarship Organization has made available more than $18,450 in scholarships and in-kind funds to six young women throughout the northern Illinois area. Winners of the annual Miss Northern Suburbs Competition are eligible to compete in the Miss Illinois Competition, held every year in Marion, IL in June.

The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Each year, the Miss America Organization makes available more than $40 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance. Based in Linwood, New Jersey, the Miss America Organization provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of unique nationwide community-based programs. On an annual basis, Miss America state and local titleholders, along with the Organization’s network of volunteers, participate in more than 12,000 community-service projects, providing in excess of 500,000 service hours to worthy causes. For more information about the Miss America Organization please visit www.missamerica.org. For more information about the Miss Illinois Competition please visit www.missillinois.org.
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For more information about the Miss Northern Suburbs Scholarship Organization, please contact Kristen Hadap or Robin Ruchti at 224-717-6112 or 847-872-7140. Or visit www.missnorthernsuburbs.com.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Meeting Miss America 2009 Katie Stam (again)!

At the end of May, all of the Miss IL 2011 contestants participated in Spring Forum in Springfield, IL. It was wonderful to meet new contestants and reconnect with returning titleholders as we had meetings, sessions, and rehearsals together. As I posted about recently, many of us visited St. John's Children's Hospital before Spring Forum officially started, and I presented the Pediatric Unit with a gift--an original watercolor painting that I dedicated to St. John's.

We also received our contestant groups and numbers and found out who our roommates will be during Miss IL week--I'm looking forward to rooming with you, Samantha!--and I was able to see my directors as well. Thank you to everyone involved in order to make this weekend possible-- Amalia and Glenn Schwerdtmann, Jane Ann Cruse, all of our Miss IL board members, Marta Clugston and all of the hostesses, Lana Markham, our security team, Shelby Zane, Sherri Winters, Staci Boyer, Michelle Holmes, Karen Bloom, Limelight Photography, and all of our volunteers who contributed. We also had a chance to hear from all of our lovely Miss IL titleholders who have just a few weeks left of their years. Thank you to Whitney, Kaitlyn, and Grace for everything you have put into representing the Miss IL organization this year.

My favorite part of the weekend was when Katie Stam, Miss America 2009, spoke to all of the contestants. She is definitely one of my favorite Miss Americas, and I really identified with a lot of what she said about leadership and her perspective on life, and I appreciated the advice she shared with us. She absolutely exemplifies the kind of titleholder I strive to be--what a true role model she is. She really is dedicated to connecting with every person she can, and I experienced this first-hand when I had the opportunity to meet her afterward--for a second time. During her reign as Miss America, I went to an event where she was the guest speaker at a school in Southern Illinois in which she joined everyone in making cards to thank our troops. Both times that I was able to interact with her, I was thankful for her friendly, humble attitude and the way she was attentive to each person she met. I also asked her to sign the inside of my sash, which is definitely an inspiring visual for me!

Spring Forum provided a good opportunity to continue to prepare for the job and title of Miss IL, talk with my fellow contestants, and take some group photos at the Capitol building. Speaking of which...the new Miss Illinois is in the photo below! Who will it be??

~MISS ILLINOIS CLASS OF 2011~

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Three Weeks from tonight...

Three weeks from tonight the new Miss Illinois will be crowned! I'm thrilled to be competing, to be part of this organization, and to be representing its ideals to the best of my ability. It's difficult to put into words how much potential there is for personal growth through the lessons I've learned as a devoted titleholder and how the passion with which I am pursuing the job of Miss Illinois is stronger than ever. I want to acknowledge my family, friends, directors, and supporters for the ways they have encouraged me over the years, believing in my ability to fulfill my goals and helping me to become my best. I appreciate that so much and strive to do the same for you. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with these people and opportunities, and I won't forget to strive to bless others in return.

This year, the Miss Illinois pageant will be held in southern IL at the Marion Civic Center. If you still wish to purchase tickets, you may do so through their website: http://www.marionccc.org/calendar.html I will be contestant #23 of the "Omega" group, which means that I will be competing in the areas of Talent and Evening Gown during the first night of preliminaries (June 29) and the areas of Lifestyle & Fitness and On-Stage Question during the second night of preliminaries (June 30). On July 1, the Miss IL Outstanding Pre-Teen and Teen pageant will be held--I can't wait to support my Miss N.S. girls!! Then, on Saturday, July 2, the Top Ten Finalists will be announced and compete and the winner will be crowned!

If you would like to send me a card/gift/flowers, they may be sent/delivered to the Drury Inn in Marion (NOT the Marion Civic Center). Here is the address:
2706 West Deyoung, Marion, IL 62959. "More than Decor" is the official sponsor, if you are interested in checking out this florist/gift shop: http://www.morethandecoronline.com/ 1110 North Carbon
Marion, IL 62959
ph. 618.997.2094

*TWENTY ONE DAYS*

Saturday, June 11, 2011

CMN Fundraiser at Wal-Mart

As a fundraiser and advocate of CMN, I am so thankful that many businesses and corporations are big sponsors of Children's Miracle Network. One of these sponsors is Wal-Mart, so I took advantage of this and organized a CMN fundraiser at our local Supercenter.

I scheduled my event for a Sunday afternoon, but unfortunately, the weather had other plans...For several hours, the sky went from just looking terrible to storming, complete with torrential rain. Needless to say, this was not ideal for an outside fundraiser. However, it began to clear up, and although the majority of my allotted time had passed, I set up my table anyway and made the best of it. I handed out fliers with my CMN donation website and asked people to consider making a donation. Little by little, my crown box began to fill up with bills, which is how CMN money is usually raised--one dollar at a time. I autographed a Miss Northern Suburbs 2011 photo for every person who donated.

My favorite part of the afternoon was letting many of the children try on my crown. They just loved it, and I met some of the most adorable kids! Even though the weather didn't cooperate, it was definitely worth going and doing the fundraiser for the short time that I had left rather than cancelling and giving up. Every dollar counts! And so do those children's smiles. :)

Thank you to every person who donated or stopped to talk with me and to Wal-Mart for allowing me to plan this event outside their doors. It is still possible to donate through my website: https://missamericaforkids.org/m.aspx?i=24788EEA3B471B

St. John's Children's Hospital Visit!

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit St. John's Children's Hospital (http://www.st-johns.org/childrenshospital/main/default.asp) in Springfield, IL. St. John's is a Children's Miracle Network hospital--one of three CMN hospitals in Illinois. I've been blessed to be very involved with St. John's in particular over the past couple years as a titleholder, and my visits there have deeply impacted me. I've been able to work with Dawn Kuhn, who helped to lead a tour of the hospital facilities during my recent visit. They have done so much to make their hospital as family focused as possible, and the staff that I have met have shown such a heart for caring for the kids who come to them. I was especially moved while visiting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit again and listening to one of the lead nurses talk passionately about how much she loves her job, what it entails, and how many babies that are able to survive as a result of this wonderful unit. I really admire the patience and dedication I saw from the people who work at this hospital, which is just another reason why I support them so much.

Several months ago, I decided to paint an original watercolor to dedicate to St. John's Children's Hospital, because I wanted to give them something to tangibly show my support and hopefully to bring joy to the children and families who take a moment to look at it. My vision for this artwork was to create something very fanciful--a whimsical painting full of imagination--and I'm so happy with how it turned out. My piece depicts a little girl sailing through an ocean of clouds in a red and yellow hot air balloon (the CMN logo) and gazing in wonder at the balloon filled sky. The other balloons are in the shapes of animals, ice cream cones, stars, etc., as if it were a scene from a child's dream.

I was glad to present this gift to St. John's, and I hope that it will brighten someone's day, spark creativity in a child, and provide a much-needed rest or distraction for the minds of anxious parents. Through all the ways I support Children's Miracle Network, I hope that the halls of these hospitals are filled with ever-increasing hope, most of all. The kids and there families deserve it.

Miss Northern Suburbs 2011