Miss Indiana Blog

Zionsville in September calls for the Lions Club Fall Festival.  Megan, MIOT 08 headed out on Friday to spend some time with the younger kids while I was performing in the concert.  Saturday, I  joined her for the festivities!  We met up at 9:30 at Lions Park for the parade.  Lions Club member, Marsha Akard escorted us to her beautiful silver Eclipse convertible, then it was time to head to the high school for the line up.  The parade started at 11:00am and went from the high school all the way through Main Street.  Along the parade route, we saw Josh and Joe snapping tons of pictures!

After the parade, we made a straight shoot for the entertainment tent for the national anthem which I got to perform, then it was time to find some food.  “Friendly’s” has some of the best food in Zionsville, and thanks to the Lions, Megan, Josh, Joe and I ate on the house!  Megan and I spent the afternoon walking around meeting wonderful people, and even got to ride a few rides on the midway.  Yes, even in our Miss Indiana gear.  I’m sure Josh got some great shots!!!  After looking around at some of the booths, Josh had a great idea to get our picture drawn by the “World’s Fastest Artiste!”  He was quite a character!  In just a half an hour, Megan and I were turned into a work of art!  The picture turned out great!  I’m sure everyone will see it soon!

The day turned out so fun!  I even got to spend some time with my boyfriend and best friend since they were working the booth for the training facility they work at called Hoffacker.  I would have gotten a demonstration, but I already work out there, and I was wearing heels!  Plus, Megan and I were ready for some ice cream at Carters.

Another great weekend with wonderful new memories!

xoxo-Katie 

Johnny Rodgers’…what a wonderful guy!?!?!  Johnny is a singer, songwriter, originally from Florida, but now lives in New York City.  He has spent some time now touring with Liza Minnelli around the world, even recording music with her.  My cousin, Amy Hafner, is his agent and wanted to introduce her up and coming star to the family.  As a special treat, she asked if I could be a part of the concert.  Of course, I couln’t say no!  Once I listened to his music, I knew that there was something very unique and special about him.  So much of his music that he’s written is so meaningful and beautiful, I just couldn’t help but want to be a part of this experience.

Several days before the show, Johnny, Amy and I met at my school for a quick rehearsal and song selection.  We started immediately on choosing one of my two songs I was to perform on Friday.  The first song we chose was Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On.”  We both fell in love with the music and really didn’t have to go any further.  Next, it was time to choose a song for the both of us.  Well, Johnny had just recorded a song called “Let’s Make a Date” with Liza that hasn’t even been released yet, and we wanted to give it a shot!  I am so happy that he liked the duet, because the song is absolutely and hit!  I got to premiere the song on Friday, and hopefully, it was the start of something GREAT!

It was great to see all of my family.  Many distant cousins came out for the show and all said they had a great time listening to Johnny perform.  Johnny is simply astonishing!  Be looking for his music!  I know that he will make it big!

xoxo-Katie 

As Miss Indiana, I have so many amazing sponsors…hair, car, clothing and makeup, and so many more wonderful supporters of our organization and of my journey as Miss Indiana.  Lancome is my official makeup sponsor as Miss Indiana and I have been so impressed with everyone with whom I’ve gotten to work.  Every makeup lesson or makeover, I’ve always found new techniques and new friends.  Thursday, I got to spend some time at the Lancome counter at Circle Center Mall to sign autographs, take pictures, and greet customers.

I arrived at the mall at 10:30 for a quick makeover, then it was time to set up the table with all of my autograph sheets and pictures.  The day was very relaxing just visiting with customers.  I had a great time with the Lancome representative, Carey.  She and I had so much fun getting to know each other.  She helped me learn about makeup and taught me what looks best with different skin tones.  After my appearance was over at 2:30, she helped me pick out some makeup as a thank you for spending some time there with them.

Thank you to everyone who made the day possible.  It’s such a great experience just being out in the community, meeting people and getting to tell them about my experience and future, and learning more about others.  These are the moments I really take in.

xoxo-Katie

Congratulations to our very own Claire Buffie at the National Sweetheart Pageant.  Claire competed against 38 other state runners up at the Sweetheart Pageant this past weekend.  Friday and Saturday marked the Preliminary competition in the small town of Hoopeston, IL.  Hoopeston, IL is a very interesting place to be.  The pageant is held on a county fairgrounds in a cement block building that didn’t have air conditioning.  I definitely had to make the trip out there to get this unique experience and to support my girl, Claire! 

I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people from many different states including titileholders, directors, parents, and friends of the contestants.  I also got to see some amazing people that have had a great impact on my year as Miss Indiana. 

Miss Arizona was crowned National Sweetheart with Miss Florida as 1st Runner-up, South Carolina as 2nd Runner-up, Miss Nebraska as 3rd Runner-up and  rounding out the top 5 was Miss Virginia. 

At the end of the pageant, several of the contestants loaded into my car and we headed back for Indianapolis.  They were flying out of the Indy airport the next day, and staying at Claire’s home that night.  It was a fun trip back home getting to know the girls.  It was also a really late night with not getting back home until 4:00am!!!  It was a wonderful trip and I’m so proud of Claire!  She represented our state so well!

 xoxo-Katie

I haven’t been to Conner Prairie since probably grade school.  Back then, I loved everything about it, and as soon as I stepped foot back inside the grounds, so many memories came flooding back and I remembered so many details!  I got the opportunity to go back to Conner Prairie as Miss Indiana through my good friends Josh and Joe.  They have been so wonderful coming to many of my appearances to take pictures, then sending them to me to keep.  They do this in their own time with their own money, and have never even been asked, they do this simply because they love doing it!  Both of them mean so much to me and our program.

When I first arrived at Conner Prairie, I met with Tim Crumrin who works at Conner Prairie and was going to show me around.  He was also 6′10″.  He was so sweet and shared my passion for sports, especially baseball.  We started off in the craft room where two very wonderful young women taught me how to embroid.  Then we went around the corner to spend some time with some kids who were having a tea party.  It was delicious!

After a quick visit inside, we made a straight shot for the farm animals…my favorite part.  I grew up on a farm with dairy cattle, so I was in my element as soon I stepped foot in the barn!  My first task was to milk the goat, which I have to admit I’ve never done before.  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I soon caught on.  After getting about half a gallon of milk from her, we poured it into a bottle for the baby calf to drink.  This is what I used to do on my grandfather’s farm growing up.  While the grown-ups were milking, we kids were in the barn feeding the calves.  I loved every second of it!!!  It brought back so many wonderful memories for me!  I got to spend some more time with some more kids, then it was time to try my luck at throwing a tomahawk.  The man who was helping me said I did pretty good for my first time.  He said it was a valuable skill to learn for marriage when your husband makes you angry and starts running down the hallway, you can chuck a can of tomato soup at him.  That would probably hurt, so I think maybe I’ll use a roll of toilet paper!

After throwing the tomahawk, I got to see their garden in which their corn was 12 feet tall!  If you know anything about sweet corn, it never gets that tall.  8 feet is huge where I come from!  On our way to the carpenter’s shed, we ran into some more kids who were very excited to see me.  One of the kids is visiting from Bavaria, Germany.  She was so cute.  We got some pictures, and I signed a few autograph cards. 

At the carpenter’s shed, I helped hew a log for the building they’ve been working on.  I didn’t have that much luck though considering I couldn’t hit the same place twice with the ax.  The last stop of the day was in a home where two women were trying to get me to stay.  Their characters were mother and daughter, there were also two sons in the home, both of which, they tried to get me to date.  They stayed in character the entire time and almost had me fooled that they really were mother and daughter.  The home as amazing and I really enjoyed getting to see the history of how people lived many years ago. 

The whole trip was wonderful.  I was so excited to actually take part in the day instead of just watch.  Everyone was so kind and welcoming.  They made the day so much fun. 

The perfect ending to a perfect day was enjoying some lunch with Josh and Joe at McAllister’s catching up on Miss America news.  Thanks to everyone who made this day happen.

xoxo-Katie

Congratulations to my little sis, Megan MIOT 2008 at MAOT!  She looked so beautiful and represented our state so well!  Her pictures are amazing, definitely check them out on the website!  Congratulations again to Megan and welcome back home!

xoxo-Katie

Let me just take a moment and say WOW!  Miss Indiana has been one of the greatest things to ever happen to me!  I feel so incredibly blessed to have this honor and really am just taking in each moment and am so grateful for every second!

I just got back late last night from Atlanta, Georgia where I got to model for the wonderful Tony Bowls.  Tony never ceases to amaze me with his fabulous collections and class he shows with every detail of his work.  We arrived at the Atlanta Mart after dropping our things off at the hotel which is connected to the mart.  The showroom looked stunning.  Clear glass pillars with silver arrangements on top throughout the showroom, a black velvet runway through the center, gorgeous dresses surrounding you from every angle, and wonderful people everywhere you look! 

Each day, we got up to put on our makeup and style our hair, then we headed over to the mart to start trying on dresses for buyers.  We walked around the showroom talking to buyers from around the world about the beauty of the gowns, style numbers, and prices.  We even had several runway shows.  Everyone was so impressed with Tony’s work…needless to say, I was as well!

Even though our feet and legs took a beating from being in heels all day, it was so worth it!  How many people have the opportunity to get dressed up every day, put on beautiful gowns and meet people from around the world?  I feel very special to have been asked!  Just to let you know of some of the people I got to meet…Sueanne Winn from Winnwear (the official swimsuit sponsor of Miss America), Jimmie Huang from Helen’s Heart, Jonathon Kayne from Project Runway, Owner of Atlanta Mart Chuck Corbi, Miss America 2000 Heather French-Henry, Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund, Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2009 Taylor Fitch, Owner of Pageantry Magazine Carl Dunn, Miss Georgia 2007 Amanda Kozak, Designer Sherri Hill…and so many more amazing people!

My roommate for the week was Jalin Wood who has represented Mississippi in both the America and USA system!  She is so wonderful.  She really made the week so much fun!  I also ran into a good friend from several years ago, Adrielle Churchill from Arkansas who is as beautiful and sweet as ever, and Miss Arkansas 2008, Ashlen Batson who has become one of my very close friends. 

Each night, we got to experience Atlanta at several different restaurants throughout the area.  I have to tell you about one of my favorites, which we ended up eating at three nights in a row!  It was called the Metro Cafe and it had everything from seafood, to breakfast and should I mention Karoake starting at 8:30 each night!  The first night we ate there, it was quite a unique experience.  Three of us girls got salads as a side to our entrees.  After a few bites, our mouths started tingling and turning really cold.  We had an ongoing joke that there was something in the salad, (which we were right, it was mint)!  Once the food started coming, we all got serious again since we were all starving!  Amanda Kozak had gotten French Toast which was about three inches thick.  I made the comment that it wasn’t Texas Toast, it was Alaskan Toast to which several of girls took me seriously and took the next few moments talking about how they had never had Alaskan Toast before!  I was crying because I was laughing so hard!  After the entire meal was over, I noticed something smudged on my chair.  To my surprise, chocolate cake ended up all over the back of my leg, clothing and chair.  I was laughing so hard, I could hardly get cleaned up.  The waiter felt so bad, he brought me a complimentary piece of cake, but I couldn’t eat a single bite…I had had my fill!   Some of the best and most wonderful memories from the week were made that night!

Another memory from the week was the morning I woke up and opened up the curtains only to find a grasshopper on the outside of my window.  Not that significant except we were on the 40th floor of the hotel.  The entire day, I tried to explain how it got up there, but still couldn’t come up with anything.  That might not sound that cool, but to me, I was so intrigued! 

It was such an amazing experience being a part of this past week in Atlanta.  It was such an honor being asked to be there for Tony.  He is so incredible, and I hope I have the opportunity to work with him again in the future!

xoxo-Katie

Sunday marked my interview with Slater from Radio Now!  We caught up for a half hour over everything that has happened since I’ve been crowned!  We chatted about the reality show and all of the appearances that I’ve been doing so far!  He’s so much fun to be around and we had a great time!   After the interview, it was time to head back to Avon for a very special little girl!

Little Rylee is turning three on Tuesday!  She is so cute, full of energy and spunk…pretty much like the typical three-year-old, except she’s no typical little girl!  Rylee has Leukemia, and the day before her birthday, she starts her 84 day treatment.  I got the chance to spend a couple hours with her the night before the start of her chemo, not only to cheer her up, but also to take her parents’ minds off of the upcoming months. 

When I got to Rylee’s house, I don’t think she quite understood who I was, or why I was coming over, but she soon warmed up to me, offering me a brownie, which I definitely couldn’t turn down!  We spent quite a while playing in her playroom.  We read books, played in her kitchen, and tried on some of Rylee’s play crowns!  After trying to fit the plastic crown around her waist, it was time to try on the real thing!  We headed back into the living room and grabbed my crown and sash for a few photos.  Rylee was more interested in the reflecting light from the crown then the real thing, but we eventually got her to try on the crown for some very cute pics.  Two girls who live across the street, Mackenzie and Jillian also came over to grab some photos and try on the crown and sash.  We all got so many pictures and had  great time!

Rylee will most definitely be in my thoughts and prayers as she undergoes such a tremendous battle at her young age.  I pray that her parents find peace and hope in the next few months, and I hope that the family will someday be able to look at this experience and say that it made them stronger!

xoxo-Katie

I’ve been around pageants for several years now, but until recently, I had never judged!  I had the amazing opportunity to judge the Avon Junior Miss program about a week and a half ago, and it was a wonderful experience!  I competed in the America’s Junior Miss program when I was a senior in high school.  I absolutely love the program and have been known to be a walking advertisement for it, continuing to stay involved by acting as the offical emcee of Indiana’s Junior Miss each year. 

The day started off early with a judge’s luncheon at the Japanese Steakhouse in Avon.  I had just had my first experience with Japanese food a couple days before, so I was still new to the tastes.  The chef was amazing as he flung eggs into the air, and gracefully caught them on his spatula without one crack.  Then he made a pyramid of onion slices and caught them on fire.  Connie Leak, the director of the program said she wished she had a camera to catch my expression on film.  She said I looked like a kid in a candy store.  It was incredible, and the food was fantastic.

After lunch, we headed back to the retirement center in Avon where we were setting up the interviews for a quick orientation, then we met the girls one-by-one for the first phase of competition.  There were eight contestants, and each of them were unique and wonderful!  I really enjoyed getting to know each of them!

After the interviews, it was time for dinner at Texas Roadhouse (my favorite restaurant) then a straight shot to Avon Middle School for the rest of the competition.  The contestants did a fantastic job throughout the entire night!  The theme was Fiesta, and everyone could tell that the girls were having so much fun with the great decorations, costumes and props! 

A quick deliberation during intermission, and a few performances onstage later, we named the new Avon Junior Miss for 2009!  After the competition, I headed onstage to grab a couple of photos then I met up with Frank to discuss the success of the day and then it was off for home!

Thanks so much to the entire Avon Junior Miss committee.  They were so hospitable to all of us!  They put on a great show, and I feel very honored that I was asked to be a part of it! 

xoxo-Katie

Miss Megan Thwaites, MIOT 2008, left yesterday for her trip to Miss America’s Outstanding Teen in Orlando!  I wish her all the best of luck.  She is a wonderful representative and has been so great to share this experience with!  I wish that I could be there to support her, but unfortunately, I am headed to Atlanta in a few days and won’t have an opportunity to get to Orlando.  All my prayers and best wishes go with her.  I can’t wait to see how she does at the national competition!  I know she will be fantastic!

Good Luck Megan!  Bring home the crown!

xoxo-Katie