MN INTERNATIONAL PRE-PAGEANT PARTY - BLOOMINGTON, MN

This year's pre-pageant party was held at the Country Inn & Suites in Bloomington, MN and it was great to meet a number of this year's contestants and catch up with former queens. The MN International family is a terrific group of people and this is a party I always enjoy.



So proud of ALL of my clients! L to R: Tami Krause (Mrs), Gianna Capuzzi (Teen), Tamara Jett (Mrs), Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN Int'l 2008), me, Andrea Bennett (Miss), Jessica Scheu (Teen), Mary Swenson (Miss), and Rachel Richards (Miss)












All of the MN formers in attendance gather for a photo (L to R): State Director Allison Stavrakis (Mrs. '88), Trixie Overcashier (Mrs. '98), me (Mrs. '03), Angela Haseman (Mrs. MN '06), Megan Ehlert (Teen '06), Becky Ringen (Miss '06), Donnell Rank (Mrs. '07), Leisha Gust (Mrs. '08), Tina Rosenthal (Miss '08), Megan Herickhoff (Teen '08)







Former Mrs. Minnesota International queens (L to R): State Director Allison Stavrakis (1988), Trixie Overcashier (1998), me (2003), Leisha Gust (2008), Angela Haseman (2006), Megan Ehlert (2006), Becky Ringen (2006), Donnell Rank (2007)










Me with my awesome mom and best friend in the world, Bonnie Henderson. I would not be the woman I am today without her. Love you Mom!









I am so honored to have coached both of the reigning 2008 Mrs. queens in Minnesota! They were both so fun to work with and so very deserving of their "wins." Wendi Russo (Mrs. MN America 2008) is on the left, and Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN International 2008) is on the right.










With my two of my Miss clients, Andrea Bennett (L) and Rachel Richards (R). These two women are just amazing people inside and out!










With my two teen clients Gianna Capuzzi (L) and Jessica Scheu (R). They are SO fun to work with--it seems like yesterday that I was in their shoes!











After the party, a few of us headed to Solera for some dinner. Yes, pageant girls DO eat (and we ate lots!)

MISS AMERICA 2009 - LAS VEGAS, NV

For the third year in a row, some of my girlfriends and I headed to Las Vegas to attend the 2009 Miss America pageant. We stayed at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino which is really convenient because not only is the pageant held there (as is Miss USA), but more importantly there is a shopping mall attached to the complex!







We arrived and headed out to enjoy the warm weather...it is great to get out of Minnesota in January when it is FRIGID. 50 degrees feels like a heat wave when you are leaving negative temps behind!














Miss America Kirsten Haglund was filming a promo spot so I snapped a photo...









We made it for one night of prelims...here we are catching up with the super cool Andrea Preuss (former Mrs. America & Mrs. United States) and her family, as well as her hilarious hairdresser Sean, who I love seeing each year!










It was great to finally meet the legendary Dohn Dye. I just LOVE this guy and he is a terrific pageant coach!











Sarah Moses, her super fun sister Bridget and I headed out for dinner at the Wynn Hotel










The best thing about attending pageants is running into old friends! Diane Tucker (Mrs. America/Mrs. World 2006) and I at the Fashion Rocks event. She is SO SWEET and fun!








I got a kick out of chatting with some of the models (who also happened to be Miss USA & Miss Teen USA state titleholders). Alicia Blanco (Miss AZ USA--in the purple dress) went on to place as 2nd RU to Miss USA in April, and Laura Chukanov (Miss UT USA--in the black lace cocktail dress) placed as 3rd RU to Miss USA. So I was in some good company!









Meeting "Mr. USB" (United States of Beauty) Jorge Esteban and Craig Allen Hurst at the Fashion Rocks event. These two were hilarious!














At Hawaiian Tropic Zone for the Fashion Rocks event
















A stop to Vegas wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Pussycat Dolls lounge at Pure. Suffice it to say I will not be auditioning any time soon, ha ha!









A quick photo just before walking into the theater



















Bridget, Sarah, and I with the Miss America stage in the background...










Sitting with Miss South Dakota Alex Hoffman's family (this is her darling grandpa and grandma). What a fun family!












Katie Stam (Miss Indiana) was crowned Miss America 2009...I picked her from the start!












After the pageant, we went out to dinner at Koi (one of our favorite restaurants--try the spicy tuna rolls!)










Sarah and I with our FAVORITE dish, the spicy tuna rolls!













We met Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955) and let me tell you, this lady is still gorgeous! And what a figure!










With Kate Shindle (Miss America 1998)...she was a cool gal!











Class of 2006 reunite! L to R: Victoria Broz (Mrs. NV America 2006), Diane Tucker (Mrs. Arizona/Mrs. America/Mrs. World 2006), and me (Mrs. MN America 2006)









It was so fun to meet up with old friends!











This is my favorite photo from the entire weekend...if you look closely, you will notice I am holding a can of deodorant (NOT hairspray). This was intentional, as I am re-enacting a really funny thing that happened the year prior. Sarah's sister Bridget was fixing her hair in the ladies' room and was spraying what she THOUGHT was hairspray (you guessed it--it was deodorant). I was crying I was laughing so hard...so I had to re-enact if for Bridget! It was almost as funny the 2nd time around! I guess we are easily amused!










A quick photo op with some of the members of the Las Vegas Wranglers hockey team...I was old enough to be their mother! HA!

PAGEANT SHOP OPEN HOUSE & TRUNK SHOW - NEW BRIGHTON, MN

Owner Sarah Moses hosted an Open House and Trunk Show at her store The Pageant Shop in New Brighton, MN. She brought in some AMAZING gowns from designers such as Sherri Hill, Stephen Yearick, Claire's Collection, and Tony Bowls. It was great to catch up with Caroline Hayden (who had some fabulous pieces as well).






L to R: Angela Richels (Mrs. MN Int'l contestant), my client Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN Int'l 2008), owner of The Pageant Shop Sarah Moses, Kris Mohlin, and me












Sarah and I had a BLAST working with our client Feryl York, a contestant for Mrs. Iowa America 2009.










L to R: Caroline Hayden, Sarah Moses, me, and photographer Paula Preston catch up at the trunk show

MISS/TEEN MINNESOTA USA 2009 PAGEANT - BLOOMINGTON, MN

This year's Miss and Teen Minnesota USA pageant was held in Bloomington, MN at the Sheraton Hotel and I coached four women in the pageant: Jessica Scheu & Delanie Neal (TEENS) and Meredith Rudh & Leslie McConn (MISS). All of my clients made the Top 15 and I am very proud of their performances! What a wonderful group of young ladies!

Way to go Sparkle girls!







My Miss clients Meredith Rudh and Leslie McConn as they prepare for Personal Interview

















My awesome Teen client Jessica Scheu as she gets ready for Personal Interview















My client Leslie McConn looking amazing on stage in Evening Gown!

















I am so proud of my client Meredith Rudh for doing such an awesome job on Prelim Night!

















Catching up with Kaylee Unverzagt - Miss MN USA 2008. Kaylee won her title while wearing my silver Sherri Hill gown that she rented from me. She is such a cool chick!












Sarah Moses (far R) and I with our Miss client Meredith Rudh. I LOVE Meredith's gown! So classy!













It was great to finally meet Travis (Mr. USB) at the pageant. He is a RIOT!

















The Minnesota pageant gals snap a quick photo before the pageant (L to R): Jeanna Perron, my former client Sarah Tichich, Kris Mohlin, me, Sarah Moses, and Penny Godbout












So proud of my two teen clients Delanie Neal and Jessica Scheu, who both placed in the Top 15!










Congratulating Teen client Jessica Scheu and Miss client Meredith Rudh on a job well done after the pageant!












I had such a great time working with Leslie McConn...expect great things from this girl in the future! :)

2008 MRS. AMERICA NATIONAL PAGEANT - TUCSON, AZ

Mrs. America 2008 was once again held in Tucson, AZ at the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. I always enjoy coming back to Arizona because the landscape and terrain is just soooooo drastically different from what I'm used to in Minnesota. The year I competed (2006) was the first year to have the pageant held at this location, so it is great to come back and get to experience it as a spectator (and FAR less stressful, LOL). Although now that I am coaching, I get stressed for my girls instead of for myself! Ah, it never ends! I feel like a mother hen...

This year, I had two clients competing--Mrs. Minnesota America 2008 Wendi Russo and Mrs. Iowa America Laura Diers. I was able to attend the preliminary pageant and as always, there were some really beautiful women competing! Both ladies did a terrific job and I was so proud of each of them!

I am VERY proud to announce the Laura Diers won the national Fitness Award! Way to go Laura! I thought both girls would be in the Top 10, but alas it was not to be. The winner was a very deserving Mrs. North Carolina, Maureen McDonald. I was thrilled for Wendy & Fred Galle (state directors for North Carolina) as this was their first national winner and they are just super cool people who do a great job with their state pageant! Congrats to all!








Before Prelims with Mrs. America staff member Runya Simon. Runya is the best!














Swimsuit competition on Prelim Night














Evening Gown competition on Prelim Night












With the reigning Mrs. World Natalya Shmarenkova of Russia












Wendi's cheering section L to R: Robin Williams, Robin Duffney (Mrs. MN America 1995), Wendi's husband Corrado Russo, Wendi, me, and Cheryl Trainor (Happy Birthday Cheryl!)











Grabbing a bite to eat after Prelims









My roommate from Mrs. America Robin Mason (Mrs. GA) now lives in Arizona and drove in to meet up for dinner. She looks better than ever and it was really awesome to catch up with her. She's now a mama herself (she was pregnant at Mrs. America) to darling Evan! Here we are with MN & GA State Directors Carl & Faith Schway.










Gotta say HI to my girls Wendi and Laura before I head out to dinner and they head off to rehearsal. Looking good ladies!










Goofing around after dinner at Firebirds with some of the gals from the Class of 2006! L to R: Jodi Bernhardt (Mrs. MI 2006), Robin Mason (Mrs. GA 2006), me (Mrs. MN 2006), Victoria Broz (Mrs. NV 2006), and Jennifer Bradley (Mrs. NE 2006)









OK, a non-laughing photo now (but of course we have our pageant smiles on!)














We ran into the reigning Mrs. America Kelly McBee on our way out. Wow everyone is tall!













Running into the always lovely Dale Smith Thomas on the evening of Finals. This woman is AMAZING. If you ever get the chance to attend one of her lectures, GO!!!












Wendi's cheering section...












Robin Williams, Robin Duffney, and I holding up our "Go Wendi" signs












It was great to see Sheryl Ellison (Mrs. CA 2006) who was in attendance as well. She recently won Mrs. CA International 2009 and is now officially a triple crown holder...way to go Sheryl!














After the pageant with my client Laura Diers - Mrs. Iowa America 2008. I am so proud of Laura for winning the National Fitness Award! WAY TO GO!!!










L to R: Diane Tucker (Mrs. Arizona/Mrs. America/Mrs. World 2006), Natayla Shmarenkova (Mrs. World 2008), me (Mrs. MN America 2006), and Wendi Russo (Mrs. MN America 2008)













So proud of "my girls" after the pageant!















I love how totally happy Laura's expression is! No caption necessary!












Congratulating the newly crowned Mrs. America 2008 Maureen McDonald. She is gorgeous and was a very deserving winner!