MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL PAGEANT - ST. CLOUD, MN

The Minnesota International pageants were once again held in St. Cloud, MN and I am happy to say that it was a great success! I coached two out of the three new queens, Tami Krause (Mrs. MN Int'l 2009) and Jessica Scheu (Miss Teen MN Int'l 2009). Here's how my other clients did:

MRS
Winner: Tami Krause (Volunteer Service Award
2nd RU: Tamara Jett (Photogenic Award)

MISS
1st RU: Mary Swenson (Director's Award, Supermodel with Style, Miss Congeniality)
2nd RU: Rachel Richards
3rd RU: Andrea Bennett

TEEN
Winner: Jessica Scheu (Best Interview, Best Evening Gown, Best Aerobicwear, Photogenic)
4th RU: Rachael Hitchcock
Top 10 Semifinalist: Gianna Capuzzi








Pink is the "sparkle" color (which happens to be MY favorite color), and here I am with two of my Sparkle girls (L to R): Mary Swenson and Jessica Scheu















Boy have I shared a lot of laughs with these two ladies! L to R: me, Tamara Jett (Mrs. Ham Lake), and Natalie Hagemo (former Mrs. Excelsior and one of the coolest ladies I know!)















With my clients after prelims...what a gorgeous group! I am so proud of each of them!!!












My mom took this photo of Jessica and I...I was so proud of how far she had come! LOVE this photo!












Phillips, WI gals ROCK! With my amazing mom Bonnie and friend/client Susan Jackson. We are all from the tiny town of Phillips, WI (population 1,200!)














GO TEAM SPARKLE!!!











With my Mrs clients at the luncheon (L to R): Teri Kratz, Tamara Jett, me, and Tami Krause











With my Miss clients at the luncheon (L to R): Mary Swenson, Rachel Richards, me, and Andrea Bennett












With my ALL of my Sparkle clients at the pageant luncheon...don't they all look terrific?












What would I do without my best friend in the whole world, my mom Bonnie? She has been an INCREDIBLE asset in helping my girls prepare, especially in interview! Love you Mom!













Past and present MN Int'l queens (L to R): Nancy Paradeise (Mrs '04), Becky Ringen (Miss '06), Danni Epps (Miss '07), Tina Rosenthal (Miss '08), Megan Herickhoff (Teen '08), Leisha Gust (Mrs '08), Donnell Rank (Mrs 07), me (Mrs '03)









Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop) and I wish our client Mary Swenson good luck just before pageant finals!











A few last minute words of advice for our client Jessica Scheu on finals night...











It was great to see Lindsey Kurhajetz who was my 1st RU the year I won Mrs. MN America. I would love to see her compete again some day--she's a cool chick!















HOORAY for my two new winners, Tami Krause - Mrs. MN International 2009 and Jessica Scheu - Miss Teen MN International 2009! I AM SO THRILLED FOR YOU BOTH!












Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop) and I are so proud of our winning clients! L to R: Sarah, Wendi Russo (Mrs. MN America 2008), Jessica Scheu (Miss Teen MN Int'l 2009), Tami Krause (Mrs. MN Int'l 2009), Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN 2008), and me











This is Jessica and I re-enacting our same pose from the night prior...must have been good luck!








My mom and I celebrate Jessica's win! My mom was INSTRUMENTAL in helping Jessica fine tune her interview...I will never forget the day Jessica said to my mom "I'm not afraid of you any more" after she had a great mock interview. Thank you mom for all of your help, we couldn't have done it without you!









Goofing around while holding Jessica's many plaques - Best in Interview, Best in Evening Gown, Best in Aerobicwear, and Photogenic Award! WOW!









I am blessed to work with some truly incredible teens! L to R: Gianna Capuzzi, Jessica Scheu, and Rachel Hitchcock. WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!











Welcome to the Mrs. MN International sisterhood Tami! L to R: Kelly Jahner-Byrne (2001), Leisha Gust (2008), Tami Krause (2009), me (2003), Ellie Ortmann (1994), Allison Stavrakis (1998), Nancy Paradeise (2004), Sue Hoffman (1995--also won Mrs. International)










Two out of three new queens isn't bad! :)

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!