NATIONALS!!!

The time is finally here, NATIONALS!! I am so excited to be here and be part of such an amazing pageant system!! This pageant has changed my life so much and made me a better person.....I hope I am blessed with the opportunity to reach out to other woman and encourage them to take a step toward reaching for their dreams, believing in themselves and also encouraging communities to support our Armed Forces! Its all in God's hands...... one of my favorite sayings, If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it!! I believe this with all my heart! Here's to a great time at Nationals and the chance to make my dream come true!!

This has been a very fun week for me, I made 9 appearances in a week, I volunteered 37.5 hours in communities across my state and met 100s of new friends!! THIS is what getting to be MRS. IOWA IS ALL ABOUT!!!

My kids, to Amber, Adam, Reagan, Zachary, and Emily - Thank you so much to you all for your patience, love, support and flexibility as I follow my dream! The hard work and dedication you all put toward your school work and sports and Amber...to your dedication of working full time and taking care of beautiful Laila, you are an example to me of how to reach your dreams. Although I have the title of Mrs. Iowa.....my favorite title is MOM! I love you all!

Mrs. Iowa with husband Joe and our Army buddies we do community volunteer work with. This is one dedicated group of soldiers that represent the US Army with pride and dignity!

Mrs. Iowa and Miss Iowa Teen Spirit Brandi Schmidt

Mrs. Iowa US and the Johnson County Fair Queens

Mr. Richard Meyer,former Mayor of Coralville, Iowa and founder of the 4TH of July Parade

The Grand Marshal of the parade was Mr. Dan Gable and I was honored to meet one of Iowa's greatest legends! Some facts about Mr. Gable-

Coach:

■Coached Iowa to 15 NCAA Titles
■21 yr. record of 355-21-5 (94.4%)
■Big Ten record of 131-2-1 (98.5%)
■21 Big Ten Team Titles
■Coached 45 National Champions
■Coached 152 All-Americans
■Coached 106 Big Ten Champions
■3x NCAA Coach of the Year
■7 perfect seasons
■9 Consecutive NCAA titles
■NCAA record of 170 team points in 1997
■1980, 1984, 2000 US Olympic Head Coach
■Coached 12 Hawkeye Olympians
■‘Sports Figure of the Century in Iowa’ by Sports Illustrated

Competitor:

■3x Iowa High School State Champion
■3x Big Eight Champion Iowa State University
■3x All-American
■182-1 Combined prep and college record
■6x Midlands Champion
■3x USA Freestyle National Champion
■1971 World Champion
■Outstanding Wrestler at Tbilisi Tournament
■1972 Olympic Gold Medalist
■Did not surrender a point in Munich Games
■Top 100 Olympians of all time
■Wrestler of the Century by Gannett Co.

Thank you to my husband Joe who attends every event he can with me. Joe takes photos, helps out the organizations I support, watches the kids so I can be at events if needed and does an incredible job as MR.IOWA!!! I am blessed to have such a supportive and loving husband who allows me to follow my dreams! I love you Joe!!

Mr.John Dolphin of the Cedar Rapids Corvette Club very kindly drove me in the Coralville 4 Th of July Parade.

West Branch 4 TH of July Pancake Breakfast

July 4, 2011~ Everyday should start with a good breakfast and today Joe and I stopped at the West Branch pancake breakfast. This is our home town and we had a great time with our fellow community members. I even met some more WWII Vets that have been on Honor Flight! My town is small but the people here are so friendly and make you feel like family! I love West Branch!

Eastern Iowa Honor Flight at the Kernels

CR Kernels Armed Forces Night

July 2, 2011~ The Cedar Rapids Kernel baseball team sponsored Armed Forces Night At The Ball Park and allowed Eastern Iowa Honor Flight to accept donations, they had a 50/50 Raffle (which we could not sell tickets fast enough for) and the players worn camo jerseys that were auctioned off with the proceeds going to EIHF.
The highlight of the night was our WWII Veteran, Mike who went on an HF in the spring. The flight changed his life so much he donated $ 50,000.00 to HF so more Vets could go! WOW!! What an amazing man he is to do this! The Kernels had Mike throw out the first pitch for the game. I was honored to be his escort onto the field! Mike did an incredible job and the crowd gave him a standing ovation! Mike is just an great guy to talk with and I am blessed to have been given this opportunity.
Our fundraising was a huge SUCCESS~ we raised $ 5,000.00!!!!

Operation Care and Comfort at Old Navy

July 2, 2011~ Old Navy Stores nationwide took part in Operation Care and Comfort. This is their way of supporting our troops, they ask their customers to donate socks or flip flops and they send them overseas to the troops. You can also donate $5.00 and Old Navy will match the nationwide total amount in the end. I was proud to be a part of this event!! One lady I asked to donate said the best comment I have heard.... I said, "Thank you for doing this for the troops" and she said " No, its what they do for us!!"
The little girl I am talking to in the picture, had just asked me if I lived in a castle! How sweet!!! She was adorable!!
Many thanks to Old Navy for making a company wide contribution and their dedication to those who are serving America!!