Maza, Me, and a Pony Shoe (4/6/09)

During Miss Illinois Week, Hostess Sherrie Winters introduced me to a magical food known as the “horseshoe.” She spun a tale of a delicious meal only found in Springfield that consisted of two pieces of Texas toast, two hamburger patties (or another type of protein), meaty chili, handfuls of french fries, all smothered with a delectable homemade cheese sauce. I dreamed of the day that I would be able to eat such a meal and let me tell you, it was every bit as magnificent as I had hoped. Katie and John Frank took me to Darcy’s Pint for my first experience and, even though I chose to order a pony shoe (a “smaller” version – it was still gigantic to me), and I will never forget my first “heart attack on a plate” and will forever be grateful to them for taking me!

I spent the first week in April visiting central Illinois in the cities of Decatur, New Berlin, Springfield, Jacksonville, and Quincy. I started at Parson’s Elementary with a great group of students who had clearly had character education. After the assembly, the students presented me with owl socks in honor of their school’s mascot!

Katie and John Frank were kind enough to host me for the beginning of the week and we had fun swapping Pageant Land stories, touring New Berlin, and eating way too much good food. J Thank you to the Franks for looking out for me!

I drove about an hour over to Jacksonville to visit South Jacksonville Elementary and one of Franklin Elementary’s first grade classrooms. At South, I met my new friend Maza (pronounced Maze-ah) who actually “won me” in a Big Brothers Big Sisters raffle! From time to time, the organization will offer a school visit from Miss Illinois as a raffle or silent auction item and I was the lucky one to be able to come to South! At Franklin, I did my first CC! presentation to an entirely first grade audience and I was so impressed with the answers the students gave! Thank you to Lindsey Hess, Miss Gem City Executive Director, for welcoming me into her classroom and for arranging a wonderful stay in Jacksonville!

Friday night, I attended the Miss Quincy/Miss Gem City dress rehearsal and was excited to see my 2008 Miss Illinois sisters Casey Little and Amanda Delaney. It was nice to catch up with the two of them and I loved meeting the 2009 contestants as well! I taught the girls their swimsuit and evening gown walking patterns and I was excited to be able to spend some quality time with the girls. Thank you to Donna Haire, Miss Quincy Executive Director, for a great evening and for including me in the show!

Saturday morning was a memorable one as I started the day off in a limo! Joe from Executive Transportation LLC picked me up and we drove to Maza’s house to start our very special day. Maza and her grandmother, Georgia, greeted me with flowers and I crowned Maza with her very own crown. We chatted in the limo for the hour drive to Quincy and learned a lot about one another. After arriving at the pageant in style, we filmed a TV segment, did newspaper interviews, chatted with the Emcee on stage at the Princess/Pre-Teen/Teen pageant, ate dinner with the judges, and spoke at the Miss Pageant! We had great backstage seats and Maza soaked in every moment. She helped with the crowning of the new titleholders and the new Miss Gem City is actually her pom coach! We had a great day together and I look forward to a continued relationship with such a cool girl. Congratulations to Kellea Dietrich, our new Miss Quincy, and Ruthi Brooks, Miss Gem City!

I awoke early the next morning to prepare for a photo shoot with our new Miss Illinois sponsor – Limelight Studios out of Metropolis, IL. Sherie and Amy were awesome to work with and I recommend them for any of your photography needs! You can check out their website here: http://www.limelightstudiophotography.com and you may even notice some familiar faces! Thank you Limelight for a great shoot!

Don’t forget, Illinois’ Talent Competition deadline has been extended to April 30th!

Katie :)

Miss Illinois 2008

Missillinois2008@gmail.com