Muscatine's Outstanding Teen

2011-12-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

I have had a busy month of December. I went and got three angles of the angle tree and got donations for that. What an amazing experience. The director of Salvation army took me on a tour of the building to see all the donations. It was amazing to see that our community can come together and help families in need. There was over 75 bikes and three rooms filled of toys, games and clothing. Amazing!!!!!

My mom and I also got five winter coats for the coat connection and droped them off at Taco Johns. Its a great feeling to be able to help people in so many ways.

Went to the Miss Iowa send off party in Davenport. It was great to see my first Pageant sister Jessica Pray Miss Muscatine/Miss Iowa. Her wordrobe is beautiful, and her taleant is superb!!! What a beautiful voice Jessica has! I wish her the best of luck at Miss Iowa and praying for her safe travel. GOOD LUCK JESSICA PRAY!!!!!!

Tonight is the Prairie Rose Schlarship in Burlington Iowa. Cant wait to go see some of my pageant sister and meet some new pageant sisters!!! Good luck to all the ladies running for a title tonight!

My year as Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen is almost over. :( Im going to miss working with Kindra Platt and Ashley Brown Vicki Platt and all the other members of the board. I have grown and learned so much through this program. Its been an honor to be part of such an amazing program!! I am going to miss you all so much!!! I have alot of good memories from the last year. The one that sicks out the most is our trip to Chicago with Kindra, Ashely, and Jessica Pray. Kindra ran into the door, and we laughed so hard. It was a great time. Thanks ladies for an amazing year. Good luck to you and your next title holders. Hope to stay in touch in the future! Of course I will see you at future pageants and hopefully I will competing at the Miss Iowa/Miss Iowa outstanding Teen.

2011-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

November 26th my mom, Grandma and I went to the Miss Louisa Miss Wapello pageant. It was a good time. I enjoyed seeing all my pageant sisters!!! Congratulations to all thenew title holders!! You will have a great year of learning and growing.

Miss Iowa Jessica Pray was the emcee, she is so funny I enjoyed every minute. Im so glad I got the chance to be her pageant sister!!!

2011-11-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well I know its been awhile since my last post, I have been very busy the last several months. I am still collecting shoes for my platform Soles4Souls. Currently I have collected over 2000 pairs. I am working on another shipment so my numbers will go up even higher.

After Miss Iowa week I was in the 4th of July parade in Muscatine, Grandview and West Liberty. I really had alot of fun and enjoyed seeing all my pageant sisters.

I started back to school in August at L & M High School. I really like the smaller school it is like everyone is family there. I have made alot of new friends and some really nice teachers. I went to my first homecoming dance at L & M this year with a group of girls, we started with pictures and out to eat then to the dance. I had a good time.

September 24, 2011 My mom, my sister and I packed up the truck to go see a Taylor Swift concert and went on a girls weekend away, we went to Kansas City Mo. We left on Friday morning, decorated my sisters truck with Taylor Swift songs, and drove 8 hours to the hotel. Last year we got to meet Taylors mom Andrea and this year we meet Taylors dad Scott. Next year hopefully we get to meet Taylor Swift!!! We had a blast at the concert!!

I went to the pageant school where Katie Stam spoke about her experience with the Miss America, she was awesome and I loved hearing her stories. I had to leave a little early due to volleyball, but I still had fun while it lasted!

Well I think this is it for now, I will try to blog again soon.

2011-06-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday.

I had my interview today! It was fabulous, although I don't quite remember all of the questions they asked me, I know it went great. All of the judges are great and there wasn't one of those "scary" judges you always think there will be. After my interview I got to move in my wardrobe and get ready for talent rehearsal, at first my CD started skipping and I was a little bit nervous about that, but the second time through it was fine. Then came dress rehearsal. It was great, production number look fantastic, all of the walks and turns look great, it will be a great opportunity to be able to attend Miss Iowa and Miss Iowa Outstanding Teen this year!

Thursday.

I am going to Skip-A-Long Daycare this morning to work with the little kids. After we're done we are having a Children's Miracle Network presentation at the hotel then we are done for the day up until about five, then we have talent warm up and then prelims begin! Hope to see you there!

Lots of love,
Brooklyn

Miss Iowa Outstanding Teen week!

2011-06-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Monday, day two!

We went to the Putnam Museum too volunteer at the titanic exhibit which was very cool and interesting. If you go to the exhibit the first thing you receive when you enter is a boarding pass with a persons name that was truly on the titanic. The card has several facts about your person and tells you what class they were in. At the end of the exhibit there is a memorial wall with names of who survived and who did not make it. Since my person was in the third class, sadly I did not make it. After we found that out I was with Taylor Wiebers and Jessica Erbst we talked to one of the tour guides and she said that the saying about who died and who lived was two out of three people lived, which was really weird because Taylor and Jessica lived and I had passed away. After we left the Putnam Museum we went to the Fountains, a senior living home, and performed our talent, everyone did great!

Tuesday, day three already!

This morning we went and were guests on the radio station, B100, it was so much fun Tony, and Brian were hilarious, always cracking jokes. Once we were done with the radio station we came back to the hotel and took a brake then off we go again. We went too Workout with Ray, I was very pleased with the turn out of the workout, I was afraid it would be all stretching as the miss' had described it too be, but it was great. We worked on love handles, calf's, thighs, and abs. At 2:30 p.m. we will be going to the Fountains again, but this time too watch Miss America Outstanding Teen competitions. I'm looking forward to interviews tomorrow morning, I'll tell you how I thought it went, and I can't wait for everybody too be at Preliminary rounds and finals on Saturday!

Much love,
Brooklyn Heuer

2011-06-05T20:34:00.001-07:00

Little Miss Muscatine, Taya Melendez!

I have known little Taya since I was about ten years old, this girl has been through so much in her life fighting against cancer. Taya is very into pageants and loves to be with her family and friends. For her talent she danced to a song off of dance central for the wii. Her father mentioned, "What do you need a dance teacher for when you have a wii?" I know that Taya has worked very hard too earn her title and will have a fantastic year as little Miss Muscatine.

Miss Iowa week!

I'm looking forward to this week being able to talk to all of the contestants and the Iowa board, today was sort of a "laid back" day, we had a tea with all the contestants, Pauli Mayfield, and Aly Olson. Then dinner afterwards with the same people. Finally came rehearsal with Bruce Brown, we got through evening gown walks, and part of our production number. I am having a blast with Jessica Pray, Elizabeth Davidson, Jessica Erbst, also many other contestants. Even though it is the first day we all have spent together I feel as if it is going to be a great week and we all will get along very well. Even though only one girl will walk away with the Miss Iowa and Miss Iowa Outstanding Teen 2011 title, we all will walk away with our heads held high and congratulating the new title holders.

Much more blogging to come this week!

Brooklyn Heuer

2011-05-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend and would like too hear some of my stories. I am preparing for Miss Iowa Outstanding Teen competitions as you know, by keeping up with current events, having many mock interviews and getting out into the world volunteering at places like Ronald McDonald house, the Library, also many other places. I go around to schools talking about my platform Soles4Souls and the three main things I want to get across too the kids are, what soles4souls is, what is does, and how they can help. I got involved with Soles4Souls because for some odd reason i was watching television one day and the news came on talking about this boy who had been donating shoes for quite a while now and I already had a thought of helping world wide, not just locally, so once I really looked into Soles4Souls, I knew what I wanted too do.

I went too Chicago to have a meeting with Hop Models and Talent I gave Lyndon a picture of me and he said we would touch base again some time next week. He wanted more material from me, we emailed a few times and now I am waiting for Tuesday too recieve an email from him.(:

2011-04-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone, happy Easter!
I am so sorry for such the long time frame from my last post! There has been a lot going on and I would absolutely love to tell you all about it. I will have them in sections, so if your not interested in one of them you will not have to read through all of the other stuff in order to get to the next topic.(:

Just a couple Easter pictures though!

Regionals:

I had so much fun at regionals for volleyball! Even though it was a lot of rushing going from Des Moines back to Muscatine and just back and forth, (you know how it is,) concerning the play. I dedicated myself to each extracurricular activity and I was determined to attend both. Even if we did not do our best at regionals it was still worth the drive back and forth. My volleyball season with Pearl City Power Volleyball is over, sadly, but the team remains.(: The pictures below are some from regionals and just random other volleyball tournaments. We are a 14U team and played in a 15U tournament, we placed 2nd.

The Event: (Acting auditions.)

This event was a very life experience event. I do not think I would trade it for anything. How all this first started was, I had heard the ad on the radio and thought it would be kinda cool to call in and see if I would be accepted into the first 200 callers to get the chance to audition. I was. My mom was in the shower at the time, so she had no idea what so ever about anything that this was going to bloom into, so the person answered the phone and said "May I speak to your gardiean?" I replied as casual as ever "No, she is in the shower. Sorry." The guy told me too call back as soon as I could and hung up. I walked upstairs and told my mom, "Mom, you won't believe this.. I just got an audition for acting." She didn't believe me. Then once I called back and she started talking to them she was freaking out with excitiment. I went to the audition the next night and as soon as I walked into the Adler Theater I was presented a piece of paper with short lines to memorize and recite in front of a camera that was recording. I sat there, memorized, recited, memorized, recited. Finally I went up into line and got to do my audition. The next day, they called my mom asking for a second meeting. I was in.(: I got to spend a week in Florida meeting with different agencies and managers, getting to perform in front of them, all that good stuff, but what was really amazing, was all the people from different places that were there for the same event. I made lots of new friends from Texas and other places.(: Here are some pictures below.

Grease!

The Grease Musical that was performed by West Middle School students turned out awsome! I am so proud of everyone in that cast, through all the laughs, tears, fights, and hugs, everything pulled together and it was amazing! I had a lot of fun working with every one on Grease. It brought me many friend ships that I would love to have stick around, even though the musical is over. It is a little weird coming home right after school now since I was so used to staying and "hanging out" with the cast. I miss them! Here are some pictures of the musical that were taken.(:

2011-03-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!! Here we go, it is down to crunch time. There are so many up coming events to get ready for, Grease, April 8Th and 9Th, The (Tay), April 11Th through the 19Th, and state in June! Grease is looking absolutely fantastic with all of the cast members, the show is really coming together smoothly!(: The, is coming very quickly. For more information about The you can go to theapril2011.com. Also, state is coming quickly too. I'm excited for the competition and meeting new people. This weekend was very hectic, my sister's water broke at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, and her healthy baby boy was born on March 27Th at 6:09 a.m. weighing in at about five pounds. She was three weeks early, but her baby is very healthy. I hope to see you all at the Grease! Also, I hope to see you at state.(:

Aunt Brooke, After playing volleyball all day, I finally got to hold this little baby in my arms.(: Have a great, safe and fun week!

I will be blogging again soon, -Brooklyn

2011-03-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hey to everybody!

This post will not really deal with my platform, but I wanted to post this so that everyone is able to know about it, and also cancer is a very deep topic for me. It is very dear to my heart and has taken many of my loved ones. So if you would help me raise Max's spirts.

I want your help to fulfill this little boys wish. His name is "Mighty" Max Low, he is twelve years old, lives in Neola, Iowa and has been diagnosed with leukemia. From what the doctors are able to tell he has been fighting this disease for the past two or more years. Two years ago Max made a wish to receive one million cards. "Mighty" Max has received roughly around 23,000 cards so far. Can you please give a little shout out to this mighty child that has over come many battles in his life so far. If you could send a card to Max I would appreciate it so much. Keep Max and the Low family in your thoughts and prayers.

You may send the cards too:

Mighty Max Low
C/O Greg and Bambi Low
PO Box 111
Neola, IA 51559

Thank you so much and God Bless,
Brooklyn Heuer

2011-03-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hello to everybody!

As your Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen, you have to imagine that it is pretty busy. A couple days ago I went through all of my clothes and everything old, or anything that I did not want to wear any longer I put into a bag. Today I donated those clothes to Goodwill. I encourage all of you too do the same, go through you clothes and throw the ones you do not want any more in a bag and you can drop them off at Goodwill or Jessica's Closet in downtown Muscatine. Also, while your going through you clothes, you can go through your shoes and give me a call to have me pick them up for Soles4Souls. Which is going great by the way!(: While I was leaving to go to Goodwill, I decided to go through all of my towels since we used to have somewhere around 50. I narrowed it down to about twenty and called up M.C.S.A. and donated the towels there. I know they will be put to good use there. I am so glad that I am able to help out my community.

At Goodwill.

We arrived at M.C.S.A. safely! This month I got my drivers permit, whoop!(: So, it is safe for me to be behind the wheel, but my mom tells everybody to "Stay off the road, Brooklyn's driving!"

Donating some towels.

Tomorrow is a big day for me, as many of you many know I had received a MAXX Models&Talent award the night of the crowning in Muscatine. I have a photo shoot tomorrow for MAXX which will be awesome and so much fun.(: But, before I go to that I will be attending play rehearsal. I am the lead role, Sandy, in the school musical "Grease." I am looking forward to performing in the show this year, and hope many of you are able to come watch. The show dates are April 8Th and 9Th and will start at 7 p.m. and will be held at Central Middle School in the auditorium. There is a pre-show at 6 with a 50's theme. There will be cookies and punch sold and many cute cast pictures to look at. In the show, as many of you know the song "Born to Hand jive" will be playing, if you do not know the hand jive there will be people before the show starts teaching it. The tickets can be purchased at the door or from any cast members. I hope you are able to be apart of this years Grease Musical from West Middle School!(:

If you would like anymore information on Grease, my platform, or anything you would like to discuss with me you can contact me at heuerbk@mcsdonline.org

Thanks!

Brooklyn

Shopping.(:

2011-02-13T19:53:00.001-08:00

My oh my, where to start?(:

Over the weekend the pageant sisters and I went shopping in Chicago, Illinois. It was so much fun getting to know them so much more than what I already did. We had a lot of crazy experiences, and also did you know that the Everything For Pageants store is only an online store? We didn't so we typed the address into the GPS and went for a little drive that wasted an hour of our day to find the owner's house and no dresses. Then we went on with our adventure and got to stay in a haunted hotel! Great right? I didn't think so. The Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago was built in 1893 and was originally called the Auditorium Annex and many past presidents have given speeches and had meeting there such as, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin Roosevelt. We stayed there for two nights and we were only there to sleep. The first night passed by very fast and was very comfortable, but the second night Kindra, Ashley, Jessica, and I were all awakened at two in the morning by people in the room next to us, they were talking very loudly and screaming. That was very disturbing, we soon called down to the front desk to complain, and they sent someone up to observe. Of course as soon as the staff came up stairs the people left their room and became very quiet. They were quiet for just the right amount of time for all of us to fall back asleep at approximately three in the morning. We woke back up at eight and headed out. We had such a busy weekend, but a very fun one at that. I hope to have another intense shopping trip as that one soon.(: I will be writing soon! Have a great week.

xoxo,
Brooklyn.
(:

2011-01-31T20:25:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Emily! It was great seeing you get crowned! (: Have a fantastic time as a busy title holder with Miss Davenport board members, I'm sure you will have a wonderful year. I look forward to seeing you at state.

Pauli Mayfield and I, Jessica Pray and I, Ashley Brown and I, Abby Curtis and I.

Ladies, you are all gorgeous. Have a wonderful time being a busy title holder. I look forward too seeing you at state, and also appearances.

I hope everyone will have a great week and hopefully a safe week. (: snow, snow, snow.

Have a great weekend,

Brooklyn

2011-01-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hey again.(:

I'm having such a great time as Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen! I have been collecting shoes for my platform Soles4Souls. Someday I would love to visit all of the people that these shoes are going to and see their soul just light up inside and have their eye fill with tears. So far I have collected over 900 pairs of shoes for this organization. Anyone that would like to donate to Soles4Souls and help children and adults get a pair of shoes to wear again. There are collection boxes at Wesley United Methodist Church (400 Iowa Ave Muscatine, Iowa,) Heuer Construction (2360 Bypass 61 Muscatine, Iowa.) Also, you can contact me at heuerbk@mcsdonline.org and we can do a pick up for shoes.

Also, I would like to congratulate Miss Davenport Amanda Manning and Miss Davenport Outstanding Teen Emily Much. They did a great job up on stage! I am very proud of both of them. It was so much fun to actually be in the audience watching a pageant instead of having the rush backstage getting ready to look my best on stage. All of the ladies did a great job at Miss Davenport. Keep it up ladies! Remember Pauli's advice. "Keep going." I wish the best to everyone, have a great weekend. I hope I will, I am on my way to Des Moines for a dance competition.

All the best,
Brooklyn Heuer
Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen.

2011-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and had fun watching the Miss America crowning! Even though our Miss Iowa (Pauli Mayfield) did not reach the top 15 we all are very proud of her. She looked amazing up on that stage and has worked very hard as Miss Iowa.

Thank you Wendy Robinson-Koch for having all of the Miss Muscatine board members and also the title holders into your house to have a Miss America party! It was so much fun being able to sit down and get to know everyone. We all brought a healty snack to eat while we were watching Miss America. I could not believe my eyes when I saw all of the food on the table. I had such a great time and hope to have a get together again soon!

The board members, executive directors, and also the other title holders are wonderful people and friends. I look forward to having a great year with everyone.

Thanks for reading.
I will be writing again soon.(:

-Brooklyn.

Muscatine's Outstanding Teen 2011

2011-01-10T11:07:00.001-08:00

Greetings! I am Brooklyn Heuer and I was crowned Muscatine's Outstanding Teen 2011 on Saturday January 8th. I will compete for Iowa's Outstanding Teen in June at the Adler Theater and I'm excited to begin my preparation and community involvement.

Stay tuned for more updates!

2010-09-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

It's been quite some time since I've posted, and I have a lot to share!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to ride in the Wilton Founder's Day parade in Wilton, near Muscatine. It was a hot day, but I had a GREAT time. That night, Elizabeth joined the board and I and we worked on her final preparations for the National Sweetheart pageant. We had so much fun raiding Wal-mart and making hawkeye shoes and posters. After our sleepover, Jenny joined us in the morning, and we had a car wash to raise funds for the Miss Muscatine/Pearl City Scholarship program. What a fun weekend with awesome people.

By the way... Saturday the 28th, Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen, Aly Olson, won the non-finalist interview award at Miss America's Outstanding Teen. Congrats Aly! What an accomplishment.

Labor Day weekend, after watching the hawkeyes win, my parents and I drove to Hoopeston, IL to cheer on Miss Muscatine, Elizabeth Davidson as she represented Iowa in the National Sweetheart Pageant. She ended up winning preliminary talent AND a non-finalist talent award. CONGRATS ELIZABETH! YOU ARE AMAZING! I had a wonderful time watching the pageant, and I learned so much.

Make sure to check out photos!

Leah Bunkers

Muscatine County Fair

2010-07-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Anna, Alicia, and I

Miss Anna and I

Aly and I glistening :)

Singing

Again!

Hoedown Throwdown!

Interviewing on the radio station.

He was VERY tall! :)

Performing at the Grove

With the amazing Wendy!

Greetings!

Wednesday and Thursday I had the opportunity to perform at the Muscatine County Fair! Although both days were extremely hot, I had a great time. On Wednesday, I was joined by Elizabeth Davidson and two finalists to American Idol in Chicago. We had about two and a half hours on the stage, so I was able to sing nine songs. They lost the piano, so Elizabeth made her first singing debut, and let me tell you... she is amazing! What a talented girl. When Elizabeth and I were done performing for the day, we were interviewed on the Muscatine radio station.

When I arrived at the fair on Thursday, I was delighted to see Aly Olson standing by the sound booth! It was fun to hear about her preperations for Miss America's Oustanding Teen. Aly performed her national talent, which was fantastic! I am looking forward to her send off party August 1st in Des Moines.

I met a vocal student of Wendy Robinson-Koch during my two days performing. Her name is Alicia, and she was one of the finalists at American Idol in Chicago. What a nice girl with an amazing voice! I am currently trying to recruit her to compete at the Miss Muscatine pageant in January. :) Another one of Wendy's students was performing Hannah Montana's Hoedown Throwdown, and Wendy asked any of the performers that knew the dance to go up on stage and be her background dancers! Anna and I rushed up! I was a little rusty, but it was so much fun!!!

Please enjoy the photos from my days at the Muscatine County Fair!

Leah Bunkers

Photos!

2010-07-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Opening number
The top five from left to right, Maggie, 2nd r/u, me, 1st r/u, Abbey, 4th r/u, Aly, Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2010, Molly, 3rd r/u.

The Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen contestants visited Skip-a-Long Daycare Center in Davenport for our community service project. I can easily say that this was one of the highlights of the experience!

This little boy, Devon, rawred at me at first, but he eventually became my friend.

Playing Ring Around the Rosie with some of the kids!

The girls!

The Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen contestants at the day care center.

We had so much fun putting together chains of people.

Elizabeth Davidson, Miss Muscatine, and 1st runner up to Miss Iowa. Congrats girl!!

Miss Scott County's Outstanding Teen, Abbey Bryant, 4th runner up to Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen. What a sweet girl!
After the MIOT pageant, with my two AMAZING directors. I love you both!
With Jessica Baker, Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2009. Congrats on a job well done, Jess.
Some of the Outstanding Teen contestants at the Miss Iowa prelims.

2010-07-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Now that the state pageant is over, I have set out to reach my goal of being the best Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen that I can be.

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Bruner Field in Muscatine. I was honored to be a part of the celebration! The morning started at eleven with a speech from the Mayor of Muscatine. Next, titleholders and little kids from around the area created a chorus and sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". The crowd even joined us! While managers, past players, and important figures to baseball spoke, the Muscatine and Quad City baseball teams prepared for the double header. I was fortunate enough to sing the national anthem. What a day!

This Thursday I will be heading to Davenport to model in the John Taylor fashion show! I can't wait! On Wednesday July 21st, Miss Iowa, Miss Muscatine, Miss Louisa County's Outstanding Teen and I will be performing a show at the Muscatine County Fair starting at 12 p.m. It will be an afternoon filled with great talent, so if you are in the area, stop by! The week after that, Wednesday the 28th, is the Louisa County Fair's Bill Riley Talent Search, and I will be performing in that as well, which starts at 6 p.m.

Until later,

Leah Bunkers

2010-06-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I am finally home from Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen week! It was so much fun, and I loved getting to know all of the other contestants. I am very proud to say that I was awarded 1st runner-up to Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen! All of the hard work I have put in over the past five months really paid off. I don't believe that I could have done anything better. Friday night I was given another award as well called the Spirit of America. This is an award voted on by the contestants, similar to "Miss Congeniality". I am so honored to have gotten this award.

I'd like to congratulate Aly Olson, the new Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2010. I wish her the best of luck as she prepares and competes at Miss America's Outstanding Teen in August. Also, a big congratulations to Elizabeth Davidson, Miss Muscatine, for placing 1st runner-up to Miss Iowa! Jenny Neal, Miss Pearl City, placed 2nd runner-up to Miss Iowa. I am so proud of both of these ladies! They are such wonderful role models for me!

I will upload pictures as soon as I get my camera unpacked! :)

Leah Bunkers

2010-06-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

With my wonderful interview coach, John Robinson.

The team at Relay for Life

Kendi, the new Miss Pre-teen Muscatine

Kindra, my amazing E.D., and I at the Relay for Life

The new Little Miss Muscatine, Alexandria

Greetings!

I just arrived in the Quad Cities for the Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen pageant week! On my way, I stopped at the fabulous Ashley's house for a pageant chat. Thank you Ashley for all that you have done to help me get ready, I truly appreciate it! Speaking of thank yous, I have a LOT of people to thank who have gotten me this far.

I spent my last week before the pageant preparing and practicing. I believe that preparation is a necessity for success. I'd like to thank John Robinson for graciously donating his time to prepare me for my interview. Mr. Robinson has been a big part of my preparations. Did you know that the average American has $3,900 credit card debt? This is just one of the many interesting statistics I learned from John.

I spent last weekend in Muscatine and Davenport with my other E.D. Kindra. On Friday night, we participated in the Muscatine Relay for Life. We were so lucky that the rain waited until after the event! The next morning, Kindra and I went to Davenport to get a few last minute things for the pageant. I don't think I could ever get tired of shopping! After we got all ready for the Little Miss Muscatine pageant, we made a stop at Kindra's cousin's graduation party. Funny story... So I walked in wearing a bright pink dress, curled hair, full make-up and jewelry, and silver heals. Now most people at this party were in pretty normal clothes, so I kind of stood out like a sore thumb. But anyways, after looking at me, a guest turned to the graduate and said, "Your graduation present is here!!!" The pageant was very fun! I watched John Robinson's granddaughter Alexandria win Little Miss Muscatine! What a treat!

Check back for updates throughout the week!

Leah Bunkers

2010-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

In my spare time, I am Happy Bear!

Hello!

It has been a while since I've had a spare moment to post a blog entry! I have been spending the last month finishing my preperations for Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen (which is next week, yay!). I've been filling up my gas tank very frequently these days as I travel to Muscatine for interview preperation and appearences, Steamboat Rock for talent preperation with my lovely voice teacher, Rosemary, and the occasional trip to Davenport. Although some dread long car rides, I honestly enjoy hitting the road.

Last week, I was "Happy Bear" for the last time during the 2009-2010 school year. The instructor and I went to a pre-school center to do our lesson. I bet many of you are reading this and are thinking, "What in the world is Happy Bear!?" Well, Happy Bear is a program in Newton where volunteers along with the instructor visit pre-schools, day care centers, kindergarten classes, etc. to teach the children how to stay safe. We differentiate good and bad touches and instruct what to do if a stranger talks to them. This is one of my favorite organizations that I work with. I even get to dress up as a panda bear named Happy!

Tomorrow I will be heading to Muscatine for the weekend! Friday evening is the Muscatine Relay for Life, and I am so excited to be a part of it! Saturday evening is the Little Miss Muscatine pageant, which is not affiliated with MAO to relieve any possible confusion. As Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen, I am a role model for the little girls of Muscatine. I wish them all the best of luck!

Until later,

Leah Bunkers

2010-04-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Above and below are two of the three "looks" that I modeled at the Bridal Fashion show.

Above is a photo at the Miss Iowa Bridal Extravaganza with two artistry representatives. Artistry is a major sponsor of the Miss America Organization!

Below are some photos from prom!

Below is Trent and I at the Elton John concert!

Happy Tuesday!

I am so glad the rain FINALLY stopped! There has been so much going on the past couple of weeks. Looking back, I can't remember where I found time for it all!

Friday the 16th, my parents, Trent, and I went to the Elton John concert at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines! Although we were in the nose-bleeds, literally as far away from Elton John as possible in the arena, we had a great time and enjoyed the show. He kept the concert-goers on the edge of their seats for nearly three hours. After the concert, we went out to dinner and headed back to town.

Saturday the 17th, I performed "Pie Jesu" by Pirtle and "The Stars Are With the Voyager" by Althouse at the State Solo and Ensemble Contest at Lincoln High School in Des Moines. After receiving a Division I rating for my vocal solo, my parents and I rushed back to Newton to start getting ready for prom! My friends at Be Beautiful did a fantastic job on my hair, so a special thank you to Bethany and Kendra! After pictures on Curtis' farm, my group of eight loaded an old, rearranged school bus and took off for Des Moines. I had an amazing meal at the Court Avenue Brewery and Restaurant. After the dance, Trent's band played for the first two hours of after prom in the gym. At about 3 a.m., the hypnotist began... That was probably one of the highlights of the night (or should I say morning)! I finally got to sleep at five, but woke up soon after for work at the church!

Last weekend was packed, too! Friday night, I performed my act "Gimme Gimme" in Cafe, my high school music department's variety show. Directly after I sang, my mom and I headed to Davenport for the Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen Bootcamp! This was a lot of fun. I met all of the contestants and learned so much. Unfortunately, we didn't get to bed until 2 a.m.! The next morning after breakfast, the Miss Iowa contestants, EDs, and parents arrived at the Fountains and we were fortunate to have Cathy Herd give a presentation. She is wonderful!

After making a stop in Muscatine, we drove back to Newton, and I got ready for the second night of Cafe. I performed my act and performed with the show choir this night. I just love entertaining my friends, teachers, and community members!

Sunday morning at 7:30, it was back to Davenport! Yes, this was the third trip of the weekend! At 10 a.m., the models for the Miss Iowa Bridal Extravaganza met up at the Clarion Hotel to get hair and make up done. I had a great time being involved in this event! At the Bridal Extravaganza, I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with most of the Miss Iowa contestants, man the Miss Iowa booth, and model David's Bridal gowns in the fashion show! So much fun!

I also have a busy weekend ahead... Friday, I will be going to Muscatine to volunteer at the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) walk. Elizabeth, Miss Muscatine, and I will be registering walkers and participating.

Please enjoy my pictures above from the past two weeks!
Take care!

Leah Bunkers

2010-04-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Above is Jake, Olan, and I playing in the nursery at Church! (My Sunday job)
Below is Pia, Kati, and I at the Iowa Clinic Fundraiser

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I hope you all are having a nice April so far. There are finally leaves on the tree in my backyard, thank goodness!

We started the fourth and final term of the school year last week! I was on the 'A' honor for the third term.. Yay! Chemistry is turning out to be a lot of work. Science is not my strong point, but I managed to get a 96% on the final!

Last Saturday, after taking the ACT in the morning, I helped at the Iowa Clinic Fundraiser in Des Moines at the Temple of Performing Arts downtown. My best friend's mom is the head of the board, so Kati, her foreign exchange student Pia, and I set up and sold raffle tickets at the event.

Monday night, there was a recital at my school for the students that are going to state solo and ensemble contest this Saturday! I got a chance to perform my two pieces in front of Dr. Anne Petri, families, and friends. This Saturday is also prom! My group is going to a restaurant in downtown Des Moines, it should be fun! Unfortunately, I am still waiting on my dress to get done being altered, which is pretty nerve wracking.

Well this is all for now, take care!

Leah Bunkers

2010-03-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

Above are my friends Spencer, Sam, and I at the National Honor Society Induction.
Below is the class of 2011 National Honor Society Inductees.

Below is the "Midnight Express" Varsity Show Choir

Performing "West Side story"

Below is the Varsity Chorale at the Spring Concert. I am on the far right!

2010-03-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

This past week has flown by very quickly! The NHS spring vocal concert started it out with a bang. My show choir performed our show, and the Varsity Chorale performed five pieces. I have so much fun participating in both of these. I am currently preparing two pieces to perform at the State Solo and Ensemble Contest in the middle of April... as well as perfecting my talent selection for the MIOT pageant!

Although I had to work most of the weekend, I was able to watch my boyfriend and his band's show Saturday night. They did a fantastic job, and I had a lot of fun with my friends.

Last night, I was inducted into the National Honor Society. There was a ceremony at the high school, and Newton's Mayor Chaz Allen was the special guest. He made a great speech, and he complimented the inductees on being the "best of the best students" at Newton Sr. High School. Mayor Allen spoke of the National Honor Society in a way that is parallel to the Miss America Organization. There are four components that National Honor Society members must exemplify: scholarship, leadership, character, and service. These are very similar to the values of the MAO.

Today was a busy day. During peer tutoring, I left school to meet with my "little sister" at her elementary school. For those of you unfamiliar, Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program that matches volunteers with elementary students that may be lacking a positive role model in his or her life. Brianna and I enjoyed the beautiful weather; we hung out on the playground spent time talking about our summer plans. Wednesday is Link Crew day at my school. As a Link Crew Leader, I meet with about fifteen freshmen students to discuss high school stuff such as finals, dances, hall etiquette, study habits, and the importance of good grades and attendance. It's nice for the freshmen to have a few familiar faces in the halls so they don't feel so intimidated when they arrive at school in the fall, which is one of the main reasons why Link Crew exists.

That's all for now, Happy April Fools Day!

Leah Bunkers

2010-03-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Above is Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2009, Jessica Baker, and I at the Eastern Iowa pageant.

Below is onstage at the Johnson/Linn County pageant during introductions.

Congratulations to my friend Anna for winning the Linn County's Outstanding Teen title!

2010-03-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

A few of my team members at the "Meals From the Heartland" event

Above, I am sporting my new orange "Meals From the Heartland" T-shirt

Below is my team... hard at work!

Hello everyone!

It has been a little over three months since I earned the title of Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen 2010. It is a complete honor to hold such a prestigious title! Since the pageant in January, I have been busy studying hard and completing my junior year at Newton Senior High School. Last week I was accepted into the National Honor Society... hard work, in fact, DOES pay off!

I have had the opportunity to travel to many local pageants over the past several months. I've even gotten my dad to come with me to a few! It's nice to be able to relax in the audiance and cheer on my friends. That is probably one of the best parts about competing in pageants, I get to meet wonderful people and make new friends.

The Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2010 pageant is coming up around the cornor, so I am spending a lot of my spare time preparing, practicing, and best of all, SHOPPING! My executive directors Kindra and Ashley, Elizabeth, and I took a rode trip in February to go wardrobe shopping. It was so much fun to hang out with the girls! Unfortunately, our feet hurt from walking so much, and we were tired! My morning started at 3:30, AHH! But it was successful, and I found some great outfits. We made it back to Iowa safe and sound, despite the ice and snow storm.

My platform is called "Self Esteem: Promoting the Confidence to Be Yourself". I have been working on it for three years now, and I have begun a program for 4th-6th grade girls. Every other week, I meet with a group of girls over lunch, hence the name, "Lunch Bunch". This is a group of about fifteen girls that have been reccommended by their teachers. Each week, we discuss a new topic relating self esteem. Topics that we have covered in the past few months are personal hygiene, physical fitness, scholastic achievement, nutrition, bullying, and manners. "Lunch Bunch" is always the highlight of my week. I enjoy watching the girls' attitudes improve and characters grow.

In February, I had the opportunity to volunteer for "Meals From the Heartland", a fabulous organization that packs meals for the hungry not only in the United States, but across the world. Iowans from many different backgrounds joined as one to decrease world hunger, it was incredible. Throughout the day, I greeted volunteers as they came in and directed them to their work stations. The last few hours, I actually got put on a 'team', and I packed 1,296 meals! There were ten people on my team, a few were from a church group, and a few were just co-workers doing a good deed together. Just in that day alone, almost 800,000 meals were packed for the hungry! I encourage everyone to sign up for a shift at the September event which will take place at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines. Shifts are only one hour, but it is probably one of the most

rewarding hours you'll ever have. The pictures at the top this page are from the event!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Have a great week and take care.

Leah Bunkers

Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen