Free Time? Nah.... I'm Miss Minnesota!

Two weeks and counting until Miss Minnesota week starts, and we will crown a new Miss Minnesota 2010. As I try to squeeze the last few appearances in the time I have left, I am also writing my farewell, and preparing for my life after Miss Minnesota. The day after I give up my title as Miss Minnesota, I am right back into my show at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, which will continue until July 31st. Then I will have a few weeks off, until I start school back up. I am looking forward to being a constant resource for the new Miss Minnesota, and continue advocating for Children’s Miracle Network.

The last few weeks have been quite busy, as most of my weeks are. With performances every night other then Monday, and Miss Minnesota appearances during the day.... Memorial Day was the perfect day to relax and spend some quality time with my family.

On May 14 at the Eagan Walmart we celebrated our new Children’s Miracle Network Champion, Bella Giraldo. I met Bella and her family at the Mall of America CD Release Party, and was excited to be apart of this special day for her. The theme of Bella’s Party was Princess, and I wanted her to feel like a true princess. With the help of my seamstress Chrissy Stoner, and Sundantz Creations we created Bella her own sash!

At the event I met up with Vicki Kueppers and her daughter Kathryn who set up the sound system. Then I chatted with the crew from Gillette, and the rest of the guests. It was wonderful to hear Bella’s mom, Rebecca, talk about how grateful she is of Gillette Children’s, and to see Bella’s face when I gave her the sash, and her own crown! I, of course, did not forget about her little sister Grace, as I crowned her as well! Then I performed the song “Part of Your World” from Bella’s favorite Disney movie, The Little Mermaid. If you are attending Miss Minnesota this year, you will have the opportunity to meet Bella and her family!

I am also spending a few of my mornings at Gillette Children’s volunteering with their patients. The hospital has been doing some remodeling, and it looks beautiful! I am excited for their new edition to open next fall. Also with being apart of the cast of Footloose, I was able to do a volunteer opportunity with my entire cast. We went to Feed My Starving Children in Chanhassen, where we were able to hand-pack meals specially for starving children. Since we needed to have 50 people volunteer I called on the help from some of the Miss Minnesota contestants. Miss Twin Cities, Kathryn, Miss Moorhead, Bethany, and Miss Mankato, Samantha were able to help out. We ended of packing 62 boxes, that's about 13,392 meals! It was such an incredible day! This year Miss Minnesota has welcomed a new sponsor, Coco and Chloe. They wanted to put on a fashion show with Miss Minnesota and the contestants. They were very accommodating of my schedule, and booked a day I had off from my show. Last Monday, at Majors in Bloomington they held a fashion show and a fundraiser for Children’s Miracle Network. I sang my song “Don’t You Dare” and then quickly jumped into the fashion show!

I look forward to seeing everyone at Miss Minnesota this year! I better get back to working on my farewell, and finding my songs to sing for the preliminary nights! Oh, and my 8 show week ☺
Always,
Brooke

One Month to Go!

I have not had a spare moment since starting Footloose. On top of performing 8 shows a week at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre and keeping up with my appearances as Miss Minnesota, my May schedule has definitely picked up. So this blog is a tad late but I thought I would update you on what I have been doing these last couple of weeks.

It is my one month anniversary performing with Chanhassen Dinner Theatre! I cannot believe I still have two and a half months of the show left. Who knew you could have so much fun at work? If you have not seen the show yet, I strongly encourage you to come check it out! Footloose is such a great show to watch, and this cast is so talented!

Before I was cast in the show Footloose, I took a job on Monday night’s teaching at Premiere School of Modeling for Faith Schway. Did I mention that Monday is the only night I have off from the show? The class size is 12 girls and they are all different ages. Some of the girls are looking into competing in pageants, some would like to try modeling, and others are taking the class for confidence. I have truly enjoyed working with all of the girls, and we always have a lot of laughs during the class.

That is what I have been busy doing when I am not wearing the crown. Now back to Miss MN appearances, I was invited to Eagan’s Wine Tasting Event at the Eagan Community Center. Luckily I was able to stop by for an hour before I had to leave for my show. I met up with Margo Danner (who has been a wonderful supporter of me ever since I competed in Miss Twin Cities) and we greeted all the guests who arrived. It was nice to see so many familiar faces from the area, and thank them for all their support.

Three weeks ago I attended the Miss Minnesota Workshop for all 20 contestants competing this year. Since it was on a Saturday I had to take off from my matinee show, thank you so much Maria for covering for me! The workshop was an all day event. We started with picking the contestant order, and then roommates (I found out that Miss Minnesota get’s her own room!!). We went over the entire schedule for Miss Minnesota week, what to expect, what to wear, and how to prepare. I remember one year ago when I was sitting where the contestants were, and I had so many questions and thoughts going through my head. This year I tried to provide answers to any of the questions they might have, and help put their mind at easy. The rest of the day consisted of presentations from our partners such as Gillette Children’s, YoungQuest Fitness, Arbonne, and Paula Preston. Then I was off to my show that night!

Last week was packed with appearances for Gillette Children’s. It started with the Grand Opening of the new Bruegger’s Bagels in North Oaks Village. It was a fundraiser for Children’s Miracle Network as well. If you purchased a dozen bagels, part of the proceeds were donated to CMN. At the event we had the CEO Jim Greco and Head Chef Phillip Smith to kick off the grand opening! Bruegger’s Bagels in North Oaks Village was 1 of 5 stores that they were visiting! Phillip gave us the history on how the bagel and cream cheese from Bruegger’s are made, and he even gave us samples of their new Iced Coffee Coolers! As I was heading out the door to my show, I was handed a bag of a dozen bagels, and 2 boxed lunches. The rest of the cast of Footloose was happy when I brought them bagels to share in the dressing rooms.

The next day was an Art Gallery Fundraiser for Gillette Children’s. I ran into a lot of friends from Gillette who I had seen at the hospital and my CD release party. The artists were Gillette Patients! It was fun learning about their picture they painted, and having them describe it to me.


May 1st was probably one of the longest days of my life! I woke up bright and early to head over to the CMN Walk at Como Park. I started the walk off by singing the National Anthem, taking tons of photos and signing autographs. It was a beautiful day, and we could not have asked for better weather. A few of the contestants competing for Miss Minnesota were in attendance as well, and we were able to catch up a bit. During the walk I was able to see plenty of familiar faces, volunteers from Gillette, employees from Wal-Mart, and patients I had met before. For most of the walk I was with Gracie and her mom Linda. I met Gracie the year before at the CMN Walk while I was Miss Twin Cities. I then ran into her at the Art Galley where her painting was on display. Gracie always has a smile on her face, and continues to inspire me. I am so excited to have her come to Miss Minnesota this year!

After the walk was finished I was able to meet other families from Gillette, and hear their stories as well. The connection I have made with Gillette Children’s has definitely been one of the best parts of my year. After the walk at Como Park I drove right to Chanhassen for a matinee show and thankfully I was able to squeeze in a 30 minute nap before the evening show at eight.

The next day I was up bright and early again to emcee the MusicLink Play-athon at the Mall of America. I emceed last year as Miss Twin Cities, then this year as Miss Minnesota, and told everyone that next year I would just have to be plain Brooke ☺ MusicLink is an organization that raises money for music lessons for children in need. During the Play-athon we had students who had benefited from this program perform for the audience. All the kids were extremely talented, and I had the opportunity to perform as well. I look forward to next year!

On Mother’s Day my whole family ran in the Race for the Cure. My older brother Mike surprised us by coming home that weekend, and he joined us on the run. I am so incredibly proud of my mom who finished her first 5K run! My mom was Supermom this year with everything she did to help during my reign as Miss Minnesota. I would not be here without her, and I love her so much!

In four weeks I will embark on a new chapter in my life. When I think about giving up my title as Miss Minnesota, so many emotions run through me, yes I will be sad to see this year end, but relieved to have a little more free time. I am anxious to see who will be my successor, and excited for another girl to experience the year I had. I feel proud, blessed, overwhelmed, and honored because I did everything I wanted to this year, and more. Sure, some things did not go the way I had hoped, but there have been many astounding opportunities along the way. For these last four weeks I will cherish every moment I have as Miss Minnesota.

Always,
Brooke