Making My Summer Count!

Dear Friends,

The past month has continued to be a time of travel, opportunity, and excitement for me as Miss Iowa. I have taken part in a number of fun and remarkable experiences occurring both in and out of the state of Iowa. From emceeing the 2007 Washington County Queen Pageant to being a guest speaker at the National Character Counts! Conference in Anaheim, California, my memories as Miss Iowa continue to multiply as I meet extraordinary people and take part in so many once in a lifetime experiences.

When I last left you, I was preparing for the 2007 National Baton Twirling Championships in South Bend, Indiana. My week at AYOP was very rewarding for me! AYOP always brings together the best of the best twirlers in the country and it was great to see so many of my twirling friends and colleagues from across the nation. I enjoyed competing and performing each day and felt a great sense of support from the twirling community as twirlers and coaches wished me well on my year as Miss Iowa. Although an exhausting week, I was pleased with my performances and was a finalist in both the National Collegiate Strutting and Twirling Championships, placed second in the open two baton competition, and I won my twelfth National Show Twirl title. I also had the opportunity to twirl with a number of exceptional collegiate twirlers in the College Football Hall of Fame Parade in downtown South Bend. I am so grateful that I was able to take part in AYOP for one final year and I will miss seeing the many twirling friends and mentors that I have gotten to know over the years. Thank you to every judge, teacher and twirler who has enhanced me as a twirler and person. My memories through NBTA will remain with me always!

In returning to Iowa, I began traveling the state for several appearances. On July 22, I emceed and performed at the Fabulous 50s Send Off Party for Miss Iowa’s Outstanding Teen, Taylar Swartz, in Fremont, Iowa. With all of us dressed up in poodle skirts or “Pink Ladies” jackets, I think all of my pageant sisters had a good time supporting Taylar as she prepares to leave for the national pageant. Taylar looked gorgeous as she modeled all of her cocktail dresses and competition apparel for the national competition that will take place this coming week in Orlando, Florida. I’m sure Taylar is having a blast right now with the other contestants of the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Competition. I’m greatly looking forward to traveling to Orlando this week to support her for all three nights of preliminaries and the final competition. It will definitely be an exciting week. Good luck Taylar! You are going to be amazing!!

Sunday, July 22, also kicked off the week of RAGBRAI, The Des Moines Register’s Annul Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. This seven day bike ride has been a 35 year tradition of the state of Iowa and this year we were excited to have Lance Armstrong join the other 20,000 riders as they made their way from the Missouri River to the eastern border of the Mississippi River. I was able to catch up with the riders halfway through RAGBRAI on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls. Here, I performed at the RAGBRAI kick off celebration, spoke with many volunteers and riders, and even had the opportunity to talk with Lance Armstrong and his team. I commend all the riders who persevered to the finish line and thank Lance for being such an inspiration to the riders and me. It was quite a memorable year for RAGBRAI!

Today, I will be flying home from California where I just took part in the 2007 National Character Count! Conference in Anaheim. What a great opportunity this was for me! I heard many accomplished athletes, educators, and national directors speak about character education and the many ethical issues that face our country today. In addition, I met and spoke with Michael Josephson, the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the Character Counts! program. Mr. Josephson is a true inspiration; he developed Character Counts! from the ground up and has been advocating the development of character in our country for over fifteen years. I look forward to working with him in the future on several character education initiatives.

While at the conference I also had the pleasure of meeting Miss Ohio 2007, Roberta Camp. Roberta and I were able to get to know each other during meals and between the breakout sessions. It didn’t take long to see that we had many things in common. It was nice to share ideas and experiences with someone else who is personally committed to advocating character across the country. Between the two of us, I think we will see many positive things happening with character across the Midwest.

In addition to being a participant of the conference, I also served as a guest speaker, sharing my personal experiences with Character Counts! and what I plan to do with my platform during my year as Miss Iowa. I talked about how I helped successfully implement a CC! program at Penn Elementary in North Liberty, IA, and even gave a mini demonstration of baton twirling – in my heels and crown! This was a great opportunity for me to speak out on my personal platform and encourage other educators to be creative while teaching the six pillars in their own states. I’m glad I did not miss out on this week! I met so many individuals from around the country that are also working to elevate character in our kids and I absorbed so many new ideas for implementing character education. The week reiterated the need for character education in our society, further motivating me to make a difference in the state of Iowa.

While the conference was the highlight of my trip to California, I also had some free time to take in the sights of the Los Angeles area. Thanks to the hospitality of a good friend of mine, Pres Maxson (former drum major of the Hawkeye Marching Band), I enjoyed a tour of the Warner Brothers Studios, did a little shopping on Rodeo Drive, and attended a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. To see some of the highlights from my trip to Anaheim, you can check out my pictures on the Miss Iowa website!

The next few weeks are bound to be as exciting and busy as the last. This coming week I will fly to Orlando for the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competition and meet many of the other Miss contestants from across the United States. When I get back, I plan to spend some time at the Iowa State Fair and on August 30th take part in the Crown For Kids Golf Tournament in Marion, Iowa. If you are a golfer or know a golfer, you should sign up to play and join us for a fun day of golf. All the proceeds help benefit the Children’s Miracle Network at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, so sign up now! I would love to meet you at Hunters Ridge!

Until next time, feel free to send me a message or email. I will continue to keep you updated on my many upcoming events and appearances!

Yours Truly,
Diana