This week I am one of 39 young women privileged to represent their home state at the 2008 National Miss Sweetheart Pageant. This blog will be updated regularly to keep those of you interested informed about my experiences here in Hoopeston IL (population 6000) which is so reminiscent to me of Pratt KS - both small rural towns that are filled with volunteers & sponsors who love & support the Miss America program wholeheartedly.
My plane arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana at 12:55pm Monday. After collecting my luggage, I joined an already gathered group of contestants as we waited for even more contestant's planes to arrive. By 3:30pm we were all on our shuttle bus for the 2 hour trip to our host town. I enjoyed this time very much. It was a perfect opportunity for us to become acquainted before we become competitors. One of the first girls I met was my housemate Lexy who is a former Miss South Dakota USA. We are both marketing majors so we hit it off instantly. I also made time to renew my warm friendship with Samantha Steckloff representing Michigan.
Upon arriving in town, one of the first things we noticed were the multitude of posters displayed for "Miss Hoopeston 2008" the Sweetcorn Festival's celebrity hostess for the week. This year she is Brooke Judy who hosted us at a delightful and delicious welcoming dinner. Following that meal we met to review our agenda for the week and we were presented with our state sashes. I learned that I am for better or worse #1 in the line-up and that the judges are from AR, IA, IL, OK, WA.
Next we were introduced to our host families. Tim, Angie, and their son Mitchell will be Lexy & my adoptive family for the week. I am so grateful that members of the community share their homes with us and in my case it is a beautiful country home that will soon be celebrating it's 100th year. After visiting for an hour or so Lexy & I headed off to our respective rooms which is where I am now writing this blog before heading off to sleep. We've been told that tomorrow (Tuesday) will be a jam-packed day. I look forward to keeping you posted and I encourage you to post questions and/or comments as the week progresses!
Let me leave you this evening with a bit of relevant trivia: Five National Sweetheart titleholders have gone on to become Miss America, including Kansas' very own Tara Dawn Holland, Miss Sweetheart 1995 and Miss America 1997. I say it's time for Kansas to bring both those titles home again!
Danielle Coffman
Miss Sedgwick 2008
Miss Kansas Sweetheart 2008
"Always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed
is more important than any other thing."
~Abraham Lincoln
6 comments:
Yay!!! Have so much fun, I know you will be fabulous! :)
PS- Tell Sam I said hello and that I love her, too!
Danielle-
Callie and I wish you the very best as you compete this week. We know that you are going to do amazing. Stay true to you! We will be anxiously awaiting your blogs. Sending hugs from Wichita-
Callie and LaDawna Hobkirk
Dani,
You are contestant #1 in Hoopeston AND contestant #1 in our hearts here in Kansas! I so wish I could be there to cheer you on in person. Sarah and the Bushells have promised to text me throughout. Have a wonderful time, you're going to do fantastic.
Liz Jump
Danielle
Kim and I wish you lots of fun and memories for this week. She is your biggest fan you know. We both think and feel you will do Kansas proud so go out and show them who the real Danielle is!
Luv
Nora and Kim
Hey there! Good luck to you and I know you will have a wonderful time & represent us well. Call me when you get back home & I'll keep reading the blog!
Quam
You go girl! You've got the talent, beauty, amazingly fit body, brains and ambition to go all the way! We are cheering and praying for you and Barb & Don will see you Saturday!
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