Radio Mankato Visit

On April 12th, I spent my morning at Radio Mankato to work on our costume for Raw Fusion which is May 8th! Our costume is almost complete and I can't wait to see the final product at dress rehearsal. The theme this year is dark forest so I will get to be spooky for one night! I can't ruin the surprise so I can't share any details but I will be posting pictures after Raw Fusion so stay tuned to see the final product!

Love Always,
Lauren

Miss Minnesota Orientation and Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen Pageant

April 11th was a very big day!! The morning started out with Miss Minnesota Orientation in which we were given all of the information that we would need for Miss Minnesota! We also picked our contestant number, were given our roommate assignment, and were given our opening number dresses! I am excited to announce that I am contestant #6 (my lucky number) and I will be rooming with Kailee Ogden! Also, the picture above is my official headshot for Miss Minnesota! I am excited and anxious for Miss Minnesota week to be here. It is a week filled with community service, sisterhood, and the competition!
Saturday night was the Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen Pageant. Since I don't have a teen this year, I decided to cheer as loudly as possible for every single contestant which resulted in me losing my voice before the second half! I would like to congratulate Rachel Weyandt, our new Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen. She will do an incredible job and I have no doubt that she will make Minnesota proud!

Love Always,
Lauren

MSU Relay for Life

April 10th was the MSU Relay for Life! I had the amazing opportunity to present my platform in front of everyone at the event and then host a hair donation station afterwards. I was thrown many obstacles to overcome that night including not having a projector screen among other things. However, the MSU Colleges Against Cancer committee and I pooled together our resources in order to make this event a success. The night ended with three courageous and selfless young ladies donating their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to give women battling cancer a wig! Thank you so much to Sue Schanus and her daughters, Kelli and Jackie, for coming to cut hair last minute!
Until Next Time,
Lauren

International Hair Donation Day

March 28th was my first ever "International Hair Donation Day!!" About 2 months ago I started sending out letters to salons across the United States, Canada, and Singapore that are associated with the Intelligent Nutrients Organization. For this event, I decided to collect ponytails for Locks of Love to "spread my platform love" since I usually collect ponytails for Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I was at Indigo Organic Salon in Mankato, where we collected 16 ponytails for Locks of Love! One woman, Thalia (pictured below), decided the day before, to donate her hair and make a drastic change from long hair to a sassy pixie cut! She is truly an amazing and selfless woman and she had so many wonderful insights to share about how we can all offer our talents and resources to help others. So far, I have received ponytails from St. Paul, Pennsylvania, and Maine! I can't wait to see how many other ponytails show up in my mailbox!!

Love always,
Lauren

Relay for Life Fundraiser

On March 27th I had the opportunity to attend the Relay for Life Fundraiser in Mankato. The event was masquerade themed which meant that I got to wear my mask from my trip to Italy in 2010!! I was able to greet guests when they arrived, sell masks to those that didn't have one, give a short presentation on my platform, and perform the song, "LOVE" with the Mary Guentzel Quintet! I had the most incredible time meeting members of the community and spending some quality time with the Radio Mankato crew!! I highly recommend that you attend this event next year, I know I will be attending for the years to come!