Maple River High School Relay for Life

 This weekend I attended the Maple River High School Relay for Life in Mapleton. I am so honored to have been invited to this wonderful event and have the opportunity to present my platform to the community of Mapleton. I was able to catch up with an old People to People friend of mine, see a relative, and meet the most incredible leaders of Mapleton. Pictured below is a man named Mr. Swanson. He has dedicated many years to the Relay for Life in Mapleton and has taught the students of Maple River High School valuable life lessons. I am also excited to announce that we collected 11 ponytails for my platform!! My new total for my reign as Miss Mankato is 152 ponytails and my total since starting my platform work in August of 2013 is 204 ponytails! I am so blessed to have found so many incredible donors and I am excited to see how many more ponytails I can collect before my year as Miss Mankato is over!
Until Next Time,
Lauren

50+ Lifestyle Expo

 Yesterday I had the honor of attending the 50+ Lifestyle Expo at the Verizon Wireless Center. I spent most of the time greeting visitors at the door and meeting more people from the Mankato community. At that time I was also interviewed on KTOE and was able to talk about what my future goals are. At 3:45 I was able to perform my talent for everyone there. Unfortunately, my talent for Miss Minnesota isn't quite ready yet so I was allowed to bring back my tap dance to "Soul Man" by the Blues Brothers. This event was a great way for me to meet more members of the Mankato community and get to know more of the Radio Mankato family as well.

Race for the Cure

 This Sunday I woke up at 3:45 am to make it to Edina for the Race for the Cure 5k! It was a very chilly morning but it was an honor to join Team Cheryl for this amazing cause. All to many women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and it is time to end it! My muscles were sore and I was very tired by the end of the race but I am so glad I was able to participate.

Raw Fusion 2015

 Yesterday I had the incredible opportunity to represent Hot 96.7 at the Raw Fusion Fashion Show. This fashion show was designed to allow businesses and organizations in the Mankato area to make costumes out of raw materials such as branches, tires, glass, siding, pipes, etc. Every year they pick an organization to raise money for and this year the money went to the Partners for Affordable Housing. Thank you so much to the staff at Hot 96.7 for picking me as your model! It has been a pleasure working with you to put this costume together and I appreciate all of your support throughout my reign! Please come out to Raw Fusion next year and support a wonderful cause while seeing some amazing costumes!!

MACS Night at Loyola

 May 2nd I was able to help out at MACS Night at Loyola High School. They had games, silent auction, a live auction, music, food, and much much more! I spent most of my time greeting people at the door and meeting new people from the Mankato community. This is an amazing event and it was an honor to be able to help out! I almost won the Heads and Tails game but unfortunately I guessed wrong during the last round! I highly encourage others to attend this event next year whether or not you have a connection to Loyola High School!!
Love Always,
Lauren

ABATE Motorcycle Parade

After the Gorilla Fun Run on May 2nd, I got to ride in the ABATE Motorcycle Parade. Every year, they have this parade to remind people that it is "motorcycle season." Every year, too many people are killed or injured in a motorcycle accident. This parade was designed to remind people to pay extra attention on the roads and to be looking out for motorcycles! This parade was such a blast and I plan to participate in the future!

Gorilla Fun Run

 May 2nd I was blessed with the opportunity to volunteer for the Gorilla Fun Run for the Miracle League of North Mankato. I assisted the rest of the crew with participant check-in and registration. I got to meet some of the Miracle League athletes and hang out with the gorillas! The Miracle League of North Mankato is a wonderful organization and I encourage anyone who has a little bit of free time during the summer to volunteer their time to help them out!
Love Always,
Lauren

Winona State University Relay for Life

 Once again, Winona State University went above and beyond my expectations. I had the wonderful opportunity to present my platform at the WSU Relay for Life in April and afterwards I asked the audience if anyone would like to donate their hair in front of everyone. At first we had 10 people (which I was extremely happy with) and it quickly grew to 33 people!! I am so grateful for the opportunity to return to Winona State to promote my platform and I can't thank the WSU Colleges Against Cancer committee enough for bringing me back! It was a late night trying to finish all of the haircuts but thanks to our wonderful stylist, LuAnne, we got it done. Thank you Winona State University for welcoming me back and thank you to all of the donors for participating!!