National American Miss Minnesota Pageant (NAM) 2014

I'll start off by saying that I LOVE NAM!  National American Miss is such an incredible pageant for young women, ages 4 through 20.  I wish they had a pageant for almost 26 year olds like me! :)  Girls participate in community involvement, personal introduction, evening gown, and an interview with judges.  There are also optional competitions like casual wear modeling, talent, actress, and spokesmodel.  It is very natural- girls under the age of 13 are not allowed to wear make-up.  It is truly about the young person- their personality, their accomplishments, their goals, and who they are.

This year's pageant was nothing short of wonderful!  I had four clients competing and they all did an incredible job.  It was a joy to watch them grow, learn, and have fun!  Their success pageant weekend is largely in part to their dedication and hard work prior to pageant weekend.  Many of my clients are dancers, so I like this analogy: Would you go to a dance competition having never prepared or practiced?  Of course not!  So why would you go to a pageant having never prepared or practiced?  Arriving to the pageant with your ducks in a row, knowing that you have rehearsed and planned everything as you'd like it to go, will translate to success and a better experience.  

Another special part of this pageant weekend was watching my client, Grace Nester, crown her successor (which to our delight was my client, Caleigh Proulx!).  Grace has been an incredible Miss Minnesota Princess!  She blew everyone away at nationals with her countless accolades and served her state with grace.  She raised hundreds of dollars for Pet Rescue and continues to do so even after her reign.  A special shout out also goes to my dancer, Natalie Engh, on an incredible year as Miss Minnesota Jr. PreTeen.  Natalie is a natural- in dance, in pageants, in theatre- and a sweet, lovely young lady!

Congrats to all of my pageant clients- I am so proud of you!  Caleigh Proulx, was blessed to be crowned the new Miss Minnesota Princess, along with winning Casual Wear, Talent, and many other awards (listed below)!  Olivia D. was 1st runner up out of 100+ girls- what a huge accomplishment!  She also scored in the top five for all of her optionals (listed below). This was Cerise D. and Jamie B.'s 1st pageants and they had a great time as best friends competing at NAM!  Jamie was a state finalist and Cerise was 1st runner up Photogenic and 1st runner up Best Resume.  Way to go, girls!

Caleigh Proulx, Age 6, NAM MN Princess 2014
Winner: Talent, NAM MN Princess 2014
WInner: Casual Wear, NAM MN Princess 2014
Winner: Most Promising Model, NAM MN Princess 2014
1RU: Best Thank You Note, NAM MN Princess 2014
3RU: Most Photogenic, NAM MN Princeess 2014

Olivia D., Age 9
Winner: Best Thank You Note, NAM MN Jr. PreTeen 2014
1RU: NAM MN Jr. PreTeen 2014
3RU: Talent, NAM MN Jr. PreTeen 2014
4RU: Casual Wear, NAM MN Jr. PreTeen 2014
4RU: Actress, NAM MN Jr. PreTeen 2014

Jamie B., Age 10
State Finalist, NAM MN PreTeen 2014

Cerise D., Age 10
1RU: Most Photogenic, NAM MN PreTeen 2014
1RU: Best Resume, NAM MN PreTeen 2014