Miss Iowa 2011

Hello again.

I was doing so well blogging about every day of Miss Iowa week, then I had one day with the internet down (Davenport had a huge storm and 800 homes went without power!) and I never got back into the writing flow. The last time I wrote I was getting ready for Thursday of Miss Iowa week, so I’ll do a quick recap of the rest of Miss Iowa week.

Thursday morning was actually very relaxing for the second half of the contestants. I was able to sleep in, read the newspaper, eat a leisurely breakfast, and do a quick workout in my hotel room before we headed to the Blackhawk Hotel for lunch before interviews. Interview felt great and got me excited to compete later that night. After interview, I had my technical talent rehearsal and a quick massage in the lobby of the Adler Theatre (much too quick! Thank you Institute of Therapeutic Massage and Wellness!) before heading out to dinner at Greatest Grains with the other contestants. Greatest Grains is owned by Pauli’s family and is by far the most delicious meal of the Miss Iowa week. That night was the first night of preliminary competition and the Miss contestants competed in on-stage question and evening gown.


With Gretchen, Miss Eastern Iowa, at Greatest Grains.


Introducing myself during the opening number.


Competing in on-stage question.


Competing in evening gown.

Friday was a very busy day. We started bright and early at 7:30 with the Miss Iowa Golf Outing. I had a great golf team – my dad, my brother, my boyfriend, and one of my board members. They did really well and seemed to have a great time. After a couple hours of cheering on golfers, we headed back to the Clarion for lunch with the Optimists Club. I sat next to Rachel, the adorable 5-year daughter of one of the members. After lunch, we got to spend a couple of hours with our princesses playing dress-up. I had a great time with my princess Stella – she has great taste! At 3:15 (!) we headed to Hy-Vee for dinner with our princesses. That night was the second night of preliminaries and the Miss contestants competed in swimsuit and talent and crowned our princesses.


With the rest of the contestants before the golf outing.


My golf team!


Competing in swimsuit.


Competing in talent.


Crowing Stella.

Saturday was also a busy day. That morning, my parents came to the Clarion to help me move out of my hotel room. Next, we went to the Bettendorf Family Museum for some fun time with our princesses. Stella has so much energy and we had a blast running around that museum! Then we all headed to Incredible Pizza for a quick lunch. We could have spent hours with our princesses here! Next, we went to the L’il Miss and Junior Miss Iowa pageants. Congratulations to Ally Wichman, Li’l Miss Iowa 2011, and Matilyn Hepker, Junior Miss Iowa 2011. After the long pageant (close to four hours), we headed back to the Adler Theatre to get ready for the final night of competition. The top ten of both Miss and Teen competed in swimsuit, talent, and evening gown. At the end of the night, I was honored to be named the First Runner-Up to Miss Iowa. I tied with Jessica Pray for overall interview winner, was named the Miss America State Academic Award winner, and was the Miracle Maker winner (for the contestant who raised the most funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals). Congratulations to Francesca Lubecki-Wilde, Miss Iowa’s Outstanding Teen 2011, and Jessica Pray, Miss Iowa 2011. They both have a busy and exciting year ahead of them and I wish them the best.


With my princess Stella before lunch at Incredible Pizza.


Tangoing with Benjamin Riveria, a professional dancer, after being named to the top ten.


Being named overall interview winner. I was tied with Jessica Pray for this award.


With the new Miss Iowa, Jessica Pray.


The Muscatine/Pearl City team. From left - Miss Muscatine Executive Director Kindra Plett, Miss Iowa 2011 Jessica Pray (Miss Muscatine), Miss Pearl City Elizabeth Davidson, Miss Pearl City's Outstanding Teen Jessica Erbst, and Miss Pearl City Executive Director Ashley Brown.

Thank you to my friends and family for their support. I was honored to be named the First Runner-Up to Miss Iowa for the second year. I hope to someday be Miss Iowa, but in the meantime, I will continue to support this program that means so much to me.

I have taken the last week off to just relax and unwind after Miss Iowa. I went up to Minneapolis to spend some time with my boyfriend before he begins working. We had a great time hiking around Minnehaha Falls, visiting the Como Zoo, spending time with friends, and just relaxing. Now, I am ready to get back in the gym, look for internships for the fall, and study for the GMAT and LSAT exams. I’ll have a busy summer ahead of me and, of course, will continue to proudly represent the Muscatine area.


With my boyfriend Stephen at the Japanese Garden in the Como Conservatory.

Elizabeth

Miss Iowa - Day Four

Greetings!

Yesterday was a busy day for the Miss Iowa contestants! We started the day off with two radio interviews at 7:15 (!) with B100 and Star 93.5. Pauli, as always, represented the Miss Iowa Scholarship Program proudly and each contestant was given the opportunity to briefly introduce herself. The interviews were quick, but we will all have plenty of air time during the competition as Star 93.5 will be broadcasting live updates!


With Gretchen, Miss Eastern Iowa, outside the radio station.

After the interviews, we had around an hour back at the hotel to pack up anything that needed to be transported to the Adler for the competition. Most of us, myself included, also had the time to take a quick, much-needed nap.

After packing up our things, we headed to the Fountains to have lunch with the Rotary Club of Bettendorf. The lunch was great and I had the opportunity to sit next to several business and industry leaders in the community, including Dr. Olson, a Bettendorf dentist (I can’t resist talking to a dentist!). The Rotary is really a wonderful organization. Their untiring focus on service is an inspiration and I am proud that so many communities in Iowa, America, and across the world have chapters that each strive to help those in need.

Next, we all moved our competition belongings to the Adler. As I had to harp to take with me, this was actually quite a process. But, after sixteen years of playing the harp, I am proud to say that I have finally learned how to move the harp safely, efficiently, and, most importantly, by myself. Thankfully, I did have Ciera, Miss Henry County, to keep me company in the car.

Dinner that night was at Lancer’s Grille in Eldridge, which has hosted the Miss Iowa contestants for several years. Thank you for your support!

Our last activity on Wednesday was dress rehearsal at the Adler. As we have three nights of competition, our dress rehearsal was sort of a hodge-podge of all three nights. While the rehearsal was tiring, it’s clear that the show will be great!

Today is the first day of competition. We have interviews, on-stage question, and evening gown. I can’t wait to get started!

Elizabeth

Miss Iowa - Day Two and Three

Hello again!

We are now on the third day of Miss Iowa week and it is going great. It does feel like we’ve been here for much longer than just three days, though.

Yesterday, we started out with an exercise session with Ray Porter, the official trainer of Miss Iowa, at 7:45 in the morning. It was great to be able to meet him and start out the day right by moving and warming up my body. After a little break to get freshened up, we headed downstairs at the Clarion for a Kids for Hunger event. In a little more than an hour, we were able to put together 1400 meals to be sent to Honduras! Kids for Hunger sends 30 million meals to 25 countries each year. This is extraordinary and was great to be a part of this!.


Posing with the contestants after we filled six boxes of food to be shipped off to kids in need.

After grabbing our crowns, we headed out to the assisted living facility Senior Star where a couple of us performed our talents, we were served lunch, and we had the opportunity to visit with some of the residents. At my table was George “Tom” Jones who was great to talk with and very welcoming. I was also one of the contestants who was able to perform. While I was unable to bring my harp with me, I was able to play part of Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccio on the piano, which I think the residents enjoyed.


With Miss Eastern Iowa, Gretchen, and Miss Davenport, Amanda, at Senior Star.

Next, we headed to Ridgecrest, an independent living and assisted living facility. This is always one of my favorite places to visit because the residents are so friendly and really seem to love life. Several of the residents described the facility as a “community” and that the fellow residents were their family. Here, Pauli spoke for several minutes about the Miss Iowa program, some of the other contestants were able to perform their talents, and we were given quite a bit of time to interact with those who came out to see us.

After most of the residents drifted back to their rooms, we headed back to the Clarion for dinner in the hostess suite and another three hours of rehearsal. Everything is starting to come together for the production number. While I have a hard time learning dance steps, I am very lucky to be around such wonderful contestants who are willing to help someone with two left feet like me look great in the opening number. Thanks, girls!

Today has been off to a great start. This morning we traveled to Iowa City to visit the Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This hospital is one of two Children’s Miracle Network hospitals in Iowa. Here, the contestants were broken into groups to go visit children’s rooms. I have been to the hospital several times and the experience is always so rewarding. To be able to put a smile on a sick child’s face is so special. Two of the boys that we visited, Wil and Christopher, came down and joined the contestants for lunch. They were so sweet and so feisty! Both were clearly ladies men (in fact, Christopher’s mom whispered to me as we left that Christopher picked me out to be Miss Iowa! What great taste that nine year old has!).

We have a quick break now before we head to Golden Corral for dinner and then back to the Clarion for another couple hours of rehearsal. Unfortunately, I don’t really have many pictures to share from these days, but I’ll post pictures when I’m able.

Elizabeth

Miss Iowa - Day One

Greetings!

I am just finishing the first day of Miss Iowa week! This will be a short post because I want to make sure I get to bed and get plenty of sleep this week.
Today was a wonderful day and it was great to spend time with the contestants. I moved in to the Clarion Hotel in Davenport at 10:00 this morning with the help of my wonderful directors. At 2:00 we had our first activity, which was the Miss Iowa Tea at the beautiful Blackhawk Hotel. One of the things I enjoyed most about this was that all of the Miss and Teen Contestants shared the stories behind their platforms. I think the platform is one of the aspects that make this program great, so it was interesting to hear what sparked the passions of the contestants.


With a few of the other contestants at the Miss Iowa Tea. I'll add a few more pictures from this event tomorrow.

After dinner at the Blackhawk, we went back to the Clarion for three hours of rehearsal. We went through swimsuit and evening gown walks, as well as we began to learn the steps for our opening number dress. The Miss contestants will be doing a tango dance, which should turn out really well for the competition later this week.
Well, the day starts bright and early tomorrow, so I’m going to call it quits for today. I’ll try to post an entry each day, so keep checking back for updates. Until tomorrow!

Miss Iowa Ready

Hello!

I leave for Miss Iowa the day after tomorrow and I could not be more excited about the wonderful week ahead. I am really looking forward to meeting the other contestants amid a flurry of rehearsals and appearances.

Since the last time I wrote, I have been keeping busy mostly with preparations for Miss Iowa. On Memorial Day I was able to make time in my busy schedule to honor our veterans at a Dallas County political event. There, I was able to meet Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Former Governor Buddy Roemer of Louisiana, both of whom have hopes of earning the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. I was also able to say hello to Representative Latham whom I met in Washington, D.C. a couple of weeks ago. As you have probably guessed, I am never shy about talking to politicians about my platform, so both Governors Pawlenty and Roemer heard an earful about the importance of dentistry in our state and nation. As Iowa boasts the first-in-the-nation Presidential Caucus, I am looking forward to meeting all of the Presidential hopefuls who travel though our state.


With Tim Pawlenty, the Governor of Minnesota. Gov. Pawlenty is considered one of the front-runners for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination.


With Buddy Roemer, the former Governor of Louisiana.

This week has been very busy with preparations, but it the best kind of busy. It is exhilarating to be working towards my dream of becoming Miss Iowa. This year will actually be my third year competing for Miss Iowa and I know that I am truly prepared for this job. While the competition is certainly important, Miss Iowa’s impact extends so much further than just the competition that the audience will see next weekend. Miss Iowa is an official representative of our state and her behavior must always leave a positive impression on every person that she meets. In addition, the power of the crown gives Miss Iowa the opportunity to truly make a difference through her platform. The Miss Iowa crown would greatly help me accomplish the goals that I have established for my platform of “Making Smiles Happen: Children’s Dental Health Advocacy”. These goals would impact thousands of lives across Iowa. On Saturday, the judges will be able to make the dreams of one young woman come true. But, what is most remarkable is the impact that that one woman can have on the people of Iowa. The responsibilities of Miss Iowa are huge, but I know I am ready for them. I am ready to be Miss Iowa.

Elizabeth Davidson