Healthy Hearts

I am forever thankful to Ashley Christensen who always thinks of us for American Heart Association Events!

 

    Even though I leave my house by 6 A.M. each morning during the week, I am not a morning person. I have, however, spent a surprising amount of Saturdays waking up early for community service ( a cause I certainly don't mind waking up to support!) This Saturday was  no exception as I was awake, showered, made up, and crowned by the time I left the house at 6:30; I arrived at Miller Landing for the Heart Walk a little before 7.

    Upon arrival at 7, I was informed that we would not spend the morning signing autographs as planned, so we actually had no responsibilities until 8. After getting a cup of coffee (mainly to keep my hands warm on a chilly May morning), I walked around, looked at all of the booths set up, and chatted with some of the people. This is one of my favorite parts of events - learning about different organizations and issues within our community.

   This morning I was particularly interested in learning about the Go Red For Women group set up in one of the booths. According to the ladies at the booth, heart disease is the number one killer of women in America. They work to educate women about living heart healthy lives in order to save them from falling under that statistic. I think this is a great idea, especially considering the current health of the nation (high rates of obesity, heart disease, etc). They even gave me some healthy recipes and a red dress pin so I can share the information with other women I meet during my reign (it currently sits at the end of my sash)!

With Hope, one of the young walkers :)

    Rachel Foehlinger (Miss Lake McConaughy) arrived a little later and we were able to start warming the kids up for the Children's Walk. It was a lot of fun warming the kids up not only because it was cold out, but also because they were very excited to get moving for the morning (it was quite a refreshing sight)!

With the American Heart Association Mascot and some of the kids!

   After warming the children up for their walk, we had no further responsibilities until we were asked to perform at 9. We spent the time listening to music and choreographing our routine before we were ushered on to the sloped grass hill in front of the stage to perform our freshly choreographed routine. Despite the wind, grass, and sloped hill, Rachel and I made the most of our performance and had a lot of fun!

This past February, I met Joe Sullivan (Ariel) at the Polar Plunge and we took a photo together.

As I was walking around today, I ran into Joe again - minus the wig and coconut bra.

I absolutely love volunteering for the Special Olympics so I was honored to run into Joe again and to find out I would see him again at the Breakfast of Champions.

 

    Finally, we were asked to head to the start of the walk and twirl to gather the attention of the walkers. It was really exciting to get the walkers on the way, and then we got to stand by the road and cheer them on. It was so fun to wave, wish participants a good walk, and see so many friendly faces!

Ready to Start!

    Once again, I left my community service event overwhelmed by the love and goodness that is present in our community. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to help others and represent the Miss America Organization!