Sponsors & Christmas Sleepover

This past weekend was all about celebrating the success Kate, Laura, and I have had with the Grand Forks pageant so far this year and looking forward to the year ahead. We started off the weekend early by meeting in Fargo Friday afternoon to have our first official photo shoot as a group with Dan of Nodak Photography. He was so professional and did a great job making us all feel really comfortable. I am excited to see the pictures he captured!

On Saturday morning I drove to Grand Forks to meet with two other generous sponsors. I had my first meeting with Chris at Snap Fitness. He will be training me for the fitness portion of the pageant. After setting goals and talking with him more, I am confident that he will help me meet my physical goals so that I can walk across the Miss North Dakota stage in June knowing that I am in the best shape I have ever been in. Next I headed to Complete Nutrition, who has also agreed to sponsor the Miss Grand Forks pageant this year through their donation of health products picked out just for us. Beth Dennison, former Miss North Dakota and one of my very first friends from the Miss North Dakota Organization, helped me pick out products (Yay, protein shakes!!). With the help of sponsors, I feel prepared and supported in my effort to reach my personal fitness goals.

After my consultations, I left Grand Forks to meet with Caroline, my local director, in her Crookston home. We started preparing for the platform part of the pageant. After some serious talk, some silly talk, and some cooking experiments, we were joined by Kate and Laura for an annual pageant tradition—the Grand Forks pageant Christmas sleepover! We ate delicious homemade food, got to know each other more, and opened presents from our sponsors. Among other things, we each received a fleece blanket, matching pajamas, matching zip-up sweatshirts, a bracelet, earrings, lip gloss, soap, lotion, a nail file, fuzzy socks, candy canes, chocolate,  and sponsorships for salon services, makeup, tanning, personal training and nutrition. Thank you to all of my sponsors!!! I have hit the ground running this year thanks to your support!

Stephanie Erickson
Miss Empire 2012

Thanksgiving & Family

This past weekend I was able to spend four days away from the usual routine of things to be with family and friends as we celebrated Thanksgiving. When you’re younger, Thanksgiving always seemed to be about eating a lot of food, sitting at “the kids’ table,” and trying to entertain yourself until the adults stopped talking (which usually took a while). Now that I have outgrown “the kids’ table” I look forward to being with family and friends each year.

This year I reconnected with family who I hadn’t seen in years. I have been keeping up with people through email and social media, but seeing them in person is so much better. In one day, I visited three homes and got to hear about how everyone has been and what they are up to. I am grateful to have such a loving and supportive network of family and friends.

In many ways the Miss America Organization is like a family. The relationships that I have made over the past two years through my involvement in the Miss Grand Forks pageant and the Miss North Dakota pageant have positively influenced my life in many ways. Preparing to compete in MAO pageants involves one of the most challenging balancing acts I have ever attempted. My pageant “family” is often the only group who understands that balancing family, friends, school, work, exercise, extracurricular activities, volunteering, speaking events, and various other activities that come up is not always an easy task. This year I am thankful for not only the friends and family who have always been by my side supporting me in everything that I do, but I am also thankful for good friends who have come into my life in the past couple of years. I hope I can keep developing these friendships, and I look forward to forming new relationships as I continue my journey as Miss Empire 2012.

Stephanie Erickson
Miss Empire 2012

Miss Empire 2012

This past Saturday I was able to come one step closer to my goal of being crowned Miss North Dakota! After a long day of driving, interviewing, and rehearsing, I was crowned Miss Empire 2012! I had been counting down the days until this pageant for months. I truly believe in the life changing power of the Miss America Organization and the Miss North Dakota Organization—that is why I will be working hard and preparing myself for the Miss North Dakota pageant from now until June.

This weekend I was reminded of the high quality of young women in our state. All of the contestants were intelligent, driven, talented, and beautiful women. Any one of them would have made a great titleholder, and they should all be proud themselves! I am glad to know each and every one of them. They all made Saturday such a fun experience.

Over the next several months, I plan to work with students and encourage them to get involved in what they are passionate about. I believe that students who find, join, and stay involved in activities that they enjoy will be empowered by the sense of belonging it gives them. I am proud of the accomplishments I have had in my life so far and know that I have the power to do even more. Being Miss Empire will help me do even more.

One of the first things that I want to work towards is raising money for the Miss America Organization’s charity, Children’s Miracle Network. So far, I have set a personal goal of raising $500. This money will benefit the only Children’s Miracle Network hospital in North Dakota, which is located in my hometown of Fargo. That means that the money I raise will go directly towards helping children and families who live in my community. I am excited to be able to raise money for such a great cause! If you want to help me meet (or even surpass!) my goal, go to https://www.missamericaforkids.org/m.aspx?i=145229FFA+B75C381 and click on the “Donate Now!” button. Every dollar counts, and with the holidays quickly approaching it is the perfect time to help children in need and make sure that no child is turned away from receiving hope and healing!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me on my journey to Miss North Dakota. You can expect more blogs and pictures throughout the year. I am excited to see what opportunities I will have in the coming months as Miss Empire!

Stephanie Erickson
Miss Empire 2012