Miss Rhode Island 2013 Jessica Marfeo’s story is so amazing – we couldn’t do it justice by posting a link to it.  So – here it is instead – and completely worth the read!

From the Hasbro Children’s Hospital website…

“When she was five years old, Jessica was diagnosed with pneumonia. During her treatment at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Jessica had an x-ray that revealed a lesion behind her lung tissue.  Jessica’s medical team here, including accomplished pediatric surgeon Dr. Arlet Kurkchubasche — the children call her “Dr. K” — hoped and prayed that the spot was just a ganglioneuroma, an uncommon but benign growth.  But Dr. K. also worried that the lesion might be something far more dangerous…and she was right. Jessica had neuroblastoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer usually found in the abdomen…and usually found in children much younger than Jessica.

Dr. K urged the child’s shocked parents to let her perform surgery right away. She knew that in the hands of a highly skilled surgeon, Jessica could be cured with surgery, sparing her the lifelong side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.  Again, Dr. K was spot on. Jessica needed only one surgery. She was back home in Exeter soon after, and her Hasbro Children’s Hospital doctors followed her closely for 10 years. The cancer never returned.

Now 20, Jessica is a lovely young woman who truly has her whole life ahead of her. In fact, you might recognize her: Jessica recently was crowned Miss Rhode Island. She competed at the national Miss America Competition, where she was recognized as a finalist for two awards and earned scholarships to pay for college and graduate school.

“Hasbro Children’s Hospital gave me my life back,” Jessica says. Determined to pay the gift forward, Jessica volunteers as a counselor where she once was a camper, Camp Dotty, a summer program for children with cancer and their siblings at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. She also volunteers in the Tomorrow Fund Clinic, where our cancer patients are treated.

Today, Jessica is at URI studying to become a physician assistant, hoping to give her patients the caliber of care she received at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Her ultimate goal is to become the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. Beautiful.”

Beautiful Indeed.  No wonder she was named the 2nd runner up for the Miss America Quality of Life award.  Excellent work, Miss RI 2013 🙂

Who will follow in Jessica’s footsteps?

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Ivy Depew – 1st runner up ’13, semi-finalist in TN
Alexandra Curtis – NAM Teen RI and National Winner ’11
Victoria Cuartas – 2nd runner up ’13
Amara Berry – would be the first open lesbian to compete at Miss America
Nicollette Peloquin – Miss Teen New England ’12, MA Teen USA Top 15 ’12 and ’14

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!  WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!! 🙂

MAJ

They say “Big things come in small packages”… and at 5’1 and a half (wink*wink), Miss Montana 2013 Sheridan Pope is the epitome of such a statement.  She’s got one of those ‘live out loud’ personalities – which makes some of us ‘laugh out loud’… Especially when reading her tweets!  We’ve copied a few here so you can see what we mean… Enjoy!

   – Apparently no one knows. So if you don’t hear from me again, vanilla black tea and NyQuil was my demise. #sicklife #goodnight
   – I bet housekeeping is always afraid of the random fake eyelashes scattered across the hotel room. #thoughts
   – 24 oz coffee…… I’m gonna pop a squat next to the highway if a rest stop doesn’t present itself ASAP. #montanaprobs
 

Lol… Yes, Sheridan is open with her thoughts, but she’s just as open with her heart… Here’s another set of tweets during the same month in which she posted all of the above comments…

    – Katie, a girl with facial deformity who is completely deaf & has a trache cried happy tears to her fave adult bc “Miss MT touched her face”

    – Can’t stop these tears. I’m going to design my cape and make my plan to change the world over ice cream and red wine. #brb

When someone lives their life this ‘open’, you know they’re going to give their all to everything they do… They ‘love greatly’ and are disappointed greatly.  They’re fiercely loyal and are righteously indignant when others don’t respond the same way.  The live big and love big.  And we’re glad Sheridan Pope was able to share all of herself with the state of Montana and the nation as Miss MT.  Keep it up Sheridan – there are many more ‘big things’ coming your way 🙂

When it comes to Miss Montana 2014 – Let’s just say… Montana isn’t one of those states that’s super easy to pick.  This year, there are lots of fresh faces, but there’s also a group of experienced contestants as well… So – Here’s our best shot!:)

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Victoria Valentine – MT OT ’08
Olivia Dowler – 1st runner up ’13
Katherine Sizemore – 4th runner up ’13
Ariana Lake – Univ. of Montana cheerleader
Desja Eagle Tail – Lovely voice
Aly Bjorneby – strong ballet dancer
Junkie Dark Horse – Allyson Peterson

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  KNOCK ‘EM DEAD!  JUNKIES LOVE MONTANA 🙂

MAJ

From Miss Delaware 2013, Rebecca Jackson’s blog…

“Growing up, I had never dreamed of becoming Miss America.  My parents discouraged me from playing with Barbie Dolls, cable television, and the Miss America pageant as a whole.  I grew up seemingly not preparing for pageant life but the lure of scholarship money caught my attention and I decided to compete in locals. I competed at my first local using my Senior Prom dress as my gown!  While competing, I had still never seen a Miss America Pageant – meaning I had no idea I that I was given the opportunity to change my life. It wasn’t until I was competing for Miss Delaware 2012 that I envisioned myself becoming Miss Delaware and later competing on the Miss America stage…”

Just goes to prove… Miss America contestants come from ALL walks of life!  Thanks Rebecca for sharing your story 🙂 

And now – in case you didn’t know it… the state of Delaware has been on a roll…

Galen Giaccone – Miss DE ’08 – Top 15 and Prelim Talent Winner
Kayla Martell – Miss DE ’10 – Top 10, People’s Choice and 1st runner up Quality of Life
Maria Cahill – Miss DE ’11 – Non-finalist Talent Award
Alyssa Murray – Miss DE ’12 – Non-finalist Interview Award, Quality of Life finalist
Rebecca Jackson – Miss DE ’13  Non-finalist Talent Award
 

In “Junkie-land”… this is the kind of thing that reminds us… Big Things can come from Small States!  Pay Attention!  You gotta be someone special, if you’re going to win Miss Delaware! 🙂

And guess what??? DELAWARE HAS VIDEOS!!!  Check out their People’s Choice videos when you click this link 🙂  Say it with me… “Junkies LOVE videos!!!” 🙂

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Brittany Lewis – 2nd runner up ’13, 3rd runner up PA ’12
Amanda Longacre – Top 15 DE USA ’14
Amanda Debus – DE Teen USA ’11, DE OT ’08, non-finalist talent ’13
Rebecca Lusk -Top 10 ’13
Taylor DeMario – Miss DE United States, DE USA non-finalist interview ’12
Janemarie Covel – Great video, back to Miss DE after 3 years
Junkie Dark Horse – Keturah Braithwaite

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  YOU HAVE SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL!!! 🙂

MAJ

If you were lucky enough to be in Atlantic City, New Jersey during the “Show us Your Shoes” parade, you saw Cara McCollum, Miss New Jersey in her mermaid costume, kicking her feet back and forth, back and forth, back and forth… It was the CUTEST flipper kick The Junkies have EVER SEEN!  And boy oh boy – was she having FUN!  If you’re ever in Atlantic City for Miss America – don’t miss the parade!  It’s fantastic!

Ok – now, back to NJ… Cara, who is originally from Arkansas, attends Princeton University and captured the crown on her very first trip to the state competition.  Even though she was a rookie, The Junkies were taken with her headshot and resume which caused us to list her on our ‘Here’s Who to Watch List”.  Truth is, with beauty, brains and talent like hers, EVERYONE should be watching what Cara does in the coming years!  

Our favorite quote of Cara’s was given to the contestants at their orientation a few months ago…

 “You have to look at it (Miss New Jersey) as a job. If you want a crown, you can go buy one at Dollar Tree for a buck. This is an opportunity to pursue your passion,” she said.

Who will be the next person to represent New Jersey?  It’s not easy to pick a winner here… but…

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Brenna Weick – 1st runner up ’13, NJ OT ’09, 1st runner up at Nationals
Cierra Kayler-Jones – 3rd runner up ’13, Prelim Talent ’11 and ’12, overall Interview winner ’13
Kaitlyn Schoeffel – 4th runner up ’13, 1st runner up ’12, Prelim SS ’13, Prelim Talent and Gown ’12, NJ OT ’07
Anna Negron – 4th runner up ’11, Top 10 ’12, Prelim SS ’11 and ’12, Prelim Talent ’13
Lindsey Giannini – 2nd runner up ’13
Ayla Gentiletti – Top 10 ’13, Prelim Talent ’13
Courtney Fairfield – Top 10 ’13, Prelim Gown ’13
Ellen Chu – Top 10 ’12 and ’13

BEST OF LUCK JERSEY GIRLS!  JUNKIES LOVE YOU!!! 🙂

MAJ

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to an Alabama Football Game… But Founding Junkie has  (thanks to awesome friends who have season tickets!).  And let me tell you… When I stepped foot into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and saw the ‘Million Dollar Band’ in all of it’s glory, the first thing I did was count the insane number of baton twirlers!!!  LOL!  Seriously – People thought I was crazy – but I’d never seen THAT MANY twirlers in one band!  It was absolutely amazing!

That’s why – when we found out Miss Michigan 2013, Haley Williams was an Alabama Crimsonette who had also served as an Outstanding Teen, we knew she was an easy pick for our “Here’s Who to Watch” list in 2013.

Haley certainly did not disappoint us.  At Miss America, she was named the winner of the coveted Quality of Life award for her outstanding work helping children conquer childhood grief after the loss of a loved one.  The Quality of Life award reminds us that it’s not just about a girl in a crown… it’s about the contributions she makes in her community and the impact she makes on others.  Haley’s Quality of Life win is certainly something to celebrate – and emulate in our own lives.

And now – who has the chance to do the same from the state of Michigan???

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

KT Maviglia – 1st runner up ’13
Sarah Suydam – 3rd runner up ’12 and ’13
Shelby Gardiner – 1st runner up ’12 , Top 10 ’13
Carliegh Rowley – MI OT ’08
Emily Kieliszewski – 2nd runner up ’11, Top 10 ’13
Malllory Rivard – 3rd runner up MI Teen USA ’12
Victoria Lines – Top 10 ’13
Cameron Learman – ’11 Prelim SS, 1st runner up MI Teen USA ’08

GOOD LUCK LADIES!  WE’RE SMITTEN WITH THE MITTEN!!! 🙂

MAJ