Alyssa Howell, Miss Nebraska 2015, has a pretty darn cool story…

From Alyssa’s own Facebook page, while she was competing at Miss America…

“This girl right here is the reason I am so passionate about my platform and about Children’s Miracle Network. Seeing her journey of working through profound deafness is what inspires and motivates me every day to continue my efforts with Miracle Bags! I love my beautiful, smart, and kind cousin Shayna. So happy she is here to support me!

Alyssa’s cousin Shayna, was the first girl cousin after a string of 12 boy cousins in a row!  To find out she was profoundly deaf, was a very difficult thing for the entire family to endure. But the doctors at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals were able to give Shayna a cochlear implant – which allows her to hear as a normal child. 🙂

After seeing everything CMN did for her cousin, Alyssa wanted to do more for the children inside the hospitals… So, she created the Miracle Bags Program.  During her year as Miss Nebraska, Alyssa has continued to create Miracle Bags full of stuffed animals, toys, crafts and crayons, and distributed them to hundreds of children in Nebraska and across the country.

Alyssa also has an awesome pageant story – In short, the girl didn’t think she had a chance of making the cut at Miss America! Amazing, considering she went on to finish in the Top 12 – LOL!  Check out all the hilarious details on her podcast (just click here).

Junkies think Alyssa is pretty special… And we know she has the potential to do anything she wants with great passion and poise.  ALL THE BEST ALYSSA!  Junkies love you and your super sweet heart!!!

Now – To be honest, Junkies are a little bummed that we couldn’t be at Miss Nebraska this year… We are seriously sold on the leadership there – and  hanging out in North Platte for a “wild weekend” is ABSOLUTELY on our radar for the future! Hopefully sooner than later!

The reason we wanted to be there this year, is because it looks like a really great competition! It’s a TOUGH year at Miss NE… And in order to make our picks, we REGULARLY referred to an awesome blog by former Miss Nebraska contestant turned Omaha News Anchor, Brandi Peterson! I HIGHLY recommend you check it out – She did a FABULOUS job highlighting each contestant for Miss and Teen, here at this link!

And now, to see who we think has the best shot to take home the title of Miss Nebraska 2016, just check out this link…

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! Just like Lady Gaga – JUNKIES LOVE NEBRASKA!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

Hannah Wagner is the kind of contestant Junkies absolutely love…

Hannah decided to enter her first local pageant because “the guy who sold prom dresses” convinced her to compete! She won her first local. And then she went on to win Miss Kansas – which means, Hannah’s third pageant ever was the one and only, Miss America Pageant. 🙂

Turns out “the guy who sold prom dresses” was also a local director in the Miss Kansas Organization… And he obviously knew how to spot a winner when she walked in the door (Nice work Larry!). Inside our recent podcast with Hannah (listen here), she talks about how she didn’t even know what the 4 points of the crown stood for when the judges asked her about it in her local interview! Just goes to prove if you’ve got what it takes, the judges will know it when they see it! 🙂

Instead of pageantry, Hannah pursued dancing – starting at the age of three and eventually performing with Ballet Wichita.

But even though Hannah didn’t grow up participating in pageants, it doesn’t mean she didn’t enjoy watching Miss America year after year… In a story from the TheSunflower.com, Hannah is quoted as saying,

“I remember sitting down with my mom watching Miss America when I was younger, seeing these ideal, fantastic women that I could never be,” Wagner said. “After I won, my mom said to me, ‘That’s you now,’ and I just broke down in tears.
“I hope I can do the same thing for some little girl.”

Congrats to Hannah for being one of those “ideal, fantastic women” who set the standard for the next generation. We know you’ve accomplished so much and will continue to do amazing things with your life in the years to come! 🙂

Hey – And just in case you missed the announcement…

JUNKIES ARE COMING TO KANSAS!!!

lol!  Yes – it’s True! I haven’t seen the Miss Kansas pageant since 1997 when I went to watch a friend of mine win the title… That means it’s been 19 years since I pulled up in Pratt, Kansas – and equally as long since I’ve seen a few of my favorite people from Kansas! Good thing they’re celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Miss Kansas pageant this year! I’m hoping to hug everyone 19 times to make up for the past two decades!

Be sure to follow along on our social media pages – We’re going to do our best to keep everyone informed of all the other pageants going on that same night – But honestly, I’m going to be concentrating on my home state. 🙂

So – who do we think has the best chance at being named Miss Kansas 2016? You can check out our picks when you become a Premium Junkie… Find out more at this link…

ALL THE BEST LADIES!!! JUNKIES CAN’T WAIT TO BE BACK IN KANSAS!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

Even though she always wanted to go to college, as the daughter of a single mom, Meg McGuffin knew she was going to have to find a way to pay for it, herself.

And boy howdy – did she ever find a way! Through her involvement in the Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen program, Meg earned over $80,000 in scholarships and was able to graduate from her beloved Auburn University.

Here’s what’s crazy… We see the successes, but Meg’s pageant journey is actually full of ups and downs!  She won her first ALOT local title on her first try, and she won Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen at the age of 14 and on her first attempt – But then, it took her THREE YEARS before she was able to win her first LOCAL title – just to take her to Miss Alabama stage!

Her whole pageant story is so unexpected for someone who finished as the 4th Runner up at Miss America – But it’s a great reminder for us that life doesn’t always go according to plan…

In her recent podcast with us, Meg says the key for her, was that she decided to “…stop trying to be Miss Alabama” during her final year of competing.  And THAT decision was the major turning point for her (catch her amazing interview right here).

We could go on and on about Meg and her accomplishments as Miss Alabama and the incredible impact she’s made on her state this year – But the bottom line Junkies hope you remember, is…

Do what Meg did. Make sure you show the judges exactly who you are… Not who you think they want to see.  You might be surprised how well you do, once you let go of what you think you’re supposed to do – and instead, just “be you.”

CONGRATS MEG on a WONDERFUL year as Miss Alabama – and for being named the 2nd Runner up for the Quality of Life Award, as well as the 4th Runner to Miss America! Not too bad for a girl who fell on her patootie, huh?  Seriously Junkies – listen to her podcast…

And now – who do we think has the best chance at being named Miss Alabama 2016???

Honestly – this one is REALLY difficult to predict… Last year’s competition was insane – And this year’s pageant may top it! I have NO CLUE how the judges are going to select one woman out of this group of contestants – but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have a job to do… Therefore, we’ve done our best…

Who are they???

You can check out our predictions when you become a Premium Junkie… Find out more at this link.

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! Junkies LOVE Alabama!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

They just keep churning ’em out from Oklahoma…

Oklahoma is tied with Texas for the nation’s longest streak when it comes to having a semi-finalist at Miss America… They’re both at 7 in a row – Meaning, every young woman who has won her state title since 2009 has gone on to make the cut at Miss America!

Fun fact moment: The current Miss Oklahoma, Georgia Frazier, was named Miss Oklahoma’s Outstanding Teen the year the “Miss OK” streak began (2009!)!

(Sorry Georgia! TOO CUTE NOT TO SHARE!)

This year, Georgia (the person) was certainly worthy of her Top 10 finish at Miss America… After meeting Georgia face to face at Miss Colorado, then having her assist yours truly with a slight “wardrobe malfunction” I was having in Orlando during Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, we were thrilled to see her do so well come finals night!

In case you don’t know, Georgia was diagnosed with cervical cancer during her sophomore year of college. In fact, had she not received an unrelated gall bladder scan, it’s likely that she would not have lived to see her 21st birthday.

Numerous surgical procedures later, Georgia decided to change colleges and worked her way through the darkest time of her life. From a blogpost back in 2013, Georgia says, “My mission is to educate young women on cervical cancer, and create awareness about this cancer. It is time for me to tell my story and educate other women, particularly my peers.”

Now, 3 years later, Georgia has reached thousands of people, talking about her platform AND encouraging students across the state.  In fact, every time we turned around, Georgia was on social media again and again, taking another selfie with a huge group of students behind her! LOL! What a crazy year it’s been!

And perhaps Georgia’s year as Miss Oklahoma was all “written in the stars” the day Georgia had her photo taken with Shawntel Smith, Miss America 1996… (Again – I JUST COULDN’T HELP BUT SHARE!)… Moments like this one are the reasons why Junkies continue to exist!

As Georgia wraps up her year as Miss OK, we can’t wait to see what the future holds… So many ladies have used Miss Oklahoma as a stepping stone for incredible things – and we know Georgia’s future is in good hands as well 🙂  Who knows? Perhaps you’ll find her posting really old photos of me online one day – just to get even! LOL!  ALL THE BEST GEORGIA!!!

And now, who do Junkies think has the best chance at being named Miss Oklahoma 2016??? It’s never easy to win a state like OK – but when you do, you’re in good hands come Miss America!

Check out our picks for the top 5 at this link here...

GOOD LUCK LADIES!  JUNKIES LOVE OKLAHOMA!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey