If you wanna see something amazing, then take a look at Ramsey Carpenter…

As eight years old, Ramsey fell in love with the fiddle.  And for years, Ramsey traveled and performed – building quite a reputation for herself.  In fact, people inside Blue Grass circles began to call her, “the girl with the green fiddle”.  But when Ramsey tried to play for her grandfather on his birthday – something just wasn’t “right”.  She explains it as “watching my fingers, trying to play, but not being able to control them.”

She later discovered that she had Multiple Sclerosis.

For most young women her age, hearing the phrase “you have MS,” would be a death-blow.

But not Ramsey.  And after 4 tries, she finally won the title of Miss Kentucky.  Ramsey tells her whole story in our Pageant Junkies Podcast – which you can find at this link… Ramsey is an amazing story-teller, and her story is definitely worth hearing!  I highly encourage you to listen to her podcast when you get a chance!

But winning Miss Kentucky was just the beginning for Ramsey… She then went on to be named a Preliminary Talent award winner at Miss America, have her interview featured on the Miss America DVD, and be named the Top Instrumentalist, as well as a Top 12 finalist at Miss America!

Then – she went back to Kentucky, served as the spokesperson for “Kentucky Proud” promoting agricultural safety and and education, visited 170 schools, all while serving as a National MS Society Board Member and advocating for MS research and awareness.

Now that she’s crowning a new Miss Kentucky, Ramsey plans to be a teacher – helping students with learning and behavior disorders.  And we know, she’ll continue playing her beloved fiddle as long as she can – Hopefully, for years and years to come. 🙂

ALL THE BEST RAMSEY!  Junkies think you’re one-of-a-kind amazing… Good Luck in all your future endeavors!

And now – Who do we think will be crowned Miss Kentucky 2015???

Well – that information was released earlier this week in the Junkie Newsletter!  To receive our latest edition of the Junkie Newsletter, click here to sign up and we’ll send you our most recent predictions!

FYI – Once you sign up, you need to “confirm” that you wish to receive it… THEN, your Newsletter will arrive later in the day.  Even though it’s a Sunday Newsletter, we forward it to all our new sign-ups around 5pm EST every day.  Just make sure you confirm, add us to your address book, and have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE KENTUCKY!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Gosh – Junkies just love Kailee Dunn!

In her third year competing, Kailee had never even made the Top 10 or won a prelim award, before coming out of nowhere to be named Miss Washington 2014!  And what a wonderful state queen she’s been!

Kailee’s love of sports has guided her year… She’s worked for the Seattle Mariners as well as the Dust Devil’s (minor league baseball team in Seattle), she followed the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, and for a sports lover, she’s had some amazing photographs taken along the way… Check it out…

Kailee talks about all of these things in her Pageant Junkies Podcast – which you can find at this link.  What’s  most interesting is that Kailee’s secret to having getting all of this is pretty simple… She just asked!

But this year hasn’t been “all about Kailee” — As Miss Washington, Kailee traveled the state, speaking in schools about how the media easily targets youth on a daily basis and how kids can recognize it (again – it’s all in her podcast linked above).  That awareness allows kids to know when to reject the media’s influence over them regarding destructive behaviors like drugs and alcohol.

Further, we have to give Kailee big props for allowing us so much access to this year’s Miss Washington contestants!  If you check out her YouTube page, Kailee created brief interviews with each contestant shortly after they won, and has put together 4 different video montages of contestants when they were at their Spring Meeting.  AWESOME IDEAS – Great Stuff – Big A+++ from the Junkies… See what I’m talking about by clicking this link!

All that to say – Kailee’s future is bright!  She probably has no clue what the future holds – but it doesn’t matter… Because Kailee’s attitude will prevail and she will walk boldly towards whatever she wants to achieve! 🙂

And now – Who do Junkies think has the best chance to replace Kailee as Miss Washington 2015???

Well – that information was released earlier this week in the Junkie Newsletter!  To receive our latest edition of the Junkie Newsletter, click here to sign up and we’ll send you our most recent predictions!

FYI – Once you sign up, you need to “confirm” that you wish to receive it… THEN, your Newsletter will arrive later in the day.  Even though it’s a Sunday Newsletter, we forward it to all our new sign-ups around 5pm EST every day.  Just make sure you confirm, add us to your address book, and have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE WASHINGTON!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Monique Evans, Miss Texas 2014, just set a new record (which isn’t easy to do in the pageant-loving state of Texas)

Monique made 467 appearances!!!  You read that right – FOUR HUNDRED and SIXTY-SEVEN appearance this year – which is a new record for the Miss Texas Organization and might rival any state appearance record in the country!

Since Junkies don’t live in Texas, we thought we’d take a peek at some of our favorites from Monique’s Facebook page… like this one…

and this one…

and this one…

and this one…

And of course – this one!

Monique was a “guest picker” on Texas Gameday alongside notable Longhorn Football legends, Vince Young and Ricky Williams.  She holds her own here – Fun to watch!

Monique’s desire to make so many appearances likely stems from her life growing up.  As a child, Monique traveled with her family around the world, because her father wanted to teach his children by showing them significant places of interest.  She’s been to Egypt, India and the beaches of Normandy (just to name a few)… And she’s lived in numerous states, as well as Australia and the Bahamas.  “Learning” is a way of life for Monique – which is what’s made her such a wonderful titleholder and an amazing Miss Texas.

After her year is complete, Monique is headed back to the University of Texas where she plans to complete her degree in Nutritional Science before heading to P.A. school.  Ahhh!  We didn’t even mention the fact that she’s an accomplished ballerina and has the most incredible ballet photos on her Facebook Page!

So there you go – Apparently, we decided to “let the photos do the talking” – but how else could you encapsulate 467 appearances as a state titleholder?  I’m not sure…

I am sure – that the new Miss Texas has serious shoes to fill.  But as we all know, everything’s bigger in Texas – and so therefore, the job of Miss Texas is now expanded even further, thanks to Monique. 🙂

And Now – who do we think will be crowned Miss Texas 2015???

Well – that information was released earlier this week in the Junkie Newsletter!  To receive our latest edition of the Junkie Newsletter, click here to sign up and we’ll send you our most recent predictions!

FYI – Once you sign up, you need to “confirm” that you wish to receive it… THEN, your Newsletter will arrive later in the day.  Even though it’s a Sunday Newsletter, we forward it to all our new sign-ups around 5pm EST every day.  Just make sure you confirm, add us to your address book, and have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! JUNKIES LOVE TEXAS!!!

#BIGJunkieLove

“Silence Hides Violence” is the name of Paige Madden, Miss West Virginia’s platform.  And she’s been able to do a lot of work with it over the past year…

Paige spoke anywhere and everywhere this year – to elementary school classes about healthy relationships – to high schools and colleges about the realities of domestic violence  (how it usually starts in high school relationships), and to civic groups and organizations who were willing to listen.    When taking a look at her year, we found article after online article, where she presented her platform (the age appropriate version) in an articulate and compelling way.

Paige didn’t just become passionate about domestic violence in order to win her way to Miss America… Paige’s grandmother was an advocate for the cause as well – and growing up, Paige witnessed domestic violence first hand.  Telling her story provides authenticity to her message – and likely offers healing to her heart in a way you can’t describe.

That’s what makes the Miss America Organization so special… You get the chance to make an impact in an area that might otherwise be “covered up” or “hidden away” because the wounds are so deep.  But if you can overcome the voices inside you that say “don’t talk about this” – you might just find yourself leading others through similar situations.  And that is seriously rewarding stuff, with or without a crown.

Good Luck Paige!  We know Miss WV is just the beginning for you!

Now – who do we think will be crowned Miss West Virginia 2015???

Well – that information was released earlier this week in the Junkie Newsletter!  To receive our latest edition of the Junkie Newsletter, click here to sign up and we’ll send you our most recent predictions!

FYI – Once you sign up, you need to “confirm” that you wish to receive it… THEN, your Newsletter will arrive later in the day.  Even though it’s a Sunday Newsletter, we forward it to all our new sign-ups twice a day – once around Noon EST and once around 5pm EST every day.  Just make sure you confirm, add us to your address book, and have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

Miss Massachusetts 2014, Lauren Kuhn learned one of the most important lessons of life – just by participating in pageants.  But before we talk about that lesson, let me give you a bit of background on Lauren…

Lauren grew up in Washington near the coast. After graduating as the Valedictorian of her high school, she attended college 5 1/2 hours away at Gonzaga University.  Then, after deciding she wanted to be a dentist, Lauren applied to Harvard Dental School (along with nearly 1000 other potential students).  According to the Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s own website – Harvard interviewed 125 students and only accepted 35.

So – Lauren moved to the other side of the country to attend Harvard Dental School…  That next summer, she was named Miss Massachusetts 2014 – ultimately finishing as a STEM scholarship winner and the 4th Runner Up to Miss America!  Oh, then she went back to class at Harvard while fulfilling her duties as Miss Mass. 🙂

Beyond Dental School, Lauren’s also studied in Botswana, Zambia and Turkey, performed in Carnegie Hall, and was featured on ESPN as a finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Awards.

Based on all these achievements, you might think she’s just a bookworm with no personality… Which couldn’t be farther from the truth!  Check out our podcast we hosted with Lauren at this link…  You’ll hear that Lauren is EXTREMELY candid about bombing her talent as a Teen contestant – and many other things!

And THAT’S the life-lesson we’re talking about… Lauren had a terrible performance and it could’ve been the end of her pageant career!  But she refused to let a couple of minutes on stage define the rest of her life.  Instead, she tried again – and it’s interesting how life plays out.  As a matter of fact, in the podcast, she even talks about how the folks in her Harvard interview couldn’t believe they were talking to a former Miss Seattle (hmmmm… Can you say “memorable” out of 125 interviews???)!

Yes, life could’ve been much different for Lauren – had she given up with one poor performance.  But she didn’t.  Instead – she “brushed it off,” focused on what was important to her, and she found a way to make it happen.  It wasn’t easy – but it was worth it!

If that’s the kind of ‘life-lesson’ that young women learn while participating in pageants – then I’m all in!

GOOD LUCK LAUREN – Junkies know you’ll continue to achieve great and mighty things in the years to come – Thanks for sharing your incredible story with us!

And now, can Massachusetts find another young woman to follow Lauren as a Top 5 finisher at Miss America?

Well – our predictions regarding Miss Massachusetts were released earlier this week in the Junkie Newsletter!  To receive our latest edition of the Junkie Newsletter, click here to sign up and we’ll send you our most recent predictions!

FYI – Once you sign up, you need to “confirm” that you wish to receive it… THEN, your Newsletter will arrive later in the day.  Even though it’s a Sunday Newsletter, we forward it to all our new sign-ups twice a day – once around Noon EST and once around 5pm EST every day.  Just make sure you confirm, add us to your address book, and have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE MASSACHUSETTS!!!

#BigJunkieLove