Children's Miracle Network Golf Tournament

Hello everyone!

This morning I had the opportunity to volunteer for the Children's Miracle Network once again! It was the annual Children's Miracle Network Golf Tournament at the Player's Club in Omaha. I was there to greet the golfers as well as sell raffle tickets! I had such a fun time talking with the golfers and getting to know more of the volunteers for CMN! I helped at this event last year as well, and both times it was a huge success!!

Selling raffle tickets!

Love these stickers!

Hanging out with some of the golfers!

It is so wonderful to see so many people coming out to golf in support of the Children's Miracle Network! It is such an inspiring organization and I love being able to volunteer at all of the events they have each year. 

That's all for now!

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

KETV Hang Up and Drive Interview

Hello everyone!

As you may have seen on my Facebook page, I was interviewed on KETV (Channel 7) about my platform and how I came to choose it. For those who may not know, my brother Bobby was killed by a drunk driver when he was 21 years old, I was 12 at the time. He was a world champion baton twirler, a motivational speaker, a National DECA Officer, and a fierce friend and loving family member. Bobby was my mentor and my coach. At the age of 12, I had to deal with a devastating loss and was also forced to grow up and learn sooner than many kids my age, that any day can be your last. His motto was "Live, Love, Learn, Leave a Legacy," and I have worked every day since he passed to keep his legacy alive. I do so by speaking to audiences of all ages about the dangers of distracted driving (with a focus on texting and talking on the phone behind the wheel).

My platform is called "Hang Up and Drive." Even though Bobby was not killed by a person on their cell phone, I know what it is like to lose a family member due to the carelessness of another driver. It has become my mission to do my part to prevent such accidents from happening. I have talked to many groups including high schools, DECA students, and college fraternities and sororities about the dangers of texting and driving. I have created a pledge for people to sign after my presentations, and have gotten over 1,500 signatures on that pledge. I will never know if I have saved lives by doing this, but all I can do is do my best to inform others of the risks they face if they choose to use their phone while they drive.

KETV took an interest in my platform and my story, and asked me to come in and share my message. I have attached the link to the news cast at the bottom of this blog post. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Alexandra Hoffman for interviewing me and writing such a wonderful story in memory of my brother Bobby.

Getting the mic on for the interview

Alexandra and I during the interview

Alexandra was Miss South Dakota 2008, so after the interview we got to chat about pageants!

Thank you for having me KETV!

Future anchorwoman? 

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to share my story on KETV Channel 7, thanks again to Alexandra for having me in for an interview!

Here is a link to the newscast!

http://www.ketv.com/news/local-news/Miss-Lincoln-speaks-out-against-distracted-driving/-/9674510/13479718/-/4xsw2tz/-/index.html

There are two weeks left until I leave for the Miss Nebraska pageant, and there is still much to do! I have many appearances set up for the next two weeks, not to mention the shopping and the rest of my pageant preparation that needs to be completed. All in all though, I am so ready for the pageant this year and cannot wait to get out to North Platte to spend a week with 13 of the most amazing girls in the state!! 

Until next time,

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

Another Visit to the Children's Hospital!

 

Hello everyone!

This morning I visited the Children's Hospital once again, it is always such an amazing experience! I worked with two little girls today, Chloe and Elly. We made paper bag animals and had a ton of fun! Chloe made FIVE animals, she made three dogs and two cats! Elly (who has eight chickens at home) made two chickens and named them after two of the chickens she has at home! We had a blast coloring, gluing, and chatting!

Visiting the Children's Hospital is one of my favorite things to do as Miss Lincoln, it reminds me of how awesome it is that the Miss America Organization has partnered with the Children's Miracle Network. The partnership has given titleholders like myself experiences that we would have never had otherwise. It also allows the kids a chance to meet and create memories with Miss America contestants!

My craft basket!

All set up and ready for the craft hour!

The paper bag owl that I made!

Such an amazing place to visit.

I always have such a great time at the hospital, I am looking forward to visiting again very soon! I still have more events and appearances coming up, so stay tuned!

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

Hang Up and Drive Presentation at Ralston High School

Hello everyone!

Recently, I have been very busy on the community service side of things. I have had a blast attending walks, fundraisers, and children's hospitals. This morning, I had the opportunity to talk about something that is very near and dear to my heart, my platform. My platform is called Hang Up and Drive, and it focuses on the dangers of texting and talking on the phone behind the wheel. Having lost my brother to the carelessness of another driver, this platform is very important to me.

I spoke to two groups that total around 100 students at Ralston High School this morning (my high school) and I was very impressed by the respect I received from the kids! The presentation I gave was about 15 minutes long, and hit on all of the major points when it comes to driving safety and the dangers of distracted driving. I hope that the students will remember these points before they ever pick up their phone while driving again!

 Speaking to the Ralston High School Concert Choir..

The students..

Taking a quick survey

I had a great time at Ralston this morning catching up with my favorite teacher, as well as talking to a group of students that I care deeply about, about a topic that I find so important. I hope that those students that raised their hands when I asked who had texted behind the wheel before, learned something today that will stay in their minds before they ever do it again. For those of them who do not drive yet, I hope they will keep what I said in mind and never even start the dangerous habit of texting and driving. This is a topic that everyone needs to hear about, because so many of us have the "it won't happen to me" mindset. I plan to continue promoting this platform for a long time and hopefully saving some lives in the meantime!

I still have events coming up in the near future, so stay tuned for more blog posts!

That is all for now!

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

American Heart Association Heart Walk 2012

Hello again!

It is only 10a.m. and I have already attended an event and had time for an awesome breakfast this morning! This is what happens when you start your day at 5:30a.m.! This morning was the American Heart Association Heart Walk, an annual event that promotes being heart healthy and raises money for heart research! I was in charge of leading the "Children's Mile" warm up, greeting the walkers (and runners) before and after the Children's Mile, and signing a few autographs in the mean time! I got to enjoy this event with Kimberly Brennan, Miss Heartland!

This event began at 7:00a.m. with autograph signings, then at 8a.m. I led the warm up and greeted the participants, and we were all done by 9:30! It always feels great to get so much done so early in the morning! Luckily, it was also a GORGEOUS morning for the event, which makes it even more enjoyable!

Here I am with Hearty!! 

With two of my fellow twirlers, Steph and Michelle! Wish I could have performed with them this morning but I had other jobs!

Here I am with Kimberly Brennan, Miss Heartland! Kim and I have had such a fun time attending events together all year!

Leading the Children's Mile warm up!

Kimberly and I with the Creighton Mascot!

Here we are with Hearty!

Kim and I got to hang out around the start/finish line to pump up the participants in the beginning and then to cheer them on and congratulate them as they finished the race!

Here we are with some of the walkers!

The finish line!

These kids are all wearing capes. The capes are made by a company that designs them for heart disease survivors. Each child gets to choose the color they want their cape to be! Such a fun group of kids to spend time with!

Showing the capes!

It was SUCH a beautiful day for the Heart Walk!

Kimberly and I ar our autograph booth!

A big thanks to Ashley Christiensen for inviting us! We had such a great time at the walk and we are both hoping to make it back next year!

Kimberly and I are both baton twirlers in marching bands, so we are naturally drawn to other marching band members! It was great to hear the Papillion LaVista drum line this morning!

I have been volunteering for the American Heart Association since I was a sophomore in high school (5 years now!) and I have to say that the organization never ceases to amaze me. They do so much to make sure that people are happy and healthy, they do so much for both children and adults who are having heart problems, and they do so much for the community! It is always uplifting to attend Heart Association events. Thanks again to Ashley Christiensen for inviting Kimberly and I to participate in such a fun event this morning!!

I have more events coming up this week so stay tuned!

Love,

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

Teaching Baton, Dance, Tumbling, and Teamwork to Girl Scouts!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I had an opportunity to teach some basic skills to a group of Girl Scouts in the Omaha area. The girls came to the studio and I gave them an hour-long lesson on baton twirling, dance, tumbling, and teamwork! At the end, I let the girls try on my crown (which was of course their favorite part)! We had a great time and learned a lot together! My favorite part of the class was at the end when I asked what everyone's favorite baton trick from the day was, they all said the same thing...VANILLA CHOCOLATE! This is the first baton trick that we teach our students at the studio, and it is always a hit (maybe because we link it to ice cream flavors)! I have a few pictures from the day to share!

Here are the girls as I am explaining what we're going to do with our time together!

This is a High V..

This is a Low V!

Here I am doing a "summersault roll off!"

Helping the girls with their summsaults!

Here is the whole group, so much fun!!

They wanted to do a silly picture, but I couldn't stop laughing!

Here are each of the girls getting crowned :)

It was such a fun day for everyone involved! I hope the girls had as much fun learning the basic skills as I had teaching them! I will never forget the memories we made yesterday!

That is all for now, I have a few appearances coming up in the next couple weeks so stay tuned! 

Rachel

Miss Lincoln