From Here to There, I’m Everywhere!

This was a busy week for me so I apologize in advance for this being a long blog!

Let’s start with 6:30am on Tuesday the 14th! On this very early morning, I started my day by serenading the Detroit Lakes Morning Rotary club followed by giving a presentation. This group was so supportive and encouraging with contributions of $260 to CMN through 26 CD sales! Thank you to Kathy Dretsch for inviting me to be her guest there!
The next day, I traveled south for 3 hours to Coon Rapids where I met up with another civic organization, the Coon Rapids Lions Club. While I was there, I shared the vision for my platform, the Children’s Miracle Network, and my fundraising CD. And, in the mix of all of that, I was honored to recognize a very important member of their club, John Leggate. Six years ago, when John was diagnosed with cancer, he was told he had only a few months to live. He planned his funeral and spent his last few months with his family. Here we are today, and I was able to share his story and recognize him as a ‘miracle’ Inspiring American! He is healthier and happier than ever. To read his full story, check out whohasinspiredyou.com!
Then came Thursday, which presented a very full day in my hometown of Detroit Lakes! It started out at the Detroit Lakes Middle School where I spoke to 160 7th graders. I will admit I was a little worried that 7th graders would feel ‘too cool’ to listen or ask questions, but boy was I wrong! They were so much fun! They were very attentive and asked some great questions. The best part was when I asked them, “Who has inspired you?” They shared some wonderful stories and some of them even nominated their inspiring person on the website!

From there, I went to Emmanuel Nursing home where I gave a small concert of the original music from my CMN fundraising CD Blessed Beyond Measure, which you can find on the Inspiring America website. They are planning on having a Miss America party at the nursing home and they told me they are sure that I am the next Miss America. Let's hope they are right! Either way it feels wonderful to have so much support and encouragement from every appearance I have done!

After that, I ran over to the D.L. pavilion center for the “Community Celebration Day,” which was a fundraiser for United Way. I had a booth available to sell CD’s, sign autographs and meet people. And, I was able to perform on stage, which is always a thrill for me!






To finish off the day, I went to the Detroit Lakes Mall and did a fashion show with Maurices, which was a fundraiser for the Humane Society called “Rescues and Runways.” Rescues & Runways is a national campaign created by maurices, in partnership with the ASPCA® American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In its second year, the goals of this program have remained the same: to increase awareness of animal shelters, in turn, increasing pet adoptions through pet-themed fashion shows. More than 750 maurices locations across the U.S. are hosting the fashion shows along with raising supply and cash donations for our forever friends!By the time I left Detroit Lakes for the St. Paul parade on Friday evening, I had personally addressed 160 autographs to each 7th grader and got a case of writer’s cramp! With all the typing we do nowadays my hand kept cramping as I was writing their cards! They were all so excited to have their own personalized card so the cramps were worth it; I hope it is something they keep for awhile!

On Sunday morning, I was at the Mall of America for the Midwest Special Services Walk and Roll Fundraiser! There were over 500 people there to walk or roll around the mall in support of MSS. Being a part of all of these fundraisers never gets old…I love playing any role to help support these worthy causes.
Later that afternoon, I entered “pageant mode” attending the Miss Twin Cities Orientation. It is going to be a great competition with some outstanding talents; I can’t wait for it! Admittedly, it will feel a bit sad to officially hand over the title to someone new even though I surrendered my Miss Twin Cities role when I became Miss Minnesota (I think it was a good swap)! Miss Twin Cities/Capital City Pageant is Oct 23rd so mark your calendars!
While I was in pageant mode, we just kept going with it on Monday for the Miss America lottery to determine my competition group! Talk about exciting and nerve-racking!! This lottery dictates the order of my preliminary competition, and I was 47th to be picked. As you can imagine, after 46 other girls had selected their position, there wasn’t much left to choose from. But, I was thrilled to land a spot in the Alpha Group so I can perform my talent on the first night of preliminaries. I will be contestant three on each of the preliminary nights with competitions as follows: Monday Afternoon – Interview; Tuesday PM – Talent; Wednesday PM – On-stage Question; Thursday PM – Swimsuit and Evening Gown. My imagination is running wild as the reality of competing for Miss America is really sinking in!!
But, I had no time to savor that daydream because I had to immediately head to the Ivey Awards. My sister Kari accompanied me, which made the night all the more special for both of us! We met so many talented people around Minneapolis/St. Paul who are singers, dancers, choreographers, composers and designers. We were in great company!
See, I told you this was a busy week, but so much fun! It really does make the time fly!

Thank you for taking the time to read what I have been up to. God Bless you!

Kathryn Knuttila
Miss Minnesota 2010