Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Maren Goff and I am 2012 honor graduate with distinction and a fine arts scholar of Brainerd High School, where I served as Senior Class President. Over the years I have been involved with Class Cabinet, Student Council, National Honors Society, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, A Cappella Choir, and Mock Trial. I have held many leadership positions and in 2010 was given the honor of representing Brainerd High School at the Minnesota Mile Youth Leadership Conference. In the fall I will attend Minnesota State University Moorhead where I will pursue a degree in Mass Communications. In my spare time I enjoy biking, rock climbing, scrapbooking and most of all; reading! It was my love of reading that inspired my platform “Reading Rocks: Promoting Children’s Literacy while Making Reading Fun”. As a child some of my fondest memories revolve around books and reading. Through countless library visits and bedtime stories with my parents I was able to develop a positive association with reading that I attribute to my success today. It is my goal to inspire, educate and advocate on the importance to literacy within my community.
My involvement with the Miss Brainerd Lakes/Miss Baxter scholarship program has lead me on quite a whirlwind journey, and I would like to share a little bit of my pageant experience with you! In March I attended my first informational meeting about the pageant and the program; everything that I heard was brand new to me but I immediately new that this was a program that I could learn from, and enjoy. Before I knew it summer was fast approaching and I was already working hard on improving my interview skills, and practicing my talent. All of the other contestants and I were beginning to bond through our service work at the senior center and Ruby’s Pantry, as well as our fun interview clinic, Makeup clinic, Queen’s sleepover, The Leader Area Pig Races, and the Brainerd Lakes Cake-Off! Soon enough it was pageant week and the hard work and late night rehearsals had begun. On the day of the pageant I was surprisingly calm; I think I had finally begun to realize that I was as prepared as I could be for that night. During the pageant I was so focused that everything now seems like a blur to me. My anticipation gave me a rush of energy that I was truly able to have fun on that stage! As we lined up on stage waiting for crowning my heart nearly stopped when Bill called my name as the interview winner! Of all the awards that I received and tied for that night the interview award is the one that I am most proud of, I am so happy that my hard work paid off! I owe a huge thank you to Bill, Vicki, Miss Brainerd lakes 2011 Rebecca Yeh, and Miss Baxter’s Outstanding Teen 2012 Savannah Cole for all of their help during the many long mock interview sessions we had. That night I also tied my sister queen Heather Erickson for the talent award, and we had a three way tie for the evening gown award between the wonderful Jackie Thurlow, Heather Erickson, and myself. When my name was called as Miss Baxter 2012 I was so overwhelmed with happiness, it feels so wonderful to know that with all of my hard work and dedication I was able to achieve my goal!
 |
| Talent |
 |
| Talent |
 |
| Interview Award |
 |
| Tie for Talent |
Since that pageant I have been busy with appearances, my first was the very next day at Arts in the Park held in Brainerd’s Gregory Park. Here my sister queen Miss Brainerd Lakes Heather Erickson and I were able to meet many local residents and artisans from the Brainerd/Baxter area. On July 3rd and 4th I participated in a few local Fourth of July celebrations. Heather, Savannah and I were able to beat the heat and still have a blast at the Nisswa and Baxter parades, and Heather and I were also able to speak alongside Miss Minnesota’s Outstanding Teen Bailey Wachhloz during a fabulous Elvis performance before the fireworks! On July 8th Heather, Savannah and I were able to attend and present awards at the Area 5 Special Olympic Equestrian competition at Spirit Horse Center in Brainerd. This was such a fun event and it was so awesome to see these athletes perform so well in all areas of horsemanship!
 |
| Arts in the Park |
 |
| Nisswa Freedom Days Parade |
 |
| Baxter Parade, the queens with Little Miss Fourth of July |
 |
| Elvis |
I am so excited for the year of service I have ahead of me, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!
Until Next Time,
Maren
Miss Baxter 2012
 |
| Sister Queens! |
No comments:
Post a Comment