Miss Gateway St. Louis Outstanding Teen 2010's Blog

On Saturday April 24th I had the chance to participate in the ” Personal Interview Prep” , a fundraiser for the Miss Gateway STL Organization.

While participating in PIP, I had the opportunity to do a mock interview with two separate panels, and receive  feedback. At PIP I got to catch up with my Miss Gateway sister queens! It was an awesome experience!

I also received a copy of a CD containing some pictures of my Miss Gateway sister queens and I taken back in March. Shown are some of my favorites

Recently, I competed with my dance studio, NV Dance Force, at the Showbiz Dance Competition! We had a blast, and received 1st overall and 2nd overall in the line division!  Shown are a few pictures from Showbiz as well.

God Bless,

Shelby

On April 11th I had the opportunity to volunteer for the annual GO! St. Louis Fitness Week event.

GO! St. Louis is a non-profit organization that was established in 2000. The goal of this organization is to promote healthy, active lifestyles among all ages.

My dad and I awoke bright and early that day, arriving in downtown St. Louis at 5:30AM! We spent the early hours of the morning helping set up the starting line for those running the full and half marathons. Later that morning, we assisted in managing the start line. More than 17,000 participants passed us!

From there, I headed to Forest Park to cheer on the marathon participants with my dance studio, NV Dance Force. We danced, handed out lolli-pops and worked to motivate the runners as they passed us

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I had a fabulous time participating in GO! St. Louis Fitness Week and look forward to volunteering for this event next year!

-Shelby

My little princess, Anna, and I

Last Sunday was Miss Missouri Outstanding Teen 2010 orientation!

It was such an awesome opportunity! At orientation I had the chance to get to know other contestants, as well as visit my MMOT little princess Anna! We also learned the choreography to our active wear production number It was such a fun day, and I’m really looking forward to seeing all the girls again in June.

The MMOT Princess program is an outstanding opportunity for girls ages 4-12. In 2006, before the MMOT Princess program was established, I was a Miss MO little sister. I gained so much by being mentored by a Miss Gateway St. Louis 2006 Jennifer Rose. She is one of my greatest inspirations, and was a phenomenal mentor. I can’t wait to get to spend more time with my MMOT little princess Anna! She’s such a sweetheart!

There’s still time to register to be a MMOT Princess. For more information, visit:

WWW.MISSMOOUTSTANDINGTEEN.ORG

-Shelby

Today I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery through United Way of Greater STL’s ” St. Louis Cares” program.

When I first began volunteering, the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery was one of  the recipients of the donated toys from my very first toy drive! It’s truly a wonderful organization.

The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery is a 24 hour safe haven dedicated  to preventing child abuse and neglect throughout the region by providing short term care for kids in a safe and nurturing environment, as well as other emergency intervention. Their are 5 crisis nurseries in the Saint Louis area. To learn more about this non-profit organization, visit their website:

WWW.CRISISNURSERYKIDS.ORG

And, check out the webpage for United Way of Greater STL to find out how you can become a member of ” Saint Louis Cares” and participate in the ” Stay and Play” volunteer event!

I  brought supplies for an easter egg hunt and a craft for the kids at the crisis nursery to do, and I had a great time volunteering for this project

-Shelby

Friday morning, I had the chance to visit the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital South Playroom with my two Miss sister queens, Erika and Katy. For the visit, I prepared two crafts for us to make with the kids: bunny ears and tambourines. My mom, Shannon, also came along and played the guitar.  I truly believe that music and play therapy can make an huge difference in the life  of a child battling an illness,such as those that I had to chance to play and sing with at Cardinal Glennon.  It was particularly heart warming to see one little boy’s face light up as I let him hold the guitar and accompanied him with the tambourine. These kids touched my heart in more ways than one, and it’s the opportunity make a difference in their lives and brighten their day that drives both my platform and my participation in pageants. The Miss America’s partnership with CMN is truly a fabulous one, and I’m honored to be a part of CMN’s efforts. Want to learn more about CMN? Visit:

www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org

That afternoon, my sister queen Kensie joined Erika, Katy, and I to visit some of the Miss Gateway St. Louis sponsors and personally thank them for their support of the organization. We had the opportunity to visit Service Metal Products, Steak n Shake, and the Hampton Inn of Chesterfield Valley. We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors, and they help make the Miss Gateway St. Louis Organization possible. Later that afternoon, we met up with Mary and Kerri, the directors for Kensie and I, for some shopping We ended the day with a round table discussion at the Stottlemyer home to prepare for the Miss MO pageant in June.  I had never participated in a round table discussion before, and I’m so happy I had the opportunity! Hearing the many different opinions on a number of topics was extremely helpful.

The next morning, all the Gateway Girls met again to take some group photos! The group photos were followed by mock interviews, talent practice, wardrobe discussions. This weekend was a blast! Thank you to everyone who helped out.

MMOT orientation and ” Stay and Play” at the St. Louis Crisis Nursery are coming up soon!  Check out my blog next week to hear more and see some pictures. In the mean time, I’ll be enjoying this beautiful Spring weather! It’s gorgeous outside!

God Bless,

Shelby

On Wednesday, March 17th I had the opportunity through United Way of Greater STL’s ” St. Louis Cares” volunteer organization to assist in the efforts of the non-profit organization KUTO ( Kids Under Twenty One). KUTO is one of the nearly 200 organizations in  United Way of Greater STL’s database.

KUTO is a St. Louis based non-profit organization that works to prevent adolescent suicides and save lives. KUTO not only has a peer hotline staffed by teens, but makes presentations at schools in the area on topics including teen depression, adolescent suicide, and crisis intervention. In these presentations, they provide prevention materials such as flyers, posters, Helpline cards, and handouts. That’s where the volunteers of ” St. Louis Cares” come in!

” The Yellow Ribbon Project” happens once every two months. Other St. Louis Cares volunteers and I  helped out KUTO by attaching symbolic suicide prevention yellow ribbons to KUTO prevention materials to be distributed to local high schools.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds, and it follows unintentional injuries and homicides. KUTO has been  serving youth since 1987, and it is an outstanding organization! To learn more about KUTO’s phenomenal efforts and to find out how you can support them, visit:

www.kuto.org

Also, check out www.stl.unitedway.org to find out how you can become a part of the ” St. Louis Cares” a volunteer program that will connect you with short term volunteer opportunities. I’ve been a member of ” St. Louis Cares” for almost two years now, and it is an awesome organization

-Shelby

Last Friday I had the chance to visit Henderson Elementary’s ” vacation station” after school program participants and give my ” Let’s Make a Difference” presentation.

During the presentation I spoke the the kids about the importance of volunteering, and how to lend a hand and make a difference. I also promoted United Way of Greater STL’s ” 2-1-1″ volunteer number  and my personal platform, ” The Gift of Hope”.

I had so much fun getting to spend the afternoon with these kids! In addition to listening to my presentation, the kids got to make the ” helping hands” craft I designed, play a game of trivia to ” show what they know”, and also play the ” helping hands “ game, which required them to work together to pass a penny from spoon to spoon all the way around a circle before the opposing team. Nothing but the spoon could touch the penny, and they couldn’t drop it! The kids did a great job with the game and trivia, were outstanding listeners, and very artistic

A special thank you to Henderson Elementary ” vacation station” program coordinator Brecklan Hermann for having me!

God Bless,

Shelby

On Thursday Feb. 4th I was given the exciting opportunity to be the guest presenter for Diagraph’s Outstanding Supplier luncheon at the Fox and Hound in Chesterfield Valley.

I aspire to become a broadcast journalist, so I had a great time presenting the awards to the 21 outstanding suppliers present at the luncheon. In addition to presenting the representatives with a plaque, I also gave the attendants of the luncheon a little bit of a background on what those who had achieved the outstanding supplier rating supply for Diagraph.

A special thank you to Gary Bogener for having me at this event! I had so much fun!

Shown below are a few pictures of several outstanding supplier representatives as I presented them their plaques

-Shelby

Look how time has flown! I can’t even believe that it’s been 3 months since I was crowned Miss Gateway OT, and that the holidays are here already.

This December, I got a chance to work with Crider Health Center on their annual ” Giving Tree” Holiday toy drive. This is the second year I have worked with Crider Center on this project. Last year, over 100 gifts were collected for families living in poverty in my community with the help of Francis Howell Middle School, Francis Howell North High School, and  Dance Connection Performing Arts Center . This year was very successful, as well! The FHHS JV Pom Squad and my dance studio,  NV Dance Force participated.Thanks to donors Kelly Kintz, Kayla Hutfless, and Bridget Phillips, our pom squad was able to purchase the holiday wish from a child in need:  a bike for an 8 year old boy. We also had an overwhelming amount of donations from NV Dance Force! Special thanks to owners Julie Yoakum and Rachel Marsden as well as everyone at the studio who participated in this toy drive. You guys rock!

Crider Health Center is a non-profit organization  that serves St. Charles and surrounding counties, working to make sure everyone in the community has healthcare. Be sure to check out their website: www.cridercenter.org

Have a happy holidays, and God Bless!

Shelby

On Dec. 5th, everyone on the Francis Howell High School JV Pom Squad awoke bright and early, arriving in the school parking lot at 6:15AM with much anticipation for our first competition, the Lindbergh High School Dance Invitational.

After many hours and days of rehearsal, the time had come to compete with our pom, jazz, and hip hop routines. We were bursting with excitement to show off our hard work in front of the judges! We were so fortunate to place 1st in the JV pom division, and 3rd in jazz and hip hop! Lindbergh was a fabulous experience, and our squad is looking forward to competing in Chicago early in January.

The pom squad is also participating in ” The Giving Tree” toy drive I have been working with Crider Health Center on  ( more news on that to come at a later date!)

Also, this past week, I participated in the ” Cookies for Kids’ Cancer” bake sale in my community. “Cookies for Kids’ Cancer” is a non-profit organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research through local bake sales. An excess of $100 was made at this bake sale, and all leftover baked goods were taken to to the nurses on the cancer floor at the St. Louis Children’s hospital. A special thank you to the Kaestner family for sponsoring this event. It was such an honor to be a part of a phenomenal cause like this one

My friends on the FHHS JV Pom squad and I

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God Bless,

Shelby