On Tuesday, March 1st I celebrated National Pancake Day! As previously posted (A Syrupy Sweet Saturday), the Miss America Organization partners with IHOP to raise funds and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. On March 1st, IHOP offered a free short stack of pancakes to patrons, in exchange for a suggested donation to CMN. I know…how could I eat pancakes when they aren’t on my strategic food plan? That’s because I spent so much time working the event from 5-8 pm that I forgot to eat dinner! It could have been my “cheat day,” but I was so focused on selling the paper balloons and glow-in-the-dark bracelets that it slipped my mind until I got home.
First, let me just say that there is nothing which prepares you more for the job of Miss Oklahoma than actually going to various fundraisers/appearances (like IHOP) and talking to Oklahomans. I met a lot of people, and don’t worry – you’ll get to hear about several! You just never know what people will ask you or what they will say. (There’s a story for that too!) Everyone thinks you are Miss USA, Miss America or Miss Oklahoma when you have a crown on. Unfortunately, I am none of the above. Others will say “Hey! I saw you on tv at Miss USA!” As flattering as that is (it would be an honor to be mistaken for Miss Okahoma or Miss Oklahoma USA), I have to explain that while I hope they will see me on-screen in the future, that was another titleholder and not me! Communicating is one of my five strengths (Strength Finders) and one of the things I enjoy most about the job of Miss Sooner State. Last Tuesday was no exception!
On to the interesting people I met! When I first arrived at the Meridian IHOP, I was a bit worried since it was nearly empty! Luckily, the business was steady throughout the night and the donations to CMN kept pouring in! This is a new friend of mine! Tyler ( left) is from New York and was visiting his dad who is stationed at Fort Sill. His mom bought a bracelet and Tyler asked me to hang out while he finished his short stack of pancakes. He is in the third grade and is learning how to write in cursive. His mom had just flown back to Oklahoma to pick him up and take him back to Northern New York. He said he would be sure to watch for me on the Miss America stage. 🙂
This cute little thing on the right is Max. If I ever have a boy (Lord knows I wouldn’t know what to do with one!) I hope he is just like Max! He is in Kindergarten and his favorite part of school is snack time. I’ll have to remember that when I have a class next year! Max was in awe of the glow-in-the-dark bracelet his dad purchased for him and kept jumping under the table to see if it still worked. He asked me if we could have a sleepover at IHOP because he wanted to stay there forever! Haha, then he added that all he needed to get from home was his toothbrush (I’m sure his dentist loves him!). He was so sweet and had most definitely never met a stranger.
This is Honor and Mariah! They were at a huge table with their three brothers, parents and extended family. When I spoke with their dad, I found out that he works with Character Counts in Edmond – Miss Oklahoma, Emoly West’s platform! He was very familiar with the Miss Oklahoma Organization and inquired about my own platform, what I do with it, my talent, and how I became involved with the system. These girls were very fun and were in a race to finish their dinner! Honor really wanted to show off her pretty smile here!! CHEESE!
The last two customers I took a picture with were Ty and his sister Danielle. This brother and sister were with their mom and I was able to spend a lot of time getting to know them. She is 8 and he is 4, another Pre-K kid! When I asked Ty what his favorite part of school was, he said playing on the playground. I asked him what made a teacher “cool” since I’ll be teaching this Fall and wanted to win over my students. He said the playground was his favorite part of the day and if his teacher played on the playground she would be really cool. He was fairly confused as to why I had a crown on my head, but I explained how I won the title and Danielle had a question for me. “Are you in beauty pageants?” she asked. “No, I compete in scholarship pageants,” I said. “Do you want me to explain how a scholarship pageant works?” Her mom jumped in and told her that I won a lot of money, but it was all to pay for school. “Oh,” Danielle said. “I know the difference.” Her mom and I watched as Danielle then added, very matter of factly, “Beauty pageants are where they show their assets.” Needless to say, “assets” was not Danielle’s word of choice! Her mom couldn’t decide if it was humorous or horrifying! Haha, I made sure to explain that televised pageants do not consist of any portion which allows a contestant to show more than necessary. When speaking with kids as a titleholder, one things is very important to remember – expect the unexpected!
At the end of the night, I had visited with hundreds of customers and collected a grand total of $174.00! It’s really amazing to think of how many contestants and IHOP’s across the country were working that evening to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network and if I could collect $174.00, not including the donations from the free pancakes, I can only imagine what the overall total could be! I look forward to fundraising again for Children’s Miracle Network, and hopefully next year I’ll remember to celebrate correctly by eating a short stack of pancakes!