KANSAS!!!! The land of beef, wheat, sunflowers, and the Wizard of Oz of course!

If you would have told me three months ago that my journey as Miss Idaho would take me to Kansas, I would have never believed you. Yet, this past monday, I found myself boarding a plane to (you guessed it) Wichita, Kansas for the 2009 American Farm Bureau Promotions and Education National Committee Meeting! I'd never been to Kansas before, so this was definitely a new, incredible experience that I will never forget!

One of my first experiences in Kansas was being welcomed to Kansas by Miss Kansas, Becki Ronen, herself! How many people get that opportunity? :) Sandy (my traveling buddy) and I were able to have dinner with Becki and her awesome mom at a local restaurant that was infamous for its delicious hummus and entrees! It was amazing! It was even better though to catch up with one of my Miss America sisters and hear about all the incredible things she is doing in Kansas! We had so much fun at dinner, and we finished the evening by doing a bit of shopping at one of Wichita's excellent malls.

The next morning, the conference started off with a bang where all the representatives from different states shared some of their success stories for agricultural promotions and education activities they have accomplished. It was so awesome to hear about some of the creative things that were being done in other states, and I now have a few more ideas now how to promote my platform over the next couple months! From there, I participated in workshops on Animal Rights Education, Public Speaking, and using Facebook and Twitter to get out the message. With the evening to spare, Sandy, Russ (an Idaho Farm Bureau representative) and I went to Wichita's Old Town to have some very yummy Latin food! Just thinking about that dinner makes my mouth water! After that, Sandy and I finished the night with some shopping and a very VERY small bowl of gelato (I hope my trainer doesn't read this :) ).

On wednesday, the Kansas Farm Bureau took us on a bunch of tours featuring agriculture companies and farms in Eastern Kansas. Our first stop was a farm where two brothers farm over 3000 acres, but actually own only 160 acres. They had all of their incredible tractors and combines lined up for us to check out, and described how they work to lease property from over 30 landlords. Those guys are ambitious! After having a fabulous lunch, we went to a ranch where in addition to raising cattle, they also collect energy via modern windmills! They had 100 windmills on the property, and it was very beautiful to see the windmills with the backdrop of the Kansas Flint Hills Prairie. We finished our tours at Walnut Valley Meat Packing in El Dorado, Kansas. I am always fascinated by meat packing plants (I know...I'm a little weird) and it was awesome to see the process they go through to individually package meat for local individuals.

Thursday was the last day of the conference, which just happened to start with a speech presented by yours truly! They had asked me to speak about a month ago, and I felt so privileged to share my unique and interesting story about how I've come to develop the views on agriculture that I am so passionate about today, and what I am doing to spread the message about the importance of supporting American Agriculture-the original green industry! To conclude the conference, a hog farmer from Missouri, Chris Chinn, then spoke about the message she spreads and the importance that we all find ways to educate people at airports, schools, and church about the reality of the agriculture industry. She was awesome! The link to her video about her family's hog farm on youtube is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOpVYj2bKIE. Please check it out so you can see how much farmers, just like Chris, truly care for their animals!

After an amazing conference where I became even more motivated about the value and strength of my platform, I was ready to head home! Sandy was heading to Raliegh to spend some time with her oldest son, so it was just Russ and I on the return trip to Boise. After boarding the plane, the door would not close, so they had us return back to the airport's terminal. Even with the expertise of the airport's mechanic, the door would not close! Luckily, Russ and I were able to get booked on the next flight for Denver which left only three hours later. Once in Denver, we were on standby on a flight to Boise, and by some luck I managed to get the last seat! Sometimes traveling isn't exactly fun, but I was very happy to make it back to Idaho safely.

I would like to personally thank Marsha Purcell (with American Farm Bureau), the Kansas Farm Bureau, and all the incredible people I met in Kansas for such an incredible time! It is so refreshing to see that people from other parts of the country are just as passionate and dedicated to telling people the real story of agriculture as I am, and it was awesome to share ideas and brainstorm.

Pictures will be coming soon....I promise!

Until next time...God Bless!

~Kara

Miss Meridian and Miss Ada County 2010!

Up to this point in the year, I have really enjoyed going to the local pageants, seeing my friends from this past year give up their titles and meeting the new faces who may be competing in Miss Idaho 2010! This past weekend was not an exception when I was able to attend the Miss Meridian and Miss Ada County 2010 pageant.

Although I have already attended 4 local pageant since being crowned Miss Idaho back in June, this was going to be the first where I was emceeing the pageant. I was very excited for this, especially since my fellow emcee was Miss Boise 2009 Meg Rowe, one of the most hilarious people I have ever met! I was able to meet with Sue (the local director) and all the contestants on Friday during their general rehearsal. It was so much fun to help Sue put together the little gifts for the girls, volunteers and judges, and mingle with the contestants. I forgot how much fun the rehearsals for locals are!

Saturday afternoon I headed back over to the school to run through my performance on stage, go through the script with Meg, and help out with anything else that I could. The pageant was amazing! All the contestants were fantastic, and it was great to see Amanda Richey, Miss Meridian 2009 and 1st runner up at Miss Idaho, and Kylie Kofoed, Miss Ada County 2009 and 2nd runner up at Miss Idaho, perform and give away their titles! They are both such incredible women and wonderful examples of what the Miss Idaho Scholarship Organization is about! Congrats to the new Miss Meridian 2010, Genevieve Nutting, and Miss Ada County 2010, Rylie McClellan! They are both going to be incredible at Miss Idaho in June, which believe it or not, is less than 9 months away! Time is definitely flying by!

Allof the Miss Meridian contestants, Miss Meridian Little Sisters, Amanda Richey (Miss Meridian 2009), Kylie Kofoed (Miss Ada County), Meg Rowe (Miss Boise) and myself during the intermission!

Well, from here I'm off to Kansas for the National Farm Bureau Federation Promotion and Education Conference! Have a Happy Fall!

Warmest Regards,

Kara

Air Force Appreciation

I’ve always loved supporting the military, and I got the chance to do just that the past two days for the Air Force Appreciation Days in Mountain Home! I was really excited about this appearance because Elise (Miss Idaho 2008) had told me how much fun it was for her, so I couldn’t wait for this opportunity!

Carley and I drove down to Mountain Home on Friday afternoon for the picnic, corn shuck and fun run. Since we arrived a bit early, we were able to mingle, meet some of the families and little girls, sign autographs, and play with the kids! I even was able to pet an adorable bulldog. :) We then had the privilege of participating in the corn shucking contest, which was quite the event! There was over 100 other people shucking corn, and together we shucked thousands of heads of corn within less than 20 minutes-which was definitely a cool event to watch and help with! We then enjoyed a delicious dinner, which included a yummy caramel apple. We finished the evening by playing with a bunch of darling girls and giving out some of the awards for the Fun Run! To say the least, it was incredible way to spend September 11th, such an important day to our country and our freedom!

Shucking Corn!

Yummy Caramel Apples!

The next morning, I woke up bright and early (for a Saturday) and drove back down to Mountain Home with my very fun appearance coordinator, Anna. We then quickly found my ride-a sleek red ’52 Carmangia! Since we had some down time before the parade started, I was able to talk a bit with John Bird, the Commander of the Mountain Home Air Force Base, and even meet a couple of the fighter squadrons! It was so much fun to be able to speak with these incredible men and women who serve our country! They are our true heroes. The parade was a blast-probably one of my favorite parades I’ve been in so far, and I was even able to throw candy and beads to the crowd! Since I was at the start of the parade, I was then able to watch the rest of the parade with some of the officers and other honored guests. Afterward, I helped serve the lunch (which included the corn we shucked the night before), play my viola for the audience, and wander through the entire festival. I even was able to stand behind the huge gun on the top of a Hummer! I had so much fun, and it was fantastic day! I am proud to be an American!

My awesome ride!

What a big gun!

My Visit to Idaho Potato Country!

Whenever I travel outside of the state and someone hears I’m from Idaho, the first question I always get asked is, “So do you grow potatoes?” Although I have never grown a potato myself, I was able to visit Idaho’s potato country, aka Bingham County, thanks to the Bingham County Farm Bureau!

As soon as I got into Blackfoot, I met my new family for the couple next days, the Dalleys! Joyce, Ralph, all their children and grandchildren were so wonderful with welcoming me right into their home and family right away! They even had the Boise State game on when I got there, and gave me one of the best home cooked dinners I’ve had in quite some time. :)

The next morning, I began my day by having breakfast at the local auction yard, meeting many of the Bingham County Farm Bureau members and leaders for breakfast. It was so much fun to see some familiar as well as new faces and hear about everything they do as a county Farm Bureau. Bingham County Farm Bureau Rocks! After the breakfast, my two drivers/escorts/tour guides/body guards/comic relief, Kendall Keller and Chris Dalley, drove me to the first school on our schedule- Ridgecrest Elementary. They had an entire school assembly of grades kindergarten-5th grade! After their student body elections, I was able to speak to them for a little bit about all the different things we produce in Idaho. The students were a blast, and afterward I handed out Ag in the Classroom pencils (thanks to Rick Waitley and Idaho Ag in the Classroom) and signed autographs. From there, we went to many, many more schools: Snake River Middle School, Rockford Elementary, Riverside Elementary, Aberdeen High (Pep Assembly!), Aberdeen Elementary and Aberdeen Middle School. It was a phenomenal experience being able to share the passion for my platform, Modern Agriculture: Supporting and Sustaining Society, and the diversity of Idaho agriculture with all of these students. I love speaking and working with students of all ages about where our food comes from and how important it is to support American agriculture and the American farmer. Like I tell all the students-whenever you eat, drink, or even put on your favorite pair of jeans, don’t forget to thank a farmer! :) Thank you so much Kimmel for arranging all of the school visits- it was seriously awesome!

Jason Moulten, Chris Dalley, me and Kendall Keller! These guys were awesome, but could still afford a couple more lessons at fending off 8 year old girls! :)

After the school visits, we made a short stop at the Pocatello Idaho Farm Bureau office, which is quite snazzy. I was able to meet all the employees, discuss some of the funny stories of the day, and I even got a very cool pink Idaho Farm Bureau hat! I will be definitely be sporting it at Miss America! Later that evening, I went to the Bingham County Young Farmers and Ranchers BBQ. It was so much fun to hang out and eat some awesome food (Thanks Jason!). I definitely was initiated into the kids’ gang, and had a bunch of fun listening to all of the kids’ favorite stories, playing badminton in the dark, and watching all of them play the Wii projected onto the wall of a barn. It was an awesome night!

All the girls at the BBQ and me!

The next morning, I rode in the Eastern Idaho State Fair Parade on the Bingham County Farm Bureau float. The other featured guest on the float (in addition to all the cute kids whose parents are involved in FB) was Joyce Dalley, my new “Blackfoot Mom” and Bingham County Farm Bureau Woman of the Year! It was a lot of fun to see the entire town of Blackfoot come out to start the fair with a bang! Afterward, we headed straight to the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which is very impressive! I spent the rest of the day in the Ag in the Classroom booth, passing out “I’m a Fan of Farmers” fans, signing autographs, and having a blast with Kimmel and Kelly!

The two cutest little kids ever- Sadie and Piers, with me on the float before the Parade!

That evening, I had to drive back to Boise. Although I was happy to go home, I was very sad to leave my new Blackfoot family. This was hands down one of my favorite appearances yet, and I won’t forget all the hospitality, kindness and friendship everyone in Blackfoot gave to me! Thanks for an incredible time!

I’ll leave you with a quote I have come to love the past couple of months: “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” –Robert Schuller

God Bless!