Rotary Club, Bridal Show, & Complete Nutrition

This past week I had the opportunity to make two appearances in the Grand Forks community. This first was speaking at the Grand Forks Noon Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday. This was a great opportunity to share my platform and my Miss America experiences with many area leaders. My platform of sustainable living is one that is easily taught to any age group and having the chance to share my goals for my platform was very exciting. I also loved sharing my experience with the Miss America Organization to people who have not heard much about it. It is very important to show community members what a great organization this is and how it has had an amazing impact on my life and the lives of thousands of other women in America.

On Sunday I had a great time being a live model for Beautiful Beginnings of Thief River Falls, MN at the Grand Forks Wedding Show at the Alerus Center. Miss Grand Forks and I had so much fun changing outfits every hour and walking around speaking to community members. I saw many friends from around Grand Forks and met many new people as well, most had questions about our crowns and we filled them in on the Miss Grand Forks Scholarship Organization. It was great having the time to talk with people and really make a personal connection with so many in one afternoon. My favorite new friend was a little girl who was so excited to see a “princess” is a beautiful big pink dress, I asked her if one day she would have a pretty pink dress like mine, she replied “no, I want a blue one, that’s my favorite color.” The next dress I put on was blue and when she saw me in it her face lit up and I was so happy to see her excitement just by seeing a beautiful blue dress. Time after time children make the biggest impact on my experiences as Miss Eastern Dakota.

One last thing I did just recently was visit my Complete Nutrition sponsor to get some advice and products to help me achieve my fitness goals. I am very excited about the Life Style & Fitness portion of the Miss North Dakota competition this year! I have been working hard to change my lifestyle to suit a more healthy way of living with regular exercise and healthy foods, including lots of fruits and veggies. With the extra help from Complete Nutrition I am well on my way to accomplishing my person fitness goals.

Laura Harmon
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

Tis the Season of Service

This past week I had the opportunity to volunteer at two very important events in my hometown of Grand Forks- Santa’s Village, put on by the Grand Forks Park District and the Salvation Army, bell ringing. I first went to Santa’s Village at the Lincoln Park Golf Course clubhouse where I sat and visited with children and made crafts. There were many beautifully decorated trees that all had fun themes, my favorite was the lime green M&M tree. The whole area was swarming with little elves, most of which were high school volunteers. There were also sleigh rides and horse rides outside. Usually, by this time it is quite cold in North Dakota but this year it was nearly 35 degrees so the sleigh ride was wonderful! I was lucky enough to come the day Santa and Mrs. Claus came for a visit. While the children formed a line out the door, I had the chance to wish the Claus’s a very Merry Christmas and even take a photo with them. Thanks to Lynn, the organizer of the event, and to all the elves that volunteered their time to this great Christmas event.

The following Tuesday I rang the bell for the Salvation Army. My location was Macys in the Columbia Mall right next to Santa. My friend Liz and I spent the morning wishing shoppers a Merry Christmas and thanking them for their donations. After ringing, I stopped by my place of employment to say hi to my manager Christi and take a few photos, she and my other manager Anne have been huge supporters of mine since I began competing in the Miss America Organization.

This Christmas I am so thankful to have the opportunity to give back to my community. I love Christmas time when everyone is so giving and in the most cheerful mood, interacting with my community members during such a great time of year really makes me proud to be Miss Eastern Dakota. Merry Christmas, Readers!

Laura Harmon
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well everyone, the holiday season is upon us once again and everyone, me included, is running around town and surfing the internet for gifts from their family and friends’ wish lists. This past weekend I started off my holiday season by having a photo shoot for the Miss Grand Forks Organization’s New Year’s holiday e-cards and a traditional Miss Grand Forks holiday sleepover at our lovely pageant director’s home.

The photo shoot we had on Friday was a blast! We took photos with Nodak Photography of Fargo, ND.  I had worked with the photographer before on a photo shoot for Caroline Hayden (a MN based gown designer) and it was wonderful to work with him again. It was so much fun hanging out with the other titleholders and it was even more fun to see Caroline try to make us laugh, (the theme of the photo was bright and very happy). We laughed so much that by the end of the shoot, about an hour later, I think all of our cheeks were sore. We then hopped back into the car and headed back to Grand Forks, where I had to race to catch the University of North Dakota’s men’s hockey game against Nebraska-Omaha, which we sadly lost in overtime….we did, however, win the next night. Loving hockey is a requirement up here.

Saturday was the night of the annual Christmas sleepover and I was so excited I could barely stand it. Kate came to pick me up and we carpooled down the Crookston, MN where we met Stephanie and Caroline, (plus Napoleon, Winnie, and Kenny, Caroline’s three dogs). We chatted for some time, ate a great 4 course meal, and then sat around the Christmas tree to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the original ‘claymation’ version of course. We then opened all of our gifts from both our sponsors and each other. My favorite gift was plaid flannel pj’s that we each received the same of, a tradition with the pageant, which I raced to put on. We put on White Christmas and paused half way through because there were even more gifts in our stockings to open before bedtime. My favorite stocking gift was our new Artistry light-up lip gloss!

The weekend went by so fast and I had so much fun finally getting to spend time with Miss Empire and Miss Grand Forks. I am also very grateful for our wonderful sponsors and their generosity. What a wonderful start to my holidays and I know that there is even more excitement in store for me throughout Christmas and the rest of this year.

Laura Harmon
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

Central HS Presentation-Alternative Energy

On Nov. 28^th I had the opportunity to speak with Central High School’s freshmen about alternative energy sources and how they are produced. I was invited by Mr. Darin Walters, a science teacher at Central to speak with his classes. His freshmen science classes had just finished their alternative energy module. Mr. Walters opened an invitation to all the freshmen science classes and several other teachers chose to bring their classes as well. I spoke to 1-3 classes all 7 class periods, which came to a total of over 200 students!

My presentation focused on solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydropower sources of energy. Although my platform focuses mainly on sustainable living habits it’s important to teach students about renewable energy sources as well to make a more sustainable planet. It was so much fun to share my knowledge with so many young adults and teach them about something that is so important to me. I can’t believe I have finally had a chance to bring my platform into the public school system and have had a full day to share it with so many students, just another reason why I love working with the Miss America Organization. I hope all the students remember the day I spent with them and learned something new and important. I know I learned a lot that day and really can’t wait to spend more time in schools sharing my platform with many more students in the Grand Forks area.

I will leave you with the number one question I received that day, how does that crown stay on your head? All I would reply is, pageant queens must be very good at balancing things.

Laura Harmon
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving. What a wonderful day full of family and great food, just a couple of the many things I am thankful for. This year I traveled to Fargo, ND to be with my mom’s side of the family. We ate a small feast with a total of 30 people ranging from my grandma to my nephew; it is amazing seeing so many generations in one room. Thanksgiving for the Hensrud’s is the biggest holiday of the year, the one time we can all get together in the same state. It was so exciting to see my aunt and uncle from North Carolina and my cousins from New York City as they get few chances to come to North Dakota and even fewer to see the whole family. I was also extremely excited to see my sister and her family. My sister is my best friend and my niece and nephew are my favorite people in the world so I was very thankful they made the trip just for an afternoon.

I also had the opportunity to meet the wife of my uncle’s brother Mark, who just happens to have been Miss North Dakota 1969, what a small world! It was amazing having an opportunity to talk with her about the Miss America Organization and how she is still involved, (she is currently helping Miss ND 2011 Ariana Walker with interview preparations). I love hearing how past titleholders stay involved with the organization and I’ve learned firsthand that once you embrace what this organization can do for you, and appreciate what it does for other women, you are forever a part of the Miss North Dakota Organization family. I am very excited to be a part of this organization for the rest of my life.

Thanksgiving this year was amazing. In fact, I think it was the best one I have ever had. From the centerpieces to the apple pie to my 1 year old nephew and second cousin playing together, this day will be a special memory for years to come. A big thank you to my aunt Paula and uncle Don for being such amazing hosts, and of course their daughter Kaisa and her husband Brad for helping to cook all of the wonderful food that fed so many.

I am thankful for many things, but first and most importantly my family… this is the reason why we all love the holidays!

Laura Harmon
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

Miss Eastern Dakota 2012

Wow, where do I start? I am so honored to be Miss Eastern Dakota 2012 and have a chance at becoming Miss North Dakota 2012. First, I would really like to thank my family and friends that came to cheer for me Saturday night, the best feeling is when someone in the crowd is yelling when they call your name. Also, thank you to my family that has supported me by donating to the Children’s Miracle Network and those that sent me good luck wishes, I am so grateful to have such a supportive and encouraging family.

Saturday was such an amazing experience, I had the chance to meet so many beautiful and talented girls from around the area and share great times and life experiences with them. I was also very excited to see so many new faces in the pageant and really want to encourage them all to keep striving for their dreams. The Miss America Organization has granted me so many opportunities from scholarship money, service opportunities, and even a trip to Las Vegas, I can’t say enough great things that come from being involved with this organization and I love to see many people experience it.

This year I really hope to have the chance to give back to the community of Grand Forks and the surrounding areas, I grew up in Grand Forks and this community has given me so many opportunities, this is a way I can say thank you. I hope to continue working with my platform, Stepping Stones: Steps we can all take to a more sustainable future, by speaking to schools and organizations in Grand Forks, also being a great ambassador for the Miss Grand Forks Scholarship Organization.

I can’t wait to get my year started as Miss Eastern Dakota, it is a great title and ironically enough Miss Eastern Dakota has been my roommate the past two years when I competed at Miss North Dakota, so I guess it was just meant to be.

Dream Big!
Miss Eastern Dakota 2012
Laura Harmon