What a better send off than meeting with the mayor just prior to departing to Toronto for the Miss Teen Canada – World 2010 Pageant! It was a true privilege to spend one on one time with Lethbridge’s mayor, Mayor Bob Tarleck. He was so gracious and incredibly personable, making me feel right at home and at ease. I love the words of wisdom he shared with me and to paraphrase he basically stated that it’s the position that’s important, not the person that fills the position, and knowing this one must stay grounded when placed in a position of importance, be humble, and keep your doors open to all. I think these words are invaluable and words I’ll never forget. It was such an honour to be given the opportunity to hold the Olympic Torch and be photographed with him. He also shared with me, his ability to speak Blackfoot, all his experiences with the Blackfoot Nation, and how he is an honorary chief in the Blackfoot Nation.

To Mayor Bob Tarleck and the City of Lethbridge, it’s an honour to serve you as Miss Teen Lethbridge. I will take your best wishes with me and I will proudly represent my city when I’m in Toronto. Thanks everyone for all your support!

When I was experiencing and learning about Lethbridge for my first blog assignment, on July 8, I went on a private tour to the Korite Mine where I learned so much more about our city’s official gemstone, Amolite, and the entire process of mining it! This is one of the most interesting and amazing experiences I’ve had to date! The Korite mine just recently has been starting tours and I was so extremely lucky to have gotten the chance to have this private tour right before I left for Toronto! After doing a little prior research before going on this tour, I was that much more excited to see the real mine! Renee’ was our ‘tour guide’ for the day and he explained the whole history behind the rare gemstone Amolite. Once I had a familiar sense of its history, he took us down to see the real deal! We saw exactly what machinery they used to mine, what they were looking for, where to look for the best Amolite, how to grade it for it’s value, etc. He even took me back up to show me the process of how they polish the rough Amolite. Knowing that it gets messy digging 45 to 80 feet underground, he explained that they have a great specific process of keeping their mining business environmentally friendly so wildlife can still live, nest, and create their habitat. When they start digging the ground, they separate each underground layer to its own separate pile so when they’re done mining in a particular area they restore the foundation exactly as it was before they started digging! I was able to drive with him and see a place where they had mined before and it was unbelievable to see the ground! You could never tell that it had ever been mined! Reading about it and actually experiencing and seeing the whole mine process are two completely different scenarios! It was an unforgettable experience and I learned so much more about Lethbridge’s rare and official gemstone, Amolite. Thank you to the Korite mine for taking me on the most fascinating, fun, and educational private tour I’ve had to date! You all are absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to see and chat with you all again!

Happy Canada Day!!!! This year was such a treat for me as I was able to MC the brand new, very first year, Youth Stage! I was able to appear as Miss Teen Lethbridge and MC for the first time on Canada Day! It was a lot of fun and we had so many Lethbridge talents come and perform! I was lucky as well to have my performance time too, to sing a little bit! And not only did we just have talents come from all around to perform we had….open mic!!! This was an opportunity to have anyone in the audience to come up and sing or dance or show off any talent that they wanted to share! This was a big turnout and we had tons of kids come dance, sing, and beatbox to all different songs! It was such an awesome way for me to spend my Canada Day and I had such a great time MC – ing for the very first time! But the fun was not all over yet…I went to the Japanese Gardens later that night to watch the amazing fireworks! The fireworks were phenomenal and my family and I had such a great spot to watch the whole show! Each year, Canada Day just keeps getting better and this one so far was the best year yet!

Immediately after finishing my volunteering for the Dragon Boat Festival, off I went to Edmonton for the Emergency Response Career Pathways Graudation. I was asked to appear as Miss Teen Lethbridge and to sing the national anthem for them! I’ve been singing for this ceremony for the past 3 years now and it was wonderful to return again and sing for another amazing group of hard working and dedicated graduates! When I got there, the ceremony started off with the graduates being recognized as they came out from the sides and were placed down on the steps. I followed after where I sang the national anthem for them. The rest of the graduation consisted of listening and hearing from Principal David Morris of Centre High Campus, Deputy Chief, Ken MacKay from the Edmonton Police Service, Operations Director Kevin O’ Keefe from Alberta Health Services – Edmonton EMS, Chief of Training, Daryl Doughty from the Edmonton Fire Rescue Service, Director, Bambi Barnes from the Firefighters Burn Treatment Society, and last but certainly not least Graduation Class Representatives – Gordon Long, Police and Security, Peter Charney, Emergency Medical, and Alexander Loewen, Fire Rescue. It was a spectacular ceremony and I’m so glad I was able to come be a part and attend! After I was so lucky to have gotten pictures with the graduating class as well as with a police car and in the front seat of a fire truck! It was a ton of fun and I’m so glad I was there! Can’t wait for next year!

From Friday, June 25 to Sunday, June 27 our annual Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival took place! To begin, I watched the opening ceremonies on Friday that started off the Festival! It was amazing to watch the dances and hear the speeches that encouraged all teams on and wished them the best of luck! They had the Beer Gardens open and entertainment going on all day and night long to keep the weekend fest sparked! I signed up earlier to volunteer on Sunday at the docks to help load and unload the boats! For the other two fun filled days, I made an appearance as Miss Teen Lethbridge! I went around greeting everyone and walked around to look at all the decorated themed tents where the teams stayed until it was their turn to race! This year all the money raised from the festival was being donated to breast cancer research. As I was walking past one of the tents, I saw that the breast cancer team had decorated bras and hung them where you were able to bid on one of them and therefore make a donation and take a bra home with you! Well….it was impossible that I couldn’t walk by without having one of those bras to myself! I looked and looked at all the wonderfully decorated bras until I saw it…the one I knew I had to get!! I bid happily on the bra and made a donation and to keep the memory alive, I took a picture with a few members of the team while wearing it! The races were outstanding and it was so incredible to watch all the teams focus down and concentrate on all the techniques involved in racing. I have to admit, although everyday there was an enjoyment, Sunday was my favorite day out of the whole festival! It was the day I went to volunteer on the docks! I don’t have a whole lot of experience when it comes to boating so I was really excited to learn how to dock, load, and unload the boats! And ohh man, was it a blast! I can’t tell you how fun it was! I learned so much and ran into a few people I knew who helped me out along the way! It was perfect weather too so it was what so many people there could’ve said, “A perfect day!” It was such a perfect day to hold the Rose Petal ceremony as well. Around noon, I slipped for my lunch break to watch the ceremony where people fighting breast cancer or knew someone who had breast cancer held a rose in their hand and when the song “Some Say Love” started playing, when they were ready, would toss the rose into the water to represent a person or people they knew who died of breast cancer. It was so emotional to watch as I saw many people struggle to even let go of the rose. I teared up underneath my sunglasses and had a hard time even keeping myself together. It was extremely moving and such a touching ceremony to watch. After though, it was back to the docks for me for the final races! All in all, the festival was such a good time to participate in and to be a part of! I definitely will be coming back next year with that much more experience on the docks!

During my 6 weeks of fundraising, I decided to get my community together to help me out in an across city bottle drive to help raise funds for Free the Children! It was such a success and a ton of fun to do! For a week I gathered as many people as I could and together we went door to door fundraising! And for many houses, they were so generous and donated a ton of bottles all at one time! Near the end of the week, I started thinking to myself of other ways to collect bottles and as a result… I decided to go to some of the clubs in town and see if they would be willing to donate their bottles over the weekend! I couldn’t help but notice how…well, how we just suddenly seemed to get a bunch of more bottles…a whole lot more quickly that way!! It was so wonderful of these clubs to donate for such an amazing charity and I couldn’t thank them enough for taking a weekend to do that for me! At the end of the week, we finally went to a fantastic Bottle Depot : Green’s Pop Shop Ltd. to get the bottles in. Then and there we started to unload all the bottles we collected over the week. After getting right in to the business of emptying the bottles from the bag, I realized that actually collecting the bottles door to door was the easy part! When we were at the bottle depot, we helped out by unscrewing the tops of milk cartons, glass bottles, wine bottles, juice cartons, etc. It was interesting to see how many of the tops were still on and….how many weren’t washed out first... So we got right down and dirty and helped all the staff at Green’s Pop Shop Ltd finish the job! It may have been a bit of a messy job but it never took away the fun we all had getting to know each other while working! It was an excellent fundraiser and it couldn’t have been more of a success in my eyes! Thank you to everyone who came out to help me with this fundraiser, thank you to Green’s Pop Shop Ltd. and all their staff working there for all their help, and thank you to all the clubs who so generously donated their bottles over the weekend in order to help out the Free The Children Charity! It was such a special fundraiser and an amazing experience to have had. This is to Free the Children! I’m always thinking of you all and hope I helped you out even just a little….since the saying goes “A little goes a long way.”

If you’re looking for a city that’s beautiful, warm, friendly and filled with unique sites to see then look no further!!! My hometown, the city of Lethbridge, Alberta has it all!!!! Being the most southern city in Alberta, Lethbridge, with it’s current population of 86,659, can boast of having the mildest climate in the province! Lethbridge’s summers are filled with lots of sunshine and heat from those amazingly big blue skies overhead and it’s cool Alberta winters are frequently broken up by our world famous Chinook winds that blow in from the Rockies just west of the city. Chinook meaning “snow eater” is a term the Native American’s used to describe the phenomenon that so often occurs during our winter months where warm winds from the Rockies blow in causing temperatures to change from a brisk -20+ degrees Celsius to above zero temperatures in a matter of a few hours, and snow that blankets the ground is literally eaten away by the winds. When this happens it’s like heaven on earth to the residents of Lethbridge and Southern Alberta and in the moment we smile as the rest of the country remains in the deep freeze! It’s a wonderful experience that I wish all Canadians could one day enjoy!!

But weather isn’t all that Lethbridge has to offer. Oh no, not even close!!! As far as unique sites go I’ll lay you odds our city is at the top of the heap! As Miss Teen Lethbridge I truly feel blessed because I’ve had the rare opportunity of experiencing some of these incredible sites in ways that few get to experience them. Lethbridge is so proud of each and every one of its many unique sites. One very apparent site that is also part of Leth “bridge’s” name would be our world famous Lethbridge Viaduct more commonly known as the High Level Bridge that spans our coulees and Oldman River. The Canadian Pacific Railway built this bridge or train trestle over a hundred years ago in 1909 and to date it is the longest and tallest train trestle in the world!!! It stands 95.7m (314 feet) tall and is 1.6km (5,327.625 feet) long and built of steel that is of iron-grade, making this trestle as strong as it is today and allows it to remain functional. Two years ago the trestle was inducted into the Architectural Hall of Fame. It is known throughout the world as a true architectural marvel!

As Miss Teen Lethbridge I was given the rare chance to ride across the bridge in the engine of a CPR train and of course, jumped at the opportunity. Safety being a top priority, I was given a safety briefing, donned in CPR safety equipment, and escorted to an awaiting train: Engine #     to be specific. Once aboard we rock and rolled; literally rocking side to side while rolling down the tracks until the train gained enough momentum to stabilize the train. Minutes later I was crossing the Lethbridge Viaduct and viewing Lethbridge from the most amazing vantage point – from the engine of a CPR train!!! The experience will be forever etched in my mind and as one of the youngest, if not the youngest to have had this experience, I will remember it always! It will be a story I will proudly tell others down the line.

Speaking of rare occurrences, how many people can say they’ve eaten in a water tower…literally! When breaking for lunch, we took the opportunity to visit Lethbridge’s Rics Grill restaurant located in the old Lethbridge water tower. From the dining room,  atop the tower, we were given a spectacular view of the city with the southern prairies and magnificent Rocky Mountains in the distance. Like the Calgary Tower or CN Tower in Toronto we were treated to fine dining at its best in the cylindrical structure. It doesn’t get more unique than this! Or does it?

The next site I went to, shows the relationship that was established way back between Canada and Japan and is shown within our city through the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens located along the banks of Henderson Lake. There are only 2 Japanese gardens such as the one we have, located outside of Japan. The name Nikka Yuko Garden originated from the Japanese words Ni (from Nihon meaning Japan), and Ka from Kanada or Canada, and Yuko meaning friendship – Japan – Canada friendship. The idea began from Reverend Yutetsu Kawamura, a Canadian Buddhist priest, his wife Yoneko, and Cleo Mowers, publisher of the Lethbridge Herald who had a vision to create a Japanese styled garden that reflected the mountains and prairies of Southern Alberta. Through symbolism, the gardens express the merging of Japanese and Canadian culture. The garden was originally built in Japan and then shipped over and reconstructed here in Lethbridge. Upon touring the gardens, as Miss Teen Lethbridge, the staff of Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens so generously allowed me to wear a traditional Japanese kimono. As they dressed me, they described the process of putting on a kimono and the significance behind each step. It was so much fun and so educational and I truly felt like royalty; being able to experience the gardens this way.

I also felt like royalty being able to experience seeing and holding the Provincial and now the City of Lethbridge’s official Gemstone – Amolite. Amolite is also the world’s rarest gemstone! At our Galt Museum, I was given the rare opportunity to hold some of the biggest pieces of Amolite and have my picture taken with them. Not only were they huge, they were heavy and the price tag wasn’t light either, with the largest piece pricing out at $15,000! It’ll probably be the most expensive item I’ll ever hold in my own two hands! But never the less, I would be able to wear a piece of Amolite around my neck when I went to one of the only two stores that officially sell Amolite, Tompkins Jewellers in Lethbridge, Alberta. Here I learned from Lisa Tompkins, owner of Tompkins Jewellers, Ammolite is formed from an ancient marine fossil called Ammonite. Although sources of Ammonite exist in other locations around the globe, it is only in one isolated region of Southern Alberta, Canada, that this deposit produces the gemstone Ammolite. Seventy-one million years of tectonic pressure, heat and mineralization have resulted in the formation of this geological wonder. But this isn’t all I learned. Upon speaking with her she informed me that she too had been previously crowned Miss Lethbridge 1987! She showed me the many gorgeous Amolite pieces at the store and I knew I had to own one for myself. She so kindly helped me pick out the most gorgeous earring and necklace set and now I not only felt like royalty...but felt I truly was royalty! (At least, in the moment.) With her words of encouragement and support being said, Lisa also helped arrange a private tour of the Korite International Mine.

There are so many unique places to visit in Lethbridge and I feel so privileged to say that it is all here in our backyard! Most of these experiences were once in a lifetime opportunities and to all those that opened their doors and gave me these chances….I am eternally grateful. If you ever get the chance to come to our beautiful community, check out these sites and go online to Chinook Country Tourism to see the many more wonders in the city of Lethbridge! So…..for a good time, come visit Lethbridge!

All my life I’ve always loved being involved with theatre and after talking with the MS Society, Lethbridge Chapter they informed me of a Medicine Hat Theatre Group called Hatrix who were coming to Lethbridge to make their debut appearance and were donating their profits from the evening to the MS Society!  They were holding a show at our local Moose Lodge and the MS Society thought we both should meet and arranged contact with the group’s director, Brian Quinn.

When talking with Brian Quinn, also one of the actors, he mentioned how some of the actors from the Hatrix Theatre Group either had MS or knew someone very close who had MS. He was so nice and invited me to come and open for their show singing a few of my songs! It was a two-night event and when I came to the rehearsal, the day before the first show, I was able to meet the entire troupe of actors, and I must say what amazing people and talented actors and actresses they were! They were so kind, helpful, and unbelievably friendly! The shows ran May 6^th and 7^th and joining Hatrix’ forces I also donated all CD sales to the MS Society. What a wonderful turnout both nights received! So many supporters came out to watch and I have to say what an amazing show it was! I love making music for people and the skits Hatrix performed were so hilarious! The two-day show was a fun, laughter-filled, and very successful experience! We raised a lot of money for the MS Society and it was such an exciting way to do it! I look forward to working with Hatrix in the future and hope to see them again very soon!

When I was crowned Miss Teen Lethbridge World – 2010, my platform was to support the MS Society, but I didn’t just choose this platform for any reason. My dad, in the spring of 2004, was diagnosed with MS and it’s always been important to our family to help the MS Society in anyway we can in the hopes of one day finding a cure! Though my life is busy, it was very important for me to meet with the MS Society in Lethbridge as soon as possible. Upon meeting we wasted no time and got right into talking about their most important event of the year…the Walk for MS.

They were so supportive of me joining the cause knowing my platform and of course, about my dad. With that in mind, I couldn’t wait for April 24^th to come along and to be a part of the MS Walk in Lethbridge, to make an appearance, and to help out in anyway I could! When the day finally came, I couldn’t believe when I got there, how many people came ready to make the walk to support all those with MS. It was truly touching and I only wished I could have had my dad there that day to make the walk with me.

After the walk the day only got better and better! After what was said to be a cloudy rainy day, the sun proved the weather channel wrong when it came shining out! As well, I was so happy to be able to bring my CD’s there and donate all the proceeds from CD sales to the MS Society! Throughout the day I met so many people, signing pictures for them, and being able to listen to each of their stories about how MS has affected their lives. We tried very hard to keep the tears in and keep the moment full of hope, for that was what this day was all about!

Towards the end of the event, I was brought up to the stage to help hand out awards! Each year, the MS Society allows teams to be created and compete for different award titles until the next year when different teams form together and they compete against each other for the award titles…very similar to the pageant! It was so much fun and a wonderful way to end the event. The day was such a success and it was hard to see it all come to an end! But it only makes me that much more eager to come back next year and to see it grow that much more! It is true beauty to witness the successes attained when a community comes together for one of the most important events of the year and it is that much sweeter when it is a community that you call your own. Thank-you to all those in Lethbridge and beyond for your support….one day I believe we will find a cure for MS.

The Leaders of Tomorrow is an event that celebrates both volunteerism and youth. The Leaders of Tomorrow clearly shows just how much volunteering the youth in our community of Lethbridge really does and how much it shows! It is so important to recognize those who go to extreme measures to prove this! That night on April 20th, was what the people involved in t he Leaders of Tomorrow were there to do!

It was an honour for me that Volunteer Lethbridge invited me to attend and be chosen as their Youth Entertainer for 2010. It was an amazing event to be involved with and to watch, as what was proved that night was that volunteering can be done at any age! What surprised and amazed me the most was how young some of these volunteers were and the amount of hours they were providing for their community! Youth from 5 to 21 years of age were recognized. When originally asked if I would attend I agreed without hesitation at all and I’m so glad I did! It was such a wonderful crowd of people and it was so much fun to have the opportunity to sing for all these hard working people who donate so many hours to our community every year! And what was even more incredible that evening was hearing that Lethbridge was the number one city with the largest amount of volunteer hours donated this year! It was a huge accomplishment for Lethbridge to achieve and of course could never have been done without so many inspiring and successful young people! As Miss Teen Lethbridge and more simply a youth of my community being a part of this night was such an honour for me and it was so special to be there to recognize so many….Leaders of Tomorrow!