Presentation for Girls on the Run

Working with my platform has been a ton of fun, especially when working with the Girls on the Run program at my school! I am the junior coach at the Idaho Arts Charter School and have been using my platform to teach girls the importance of healthy eating for a positive self-image. Girls on the Run is a group of elementary-aged girls that are taught how to live healthy and feel good about themselves by treating themselves and others with respect.

I taught the girls how to read food labels so they can choose foods that are best for their bodies. I came up with a grocery shopping activity that split the girls into groups and had them compare two of the same types of foods from different brand names and choose which one to potentially “buy”.

Those girls were so sharp and I could tell they really enjoyed the activity! I based my research and presentation board off of one of my favorite books, Eat This, Not That for Kids.

Later on in the GOTR season, I ran the girls and I ran at the 5k Barber to Barbra Race and my group finished in 30 minutes! Way to go girls!

Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2011 :)

My goodness, I don’t even know where to begin! After talking to previous title holders about what nationals is like, they all told me the same: “it’s an incredible experience that can only be explained by actually living it yourself”, they were very right. Going to Orlando, Florida and being a part of the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Scholarship Pageant was a dream to say the least. When I arrived there I knew it would be intense hard work but I still wasn’t completely sure what it would be like. At my arrival, I was filmed for introductions and fitted for a fabulous custom-made Tony Bowls dress for opening number! Another very fun part of arrival was the Tony Bowls Photo shoot, where the theme this year was Lady Gaga.

After getting all registered, I was able to meet my roommate for the very first time! Miss Tennessee Outstanding Teen, Maggie Belew, was my roommate, and it was so meant to be! We had such a blast together over that week and she became one of my best friends! The first three days we had intense rehearsals all day with our instructor Pam and her two assistants that were so much fun and loved to goof off and show us their dance skills and lifts! Haha! In rehearsals we learned everything we needed to know before going on stage the next week. In the evenings we were able to go on outings in Orlando. The first night we went to Medieval Times, where we walked out with our state flags, watched jousting, and ate great food. MAOT 2010, Janette Morelan, was the honored princess of the nightJ Jeanette is truly the most inspiring young woman I have ever met in my life and I feel so honored to know her and have her as a friend. She was a fantastic Miss America Outstanding Teen. I look forward to having her as my nation’s President in 2040!

The next outing we had was to Planet Hollywood at Disney World, where we took pictures on the Red Carpet, received many gifts, and ate a good meal. During these outings is when the contestants would get to know one another better. I made so many amazing friends who I could really relate with. I was in awe of how outstanding these young women were and I had to keep reminding myself that I was one of them! I would have never guessed the bond that we would share by the end of those two weeks, and I am so grateful for it. Now, wherever I travel in the U.S., I will know at least one person from every state!

During our stay we received so many gifts from our sponsors that I had to dedicate my largest suitcase to gifts for the travel home!After all of our preparation, the competition began on Monday with personal interviews. They did not turn out nearly as scary as I thought and ended up being very fun because my directors had prepared me so well. On Tuesday, I competed in Talent and was so happy with my performance. Every contestant’s talent was seriously phenomenal! The next night was evening gown, where I got to wear my beautiful white gown sponsored by Regalia in Florida! Love that dress:) The next night was fitness, my favorite portion of the competition. It was so fun! Backstage I had the best hostess in the world helping me, her name was Barbara and I do not know what I would have done without her. During the week I was only able to see the people who came to support me during visitation after each night’s competition; it was certainly wonderful to see them! I was so happy to have Miss Idaho, Kylie Koefed there as well to cheer me on. I can’t wait to go cheer her on at Miss America in January and see all of the Outstanding Teens again!

Finals night was Saturday, where the new

Miss America Outstanding Teen 2011, Lacey Russ of Oklahoma was crowned!!!! I was so incredibly happy for her and I know she will represent America’s teens very well this year with her platform P.U.R.E, promoting teen abstinence. Congratulations Lacey!

Following the final competition was the awards ceremony where six college scholarships were awarded to certain contestants and I received one of them! I was awarded the Nova Southeastern University Razor’s Edge Leadership Scholarship because of my phone interview, essay, and leadership application! It was so exciting! Other awards like Miss Congeniality, and Most Photogenic were awarded and during those awards, I received the Scholastic Achievementin Academic Life Award, which I am extremely proud of! This award was based on highest GPA and best scored resume. Taylor Fitch, MAOT 2009 was given this award the year that she won, so she presented the award to me! At the end of the night, I officially gained over $42,000 in college scholarships from the Miss America Scholarship Organization. I was so shocked but so grateful.

The entire experience was without a doubt the biggest and most challenging adventure I had ever gone on. I still can’t believe that I got to hang out with Miss America and actually be a part of what I had been dreaming about for years. I loved every minute of representing Idaho in this extraordinary event.

Thank you so much to everyone who prepared me and made it possible for all of us Outstanding Teens to live our dreams.

Your friend,

Katy Lootens - MIOT 2010

Katy's Send-Off Party

On Tuesday, August 17th, my directors hosted a send-off party for me before I left for nationals in Florida on Friday! Some of my closest family and friends came to wish me farewell, along with the Miss Idaho Board of Directors. During the party, I tried on my nationals wardrobe for the guests to preview! I was so thankful to be in such wonderful company, supporting me and wishing me luck for the coming adventure :)

Thank you to all who came. I love you!

Your Friend,

Katy

This was also a very special day because my CD was released nation-wide :)

You can purchase this album at amazon.com or iTunes!

Run for Your Life

New York Life in downtown Boise put on a very special event for Idaho's Wednesday's Child Program called Run for your Life. This was a run/walk for adults and children, all proceeds going towards Wednesday's Child. This was a very special event to me because of my platform that promotes healthy living.

In the race I handed out water at a station in the park with a lovely family I had met that morning! They had a daughter named Audrey, which is my very favorite name on Earth!

I was also asked to sing the National Anthem at the conclusion of the race. My favorite part of all though, was handing out the awards to the winners of the

races and taking pictures with the kids that were there.

After the event, there was a carnival set up in the parking lot of New York Life, where I played games and made crafts with people from around the valley.

This was a fantastic function and I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of it!

Thank you to New York Life for making Run for Your Life possible and helping out disadvantaged children in Idaho.

Your Friend,

Katy Lootens

The Children's Miracle Network!

The Miss America and Miss America Outstanding Teen national platform is the Children's Miracle Network aka CMN!

CMN is a foundation started by Marie Osmond and her family and has spread nation-wide making tremendous donations to children's hospitals all around America. The proceeds that go to CMN directly impact your local children's hospital to help pay for medical research, equipment, healthcare costs, medications, and so much more! I am raising money for our local St. Lukes children's hospital.

I have been at Snake River Mart in Marsing, the Idaho Falls Dairy Queen, and also online on the MAOT website!

Please log onto: www.maoteen4kids.org and search for Katy Lootens to donate!

Miss Idaho and I at Dairy Queen for Miracle Treat Day!!

Miss Idaho Falls

This weekend Jaylee and I went to the Miss Idaho Falls pageant. It was a lot of fun to watch and perform in the pageant. As you may know, Miss Idaho Falls 2009 was Ali Christiansen and also a contestant on the hit television competition America's Got Talent! Ali and her younger sister Christina have performed twice on the show so far and are headed back to Hollywood shortly to continue their journey. Both of them also happen to have been former MIOT contestants and I am hoping that Christina will continue in the program! They both have tremendous talent and well as an inspiring story to share about their struggles with Cystic Fibrosis. These are two girls who I strongly admire for their incredible character and will to just keep following their dreams no matter what. There were many happy and special moments reflecting on Ali's journey through the year as Miss Idaho Falls. She truly made the most out of her year and was thankful for every moment. She and her sister represent Idaho very well on national television:) Good luck to the both of them!

There were seven contestants in the pageant and one of them happened to be Cassidy Bronson, a former MIOT!

All of the contestants were AMAZING

and I thoroughly enjoyed watching and performing in this great production. My friend from the MIOT pageant, Miss Rexburg's Outstanding Teen, Bailey Barton got to perform a country song as well as Rigby's Jr.Miss, Cree Philips, who rocked it out w/ Aretha Franklin's "Respect!" In the end, Kelsie Roper was crowned Miss Idaho Falls 2010 with her platform of Childhood Obesity- Weigh the Consequences and her piano talent!

Congratulations Kelsie!!

On the way home, Jaylee and I took the more scenic route, where we took a small tour of the Craters of the Moon! It is extremely interesting that cool that Idaho has such a historic landmark! The craters are made out of the dried lava flow that happened hundreds, if not thousands of years ago and is able to be seen from outer space! Well that's just one of the awesome and unique things that Idaho has to offer, but there are sooo many more!

Your Friend,

Katy Lootens

MIOT 2010

P.S. Look online at maoteen.org to see all of the new MAOT contestant photos!!!!! Only 2 weeks from today until competition!!!!!!!!!!!

A Weekend at Fred Meyers!

This weekend, Kylie and I got to promote the Fred Meyers' Sidewalk Sale and raffle in Garden City. We also promoted the Miss Idaho Organization while greeting people and signing autographs. It was very enjoyable to talk to the public in a very informal and everyday setting. I believe that you can learn something from every person you meet. This is the perfect year to take advantage of the surplus amounts of different people with much wisdom that God is putting before me to learn from.

There were many activities going on at Fred Meyers this weekend. We had the fun opportunity to be interviewed on live radio on 94.9 The River!

There was a small Corvette happening in the parking lot with some absolutely gorgeous cars!!

I am definitely a Fred Meyers fan, so spending two days at one was no hardship for me! Being gluten-free, they have a large health foods selection loaded with all sorts gluten-free goodies!