Chamber Dinner and Ribbon Cutting

The Chamber of Commerce

I am officially in love with the Chamber of Commerce here. They are all such kind, intelligent, and lovely people. I'm so grateful that they have welcomed me with open arms. I'm even considering becoming and ambassador for them!
We had dinner at the new Running Creek Casino in Upper Lake. The food was fantastic and the room we were in was beautiful. 

The new members being welcomed in

Susanna and the guys of Servpro!

The speakers of the evening

Ribbon Cutting

Friday night was the ribbon cutting and grand reopening for Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center! I go here all the time with my friends for bowling (I'm pretty good!). I had a lot of fun catching up with people and signing pictured for little ones.

The ribbon cutting

This fun center is complete with an inside basketball court, arcade, prizes, children's funtown, lazer tag, restaurant, and clubhouse. It is fantastic! Check out pictures of the facilities and of the grand reopening here!

Charlie and his family. They are so sweet!

Ribbon Cutting and CLHS Sports Foundation Fundraiser

Ribbon Cutting

This past week has been pretty laid back. I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the improved Workforce Lake One-Stop. There was lots of food and great people to chat with. I love being able to talk about the Miss America Organization because many people don't know that we're not just a pageant. There were some out of state visitors who had lots of questions for me. I was completely tickled pink to answer them and meet new people of my community.

Chatting with people

CLHS Sports Foundation's Second Annual Cardinal Night

I've been looking forward to this event for a few months now. This is the organization I've been volunteering with for the past couple of years. They raise all the funds for the sports teams at Clear Lake High School, the high school I graduated from. This years event was held at the biggest hall at the fairgrounds. They had a very popular local band, The LC Diamonds, playing at the event and a special performance by Faith Hornby who plays sports at the school and is one of our former outstanding teens. It was so much fun!

Faith Hornby getting ready to perform

Julie Ann and I got up on stage and spoke a little bit about how pageants are similar to sports. We even found the chocolate fountain!
Every year, they play a game called the coaches competition where they have every head coach from each team come to the front. The game is like a mix of musical chairs and an item hunt. The last person to try to get back to a chair is out! But there's a catch, each coach can only get these items from people who are on their "team." Students go around the event and sell colored leis for $10 each. There is a different colored lei for each team. It was hilarious to watch these coaches compete amongst themselves.

Yum Chocolate!

Coaches Competition

There were tons of live and silent auction items that were graciously donated by individuals of our town. I ended up going home with a new scentsy warmer and some scentsy bars to go with it! I'm always happy to attend these fundraisers!

Julie Ann and I with the LC Diamonds in the background

Thank you Derek for having us!

The Lake County Fair!

These past four days have been the best! Julie Ann and I have had sooo much fun meeting people from all over the county. The fair has been my favorite part of summer ever since I was little. I love the sights, sounds, smells and being there with my friends!

Day One

The opening day of the Lake County fair was very busy! We started off with the parade where I got to meet Miss Lake County's official driver Bill Knoll. He's so sweet and has been a supporter of our program for the last 20 years. I remember seeing him driving Miss Lake County in the parades when I was a little girl, and now I'm the one in the car!

Then as our cars approached the fair gate, we were whisked away by members of the board of directors to be at the opening ceremony where the grand marshals of the fair cut the ribbon.

As we walked into the fair, we saw lots of friends and family to take pictures with. And lots of little admirers to hand our signed photos to.

We went to watch the BMX Demo at the speedway and thanks to Velocity Video, I was able to interview one of my friends Jeremy Holt who was one of the founders of the BMX group. We had so much fun and it was a great experience.

Day Two

The second day was all about meeting and greeting! I got a chance to talk about The Miss America Organization with people who felt like chatting. They were very impressed and I love sharing my personal platform with others. I even ran into one of my judges from the pageant!

Day Three

This was my favorite day at the fair! There were so many people there that night which meant more people to talk to! Because there were so many people there that night, Arland from HAM Radio Communications felt that we needed added security on us. It was very comforting to have professional security standing behind us to make sure we were safe as we walked around the fair.

Julie Ann and I ran into a local celebrity who performed at our pageant! Our very own Taj from K-Town. We got a chance to chat and take some pictures together!

And of course we ran into lots of friends!

Day Four

Well since it was the last day, we wanted to check out the exhibits and say hi to all the animals.

We took a carriage ride around the fair and then hit the exhibits. I love seeing all the items on display from community members. We learned about proper recycling from Lake County Waste Solutions and made some new friends.

As we passed by the search and rescue booth, I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn more about the group they teach from Kelseyville High School called K-Corps. I learned there are only 2 schools that have this program in the entire nation and we are lucky enough to have it in our county. They were a great group of kids and so nice! Thank you for taking pictures with us and thank you Kathie for organizing it!

After our little adventure with the K-Corps, we went to check out the animals! I absolutely love visiting the animals every year and talking to the kids of 4-H who raise them. I had the chance to get close to a steer (I've never been near one) and let it lick my hand. I could not stop laughing as it's rough slimy tongue licked me. Good job to all that participate in 4-H!

I was told about the Lake County Railroad Club by Arland and I had never heard of this place. It is a room filled with train tracks and little buildings! I could not believe my eyes. It was something that you only see in the movies! They are a group of people who get together every Tuesday in a building at the fairgrounds and is 100% run on donations.

My night ended with a drawing. I had the privilege of selecting the lucky winner of a brand new bike!

I wish I could do the fair as Miss Lake County every year! To see all our pictures from Lake County Fair and parade click here!