Miss Beloit 2007

CONGRATULATIONS to Sha-Nita Rhea who was crowned Miss Beloit 2007 at last night's Miss Beloit Pageant. I am so honored to have been able to crown Sha-Nita as my successor. She is a beautiful, talented, and incredibly sweet girl who is going to do a wonderful job as our Miss Beloit 2007. I have no doubt she'll make our community proud and will work hard to make a difference and uphold the image of Miss Beloit.

I also want to congratulate the other four Miss Beloit contestants: Jalisa, Andria, Elise, and Naja. They all did an absolutely wonderful job and I'm so proud of all of their hard work! Not every young woman has the courage to compete for the title of Miss Beloit, and they should be proud of all of their accomplishments. I can only hope all of them will come back and try again!

Last night's pageant was a huge success and I know all of us had so much fun! While I'm feeling a little bit sad today, I am so excited and happy for Sha-Nita! Although one chapter of my life has ended, another one has just begun. I am so excited to see what the future has in store for me! You haven't seen the last of me yet! ;)

Congratulations again to Sha-Nita and all of the contestants! Good luck to all of you!

I love all of you so much and thank you again for an incredible year!

Sara Siekierski
Miss Beloit 2006

My last post as Miss Beloit

Yesterday, March 25, marked exactly one year ago that I was crowned Miss Beloit 2006. In five days, I'll relinquish my title to the new Miss Beloit 2007. Right now I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions. It's really hard to describe how I feel at this moment. On one hand, I'm extremely sad that my reign is almost over. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by, and I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it to be over yet. On the other hand, I'm really excited to pass on this opportunity to another young woman and to move forward with my life. Being Miss Beloit 2006 has been absolutely wonderful, but I know it's time to move on and begin a new chapter in my life. I know many new opportunities and experiences await me.

I've had the honor of getting to know the five wonderful contestants who are competing for the title of Miss Beloit 2007. This year's contestants are Jalisa Hawkins, Sha-Nita Rhea, Andria Sciame, Elise Brancamp, and Naja Jacobs. Elise is a senior at Beloit Turner High School, Jalisa, Andria, and Naja are seniors at Beloit Memorial High School, and Sha-Nita is a junior at UW Parkside. These five girls have worked so hard in preparation for this pageant, and I am so proud of how far they've come in just six weeks. I think they've all learned a lot and have grown from this experience. While only one will win the title of Miss Beloit 2007, I believe all of them deserve to walk away with the crown. It will be so exciting to see who will be crowned our new Miss Beloit 2007!

The 2007 Miss Beloit Scholarship Pageant will be held Saturday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Beloit Memorial High School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10.00 each. I hope all of you who read this will be able to come out and support the young women who have worked so hard!

For those of you who may not know, I will be competing for the title of Miss Madison-Capital City on Sunday, April 15 at the Madison Senior Center in downtown Madison, 330 W. Mifflin St. Tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased through me ahead of time or at the door. I would love to have all of you come out and support me in my quest for a new title! Miss Madison-Capital City is a new open pageant this year, which means any Wisconsin resident can compete. I've been working very hard in preparation for this pageant, and I'm so excited to be competing again! While no title will ever mean as much to me as the title of Miss Beloit, I do hope to win another pageant eventually and continue all of the hard work I've done as Miss Beloit.

The past few weeks have been extremely busy! A couple of weeks ago I spoke to over 1,500 students in one week alone! I first spoke to Aldrich Middle School for their Ribbon of Promise Campaign to prevent school violence. I spoke to the students about the importance of making good decisions, being confident in themselves, resisting peer pressure, avoiding violence, teasing, and bullying, and having the courage to report harrassment issues. That same week I spoke to the students at Todd Elementary's after-school EXCELL program. I spoke to the students about reaching their dreams and how they can make their dreams come true. The next week I had the priviledge to go back to BOTH of my elementary schools. I spoke to Converse's Just Say No Club about the importance of making good decisions and staying involved with JSN. A couple of days later I spoke to the entire Townview Elementary about my year as Miss Beloit and of course the importance of making good decisions and staying confident in themselves. It was so great to return to my former schools and see some of my former teachers that I haven't seen in a long time!

The one thing that amazed me about all of these appearances was how intently the students listened to every word I had to say. I know at the elementary and middle school age it can be very hard for students to pay attention and listen to others speak to them. I was expecting to run into that problem, but I had a completely opposite experience! Over 1,500 students heard my message about making good decisions and having the confidence to reach their dreams. I truly feel as if I touched the lives of every student I spoke to. I still can't believe how well they listened to me and seemed to really take in every word I have to say. That is the true power and honor of the title of Miss Beloit. This title and my platform have allowed me the opportunity to change lives and be a positive role model for the students in my community. I'm amazed at how much I've been able to accomplish. I only hope that my words will continue to stay with the students I spoke to.

Last Saturday I hosted a Princess Party at the YMCA for girls age 4-8. This was one of my favorite appearances I've made all year! All of the girls came dressed up as princesses and all I had been hearing was how excited all of the girls were about the party. It still amazes me how excited little girls get when they see me! The day was a tremendous success. I read a princess story to the girls, taught them how to walk and wave like a princess, had a tea party with cookies, sang to them, and signed autographs for each of them. We even had a princess parade around the YMCA track so everyone could see how they walked and waved like princesses. I've never had so much fun! I hope this is a tradition we can continue with future Miss Beloits! I went back to the YMCA this week to spend some time with the daycare and preschool kids, and many of the girls at the party were there. I ended up staying there for 3 hours! The kids were so excited to have me there and wouldn't let me leave! But I didn't mind at all, it was fun to spend time with them. :)

This is probably the last blog I will write as Miss Beloit 2006. I'll probably post one after the pageant to let you know who won. I hope all of you were able to read my previous blog post. That is the letter I submitted to the Beloit Daily News thanking my community for allowing me to serve as their representative. Once again, THANK YOU to my community of Beloit for allowing me to serve as your Miss Beloit 2006. It has been an honor to share my year with you. This experience is one that I will ALWAYS cherish, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

And once again, THANK YOU to my family and friends for all of your love and support! I couldn't have done any of this without you. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life. Thank you for sharing in my year with me. I love all of you so much!

My year as Miss Beloit 2006 has been a dream come true. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped make my dream come true. I love you!

Sara Siekierski
Miss Beloit 2006

‘Most wonderful year of my life'
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007
Beloit Daily News

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my community of Beloit for allowing me to serve as your representative over the past year.

On March 25, 2006, I was crowned Miss Beloit 2006. From that moment on, my life changed forever. It has been an honor to represent the city I was born and raised in. I have lived in Beloit for almost 21 years, and I can certainly tell you that this is truly a special community. If there's anything I've learned during my year as Miss Beloit, it's that there's no place like home.

For the past year, I've had the opportunity to represent Beloit and to meet many people in the community. I've enjoyed getting to know many of you over the last year. Thank you to everyone who invited me to make appearances at your various functions. All of you have made my year as Miss Beloit truly amazing and special. I can honestly tell you that my year as Miss Beloit has been the most wonderful year of my life. This is a year I will always cherish and never forget.

Thank you to everyone who helped make my dream of becoming Miss Beloit 2006 come true. I love each and every one of you!

Sara Siekierski
Miss Beloit 2006

Students learn to be confident
By Ashley Rhodebeck
Daily News staff writer













Staff photo by Ashley Rhodebeck
Miss Beloit Sara Siekierski speaks to seventh-graders at Aldrich Middle School Wednesday morning during the building’s annual rededication of the Ribbon of Promise. Siekierski focused on the importance of self-confidence and making good decisions.


Beloit educators know their advice to teens about the value of education and exerting good behavior begins to sound like a broken record, so some have begun using older teens and young adults to help communicate the message.

Students at Aldrich Middle School received such peer-to-peer advice Wednesday morning during the building's annual Ribbon of Promise ceremony - a national campaign to prevent school violence.

“Everyone without exception regrets becoming involved in a gang,” said Doug Reynolds, the district's coordinator of security and safety.

Although Reynolds spoke, the event's featured guests were Beloit Memorial High School seniors Brittany Hereford and Leah Prins, and Miss Beloit Sara Siekierski, who emphasized self-confidence.

“Being confident is what will carry you,” Siekierski told the room full of seventh graders. “Start now. Be confident now.”

Siekierski, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, explained how self-confidence would have helped her during middle and high school. At Turner Middle School, she was often picked on, teased and called names, she said, commenting it was difficult to go to school like that.

“Don't let anyone test your self worth,” Siekierski advised, noting that's when poor decisions are often made. Instead, she told the students to remember they deserve a good education, a good family and a good life. “Never, ever let someone say you don't deserve it.”

Because the teenage years are often about fitting in, Siekierski cautioned the students that while it may seem important now, many of them will have different friends in a few years.

So, she said, start making good decisions now, including treating others with respect and speaking out when someone is or might be planning a violent act.

“I'm not Miss Beloit just because I won a pageant,” Siekierski explained, “but because I made good decisions.”

Hello again!

This past Friday night I had an appearance that truly touched my heart, and I wanted to share my experience with all of you.

I was invited to speak to a local Girl Scout troop (Troop 13) at their overnight on Friday night. This troop is made up of girls in grades 4-6 from the local elementary and middle schools. The troop was working on receiving their patch for "Looking Your Best". The purpose of the patch was to teach the girls not only how to look their best on the outside, but also the importance of being beautiful on the inside.

Let me tell you, I've never seen a group of girls so excited to meet me as these girls were! It was so touching to see how excited they were to have me come and speak to them. I had no idea I'd be such a big hit! My presentation for the girls focused mainly on the importance of inner beauty. Most importantly, I wanted the girls to be able to relate to me. When I was growing up, I was a very awkward and shy little girl who never really found my confidence and true beauty until I was in college. I wanted these girls to understand that I was once their age and I, too, dealt with many of the same issues they are dealing with now. I wasn't popular and I was teased all of the time. Every one of the girls raised their hands when I asked if they had ever felt like they didn't fit in and if they had been picked on. We talked about what that feels like and ways to deal with these issues. I wanted the girls to understand that they ARE beautiful and they should never let anyone tell them otherwise. I stressed the importance of being confident in who you are and never letting anyone take away that confidence.

My platform deals directly with good-decision making and character education, so I also focused on the importance of standing up for yourself and not falling for peer-pressure. I believe having confidence in yourself enables you make good decisions and say no to peer-pressure. I wanted to give these girls the confidence they needed to be themselves and make their own decisions.

I think many times people look at me as Miss Beloit and assume that I've always been the confident, well-spoken, and beautiful woman that I am today. Many people do not know that for many years I was the complete opposite of who I am today. To stand here today as Miss Beloit 2006 is still sometimes baffling to me because I can still remember being the girl who thought I could never do this. I really wanted the girls to understand that I know what they're going through and to also know that things DO get better. My goal of my presentation was to give the girls the confidence to go out and reach all of their dreams. I spent a little bit of time telling them that as Miss Beloit, I do strive to always look my best physically when I'm making appearances, but that it's always been more important to me to show my beauty within. I told them I accomplish this by being caring, helpful, kind, and respectful to everyone I meet.

I couldn't have imagined that my presentation would have the effect that it did. The whole time I was talking to the girls I felt like they truly listened to everything I had to say. They were asking questions, making comments, and listening intently the entire time. After I got done speaking all I could think was, wow, I've really touched their lives. I truly felt like I had just made a big difference in the lives of these girls. The feeling was almost overwhelming. After I was done speaking, many of the girls asked me to be their role model, which I gladly accepted. I took my crown off so each of them could hold it, and I even "crowned" each of them so they could know what it's like. They were so excited to be able to touch my crown and to be "crowned"!

I honestly had no idea my presentation would have the impact that it did. I hope that my words will stay with these girls as they grow older and face many tough decisions that will come their way. I hope they are able to look back and say, I remember when Miss Beloit came to talk to me and she told me that I was beautiful and to have confidence in myself. I hope I've given them the confidence to be themselves and make good decisions. I hope I've just inspired a group of future Miss Beloits. This appearance made me realize how truly important and powerful my platform really is. The title of Miss Beloit is extremely powerful and it has given me the opportunity to change lives. I walked out of that room Friday night feeling like I had just changed the lives of every girl in there, and that is the most rewarding feeling I've ever felt in my life. Being Miss Beloit has done so much more than just change my life. It's given me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those I touch. It's incredible what this title has allowed me to accomplish.

I can't thank Angela Moore and Melissa Corum enough for allowing me to speak to this troop. To Troop 13, I had a wonderful time meeting all of you! Thank you for making me feel so welcome! This is an appearance I will surely never forget. I hope that the last 6 weeks of my reign will be filled with more appearances like this one. In March, I'll be speaking to the students at Todd and at Aldrich, which I'm very excited for! I'm also hosting a Princess Party at the Stateline YMCA on March 17 for girls ages 4-8. We'll be making crowns, reading a princess story, having "tea" and cookies, and I'll even be teaching the girls how to walk and wave like a princess. This appearance is going to be so much fun! As you can tell, I have a lot going on during my last 6 weeks as Miss Beloit, so watch for new pictures as well as new blog posts. I'll also keep you updated on the events of the 2007 pageant! Thanks for reading!

Sara

Hello,

This is Sara's mom, Sue. I just wanted to let you know that I have posted some new albums. I hope you enjoy them!

Mark and I have had an absolutely wonderful time sharing this past year with Sara. We have been able to be with her at almost every event and we are always so proud to be with her. She has truly embraced her responsibilities as Miss Beloit and has had so many opportunities to share her experiences and platform with the citizens of Beloit. It will be difficult to see her give up the title but we know that she has done a wonderful job and has made a difference. We are looking forward to meeting the Miss Beloit 2007 contestants this weekend and we wish each and every one of them the best of luck.

Sue

Hi everyone!

I decided to take a break from my seemingly endless amounts of homework to write an update! I know I haven't updated since November, and I've been quite busy since then!

The holiday season was definitely my busiest time as Miss Beloit! In November I made an appearance at Beloit's Festival of Trees Breakfast with Santa. This appearance was definitely one of the most memorable! My mom and I decided it would be fun to have a Christmas sing-a-long during the breakfast. Throughout the morning, I sang various well-known Christmas songs and encouraged the audience to sing along! We even made up song books so everyone could follow along. The crowd kept switching throughout the morning, so there were always a bunch of new faces and new people to entertain! I had so many people telling me that I made their morning very enjoyable, and they loved listening to me sing and getting involved with the singing. There were tons of kids there that morning, so I had a lot of fans! :) I even had a couple of little girls following me around the crowd and helping me sing. They were so adorable! I also signed a lot of autographs and took pictures. The event was so much fun, and I'm so glad they asked me to be a part of it! At the end of November I rode in Beloit's Holiday Lighted Parade. Fortunately it wasn't TOO cold that night, and so many people came out to see the parade. I even had white Christmas lights strung around my crown. :)

In December I made a couple of appearances at Beloit's Holidazzle in downtown Beloit. I started off the evening by signing autographs and taking pictures at the Turtle Creek Bookstore. I had a lot of fun hanging out with Santa and Mrs. Clause! :) The people at the bookstore are always so wonderful to me, and I'm glad I was able to spend some time there! After my autograph signing, I went over to the restaurant that my Uncle Dave and Aunt Joan own, Bagels & More, to entertain the crowd with some music. For a couple of hours I sang a variety of Christmas songs and of course had another sing-a-long with the crowd. There was a couple sitting towards the front that absolutely made my night! They were wonderful singers and sang along with every song! The night was so much fun and the crowd really seemed to love it! I even had my cousins up towards the front singing along with me! ;) It was nice to FINALLY make an appearance at Bagels & More!

Near Christmas I had the opportunity to ring bells for the salvation army with a former Miss Beloit AND Miss Wisconsin, Stephanie Klett. We rang bells on a Friday night in front of Beloit's Wal-Mart. This wasn't just any ordinary bell ringing, though. Stephanie is the host of Discover Wisconsin, and the employees of Discover Media Works once again had a competition across the state to see who could raise the most money in two hours. Discover Media donated lots of prizes to those who donated money to the Salvation Army. The night was freezing, but Stephanie and I had so much fun and it was a great chance to catch up with her! I have no idea if we ended up winning, but I'm so glad I was able to be a part of something so wonderful!

I definitely kept busy in January over my winter break from school. In one week, I spoke at four meetings for different community organizations. I spoke to the Noon Kiwanis, Beloit Optimists, Evening Kiwanis, and Beloit Lionesses. Each organization made me feel so welcome, and I had a wonderful time speaking to all of them and meeting so many new people!

Making an appearance at Beloit's annual Winterfest Celebration was one of the major highlights of my year as Miss Beloit. Winterfest was held at the end of January. I was invited to emcee Friday's fashion show and talent showcase presented by Beloit Memorial High School's DECA club. They even let me get up and speak about my year as Miss Beloit and sing a song before the show got started. Emcee'ing the show was an absolute blast! My co-emcee, Jeremiah, has got to be one of the funniest and craziest people I've ever met! He was so great with the crowd and really got everyone pumped up! We had a ton of fun emcee'ing the show together. My absolute favorite part of the evening was being sung to by one of the talent show contestants, Demetrius. He had a gorgeous voice and I was so flattered that he sang to me! All of the contestants did a wonderful job and I enjoyed hearing all of their talents. Congratulations to DECA for putting on a wonderful show! :) You guys did a great job! I went to the children's carnival on Saturday morning to sign autographs and take pictures with many of the kids that came out. I got to sit with some of the kids from Rock County Youth 2 Youth, which was wonderful because I volunteer for that organization and it's a big part of my platform. I had so much fun meeting all of the kids that came out for the event.

Doing appearances like this just makes me realize how much of an impact I have on children. When you're in the position of being Miss Beloit, children really look up to you as a role model. Little girls always think I'm a princess, and while I'm actually not, I'm always in awe that they look up to me in that way. Little kids are always so excited to meet me and get my autograph or take a picture with me, and it's honestly so wonderful to know that through my title I am able to inspire these young children. That's why my platform is so important to me. In a position like this, I have the opportunity to be a role model, inspire children, and change lives. Being Miss Beloit is truly a powerful thing. It gives me the opportunity to spread my message and make a difference. I'm currently going to start working with Y2Y on another Teen Maze and spreading the message of not drinking and driving for prom season. I've also been invited to start working on my platform at the state level, and I am so excited about that! I may have the opportunity to press for legislation dealing with more programs for children and teens that deal with character education and good decision making.

As usual, my writing is getting a little long. I suppose that's the journalist in me. ;) As far as school is concerned, things are going pretty well. This semester has already been so busy! It seems this semester is even busier than last semester, if that's even possible. I just tried out for the news again this semester, so we'll see what position I end up with!

This Sunday is the first meeting with the contestants for the 2007 Miss Beloit Pageant. I can't believe that in just a few short days I will be meeting the young women who are vying for the title of Miss Beloit 2007. The whole thing seems so surreal. It seems like just yesterday I was a contestant sitting in that first meeting, so nervous and excited all at the same time. Now I'll be the one standing in front of the girls telling my story and how I can hardly believe that in just 6 short weeks I'll be passing on my title to one of them. I'm really excited to pass on this opportunity to another young woman, but at the same time it's incredibly sad that my year is almost over. I don't know where the time went. It seems the year just flew by! I suppose that's how it always is though. These 6 weeks are going to go by so quickly, and I'm going to be very busy with a lot of appearances. I want to make the most out of these last 6 weeks, just as I have done with my whole year.

Okay, I promise that's all I'm going to write for now. ;) I know my mom has posted pictures of some of my recent appearances on Webshots, but I don't think she's posted since December so I'll have to ask her to update with all of the pictures from Jan/Feb. Look for those coming soon, and I promise I'll blog again soon and keep you updated on all of the Miss Beloit 2007 happenings as well as my last 6 weeks of being Miss Beloit 2006.

Sara