Proclamation For Manhattan - An Announcement from Katelyn Andrist

An announcement from Katelyn Andrist. I hope you are as excited as I am about  it.

Since November I have been working hard and pushing myself with passing a proclamation for the city of Manhattan, Kansas! I wanted to create a difference and truly live out my mission statement on my proclamation!! 5 months later, 7 different cities, and over 600 vision boards later

my dream became a reality!! Don’t worry I won’t stop here 😉 

I am so grateful to announce my proclamation  “Envisioning Your Future Day” April 5th every year in Manhattan, Kansas! Every year on this day we will celebrate the visions, hopes, and dreams that give us our futures!! We never know what our future has in store for us and where we might go!! But I do know when one is confident and loves themselves genuinely they will go far! 

I am confident every single one of you has a bright future!! Stay tuned for a special event on April 5th!!

Thank you so much to the City Hall of Manhattan, City Commissions, and Mayor Linda Morse for this opportunity!! 

May we continue to break down society and create an empowering, healing, growing, and unique community!! This project is dedicated to a beautiful friend of my mothers, Robyn Waller who passed away a few short months ago. Her beautiful soul and bright smile will forever be missed. On this day may we remember Robyn and how she was a leader who brought awareness, support, and love to everyone who encouraged her. Her vision board, words, and her beautiful souls will live on forever ❤️

Also, a special shout-out to my best friend Alyssa for all her help 🙂

I want to thank Katelyn for allowing me to share this announcement. 

Ferell Blanc Visits Section 36 Forevers!

Ferell Blanc is a pageant coach and a talented photographer whose work you've probably seen on Section 36 many times. It seemed about time to have her visit so we could all learn a little bit more about here. I'm sure you'll love to hear what she has to say.

So, let’s see what happens when Ferell Blanc visits Section 36!

You currently work as a pageant coach. What do you enjoy about that field?

For me, pageants are not about winning a crown and sash. When I first competed in 2005, it was for an opportunity to create change in local schools with bullying. My heart is still in that same mindset with pageants - what are you passionate about, and how will you impact your community? I love seeing my clients get involved in the community with their passions. Even more so, I love watching them grow as an individual. One of the most heartfelt moments was when a parent shared that they gave me their little girl, and I gave them back a young woman. Seeing their confidence shift and communication skills grow while knowing that they are learning life skills that will take them far in the future is the best!

As a former pageant titleholder and director, does that dual experience help you as a coach?

A lot of coaches are former titleholders and even judges. I've been fortunate to do both and even had formal MAO judge training back in the 1.0 days. I absolutely loved my time as a director and wished that it was something I could still do but the workload was too much to balance with a full-time job while planning to start a family. I had incredible titleholders that became family. Some attended my wedding, some still call me mom to this day. With the good comes the bad; I can say that I also had difficult titleholders/parents that created friction in our pageant family. So I understand the different personalities that directors work with, the qualities they are looking for, and personality traits that are red flags. I know how directors communicate to their judges the job description and those stellar titleholder qualities.

You’re also an incredible photographer. What is the most challenging part about being behind the camera?

Thank you so much! I love being behind the camera and making clients feel confident and comfortable with themselves. Making sure clients understand the importance of pageant-style professional hair and makeup can be challenging. A headshot is an investment with your pageant and brand, the first impression to the judges (along with your paperwork), and the images are ways to brand yourself on social media. Not having professional pageant and camera-ready makeup makes for extra work for me in Photoshop. I keep my prices affordable so that clients can spend extra in that department and provide them with a list of professionals to consider.

You’ve been able to combine your two careers by photographing titleholders, including several Section 36 Forevers. What do you enjoy most about titleholder photoshoots?

A titleholder photoshoot is a celebration! For me, it's like, "Yes girl! Look at you with your crown and sash! Let's celebrate you and get you some fantastic images to remember your year."

Would you say that you have a specific photography style?

My style is vibrant colors with crisp details and being sure to not remove all of the skin texture. I strive to make sure my clients look like themselves because they should match the photo that the judges see of them before they walk into the interview room. I have the insight of judges questioning hair color or length being different and skin tone being washed out in headshots. So I use that insight to make sure my clients look like themselves.

Do you have any specific career goals?

Something that people may not know is that I worked for RMHC of Las Vegas (another background I have that helps me as a pageant coach). While there, it felt like I worked for the "Disneyland of nonprofits" as I called it. I  enjoyed having a lot to do, learning new things, interviewing on the radio stations, working events, and meeting new people. I left RMHC to be a stay-at-home mom because child care is pricey. I didn't know if stay-at-home mom life was meant for me, but it definitely was. I'm enjoying being a mom to my spicy nugget (he is almost 2) and getting to do my photography and coaching in my free time. It would be an absolute dream to travel doing pageant shoots. Maybe when my little guy is bigger I will be able to make that goal a reality. 

---

That would be great!

As always, I want to give huge thanks to Ferell for doing this interview, and for sending along so many great pictures to be used. 

I'm sure that after reading this, you may want to find out even more about Ferell and everything she has going on. I would definitely suggest checking out her website, and following her on Instagram at her photography and coaching accounts. 

And, if you talk to her don’t forget to tell her you saw her on Section 36 Forevers!

Thanks again Ferell!

Committing to Confidence - a Guest Blog Series by Katelyn Andrist

This is a guest blog from Katelyn Andrist, embracing her SII: Commit to Confidence: Envisioning A More Confident You! I hope you enjoy it.

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. Push yourself to be the best version of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. This is a new week for you. Let go and stop thinking about last week. Think about now. You have the gift of now. Make your life a masterpiece; imagine NO limitations on what you can be, have, or do. Let no one discourage your ambitious attitude. You don’t need a fan club to achieve your goals. You need confidence in yourself. Be your own motivation. Have an amazing week(: I’m proud of you for coming this far! Keep pushing yourself! Brighter days are coming my love!"

With gratitude,
-Katelyn Andrist 

I want to thank Katelyn for sharing this story. 

My Miss America 100 Finals Story- A Guest Blog by Lauren Bradford

I know that one thing I always wonder is what happens behind the scenes at Miss America. What happens that the cameras might not show. Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, was kind enough to take us behind the curtains with the story of her Miss America final night. I hope you enjoy it!

The final night of Miss America, after being called into Top 10, I was supposed to be #6 to perform my talent. I was called onto the stage during a commercial break, and the pedal board that I was planning to run my sound through wasn’t working. It had worked during sound check, and we could not figure out what was wrong. We started ripping apart my board on the stage in front of the judges with 15 seconds to go in commercial. I was ushered off the stage, and the next candidate in line had to perform. I was skipped put at the end of the performance schedule. Backstage, the sound guys would not give up with my board, and finally realized what was wrong right before I was supposed to go out again. After all of the commotion backstage, I finally started playing — and this time, my sound wasn’t working. I didn’t know what was wrong (a different issue than before), and had to make a choice to keep going, or stop and check everything in front of a live-streamed audience and panel of my judges. I decided to keep going, because in the moment, that really felt like the only true decision there was. Halfway through the song, I realized that my board was muted, and stamped my foot on the pedal to fix it. The crowd went wild once they were able to finally hear me. I got to finish the song with sound, and when I made it off stage, I was breathing so heavy because I had just poured everything into the performance to try and make up for what had happened. But the sound crew approached me and told me not to go anywhere, that I would be performing my talent song again. I could barely breathe and asked for some water, which they helped me find. Then I had to go out pretty soon after that to perform the full song again. 

This was truly one of those moments that I never thought would happen to me, and it happened on the Miss America stage. After finishing for the final time and walking off of stage, I immediately knew I hadn’t made it to the next round, and just started to accept how happy I was to have made the Top 10. I was running to the dressing room to change into the next interview round. I was running in my heels up to the stage to make it on before the commercial break ended, and I happened to be the first called into the Top 5. If you watched Miss America, the surprise and gratitude and emotion on my face is absolutely real. I had told myself that Top 10 was the end of the road for me. After rushing to get into my interview dress and the entire talent sound fiasco (as the last to perform), I was the first one that was supposed to enter the on stage interview. Those moments were SUCH a whirlwind with literally seconds to calm myself down. That ended up being my favorite round of competition by far because I was able to share so many things that were so important to me. 

In the final moments of Miss America, I was so incredibly honored to be standing with Emma as she was called Miss America. I was so filled with joy because I really do adore her and think she has an incredible personality, and we had spent a lot of time together because of the alphabetical order state lineups that we often did during the week — with Alabama and Alaska always being the first two in line. I absolutely was not disappointed because I am a firm believer that God has a beautiful plan for every single person, and knowing that I was able to get that close with the door closing at the very end was confirmation that I couldn’t have done anything differently. 

I can't thank Lauren enough for sharing this story with us.

Committing to Confidence - a Guest Blog Series by Katelyn Andrist

This is a guest blog from Katelyn Andrist, embracing her SII: Commit to Confidence: Envisioning A More Confident You! I hope you enjoy it.

Hi (“: it’s me again and I wanted to check up on you and let you know how proud I am of you Keep going and fighting in this beautiful crazy world. I promise things will go your way soon. Have faith and hope in God. I wanted to share with you all my lock screen saying:

“You are worthy of great love. You are worthy of the pursuit of happiness. You are worthy of being known to the endless depths of you.”

- Morgan Harper Nichols

I love this saying and it spoke to my soul. You are worthy. Say it again. Read it again. SCREAM it from the top of your lungs. It’s time we take back OUR LIVES!! Take back our mental, emotional and physical health. It’s time to talk about seasonal depression and anxiety. First off it’s okay to feel this way, you are not alone and this is not your fault. It’s time to start the conversation and be honest, pure and real. This is real life. People every day wake up with anxiety and depression and lay in their beds at night thinking they aren’t good enough. 

If this is you it’s okay, I promise it will get better. Keep pushing yourself and openly talk about it. In 2022 let’s start talking more about our thoughts, feelings and our insecurities. It’s OKAY!! These are the things that make us human and special because no story is the same. Everyone has their own story. It’s time we share our stories, our beautiful stories that make our souls us. The good and bad create our futures. Here’s to more beautifully designed journeys to find our souls. I hope you find something that lights a fire under your soul and sparks fireworks in your life. You deserve it. 

You are worthy. Beauty is in the way you hold yourself. It’s how you treat people and yourself. The way you love. It’s self acceptance. Beauty is in your soul running through your fingertips and toes(: Remember to have respect for yourself, your mind, your heart, your soul and your body. Respecting and loving yourself will go a long way."

-Katelyn Andrist, Miss Walnut Valley 

I want to thank Katelyn for sharing this story. 

Answering Your Miss America 100 Questions - Part 2 of A Guest Blog by Lauren Bradford

 On Instagram, I asked what questions people would ask a Miss America 100 candidate. Several wonderful questions were submitted. Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, was kind enough to take a crack at answering them for us. This is the second of a two part post. I hope you enjoy it!

Miss America is often inexplicable, absolutely unequivocal, and deeply meaningful. As every Miss America candidate has said before me, Miss America is something that very few people have experienced and thus, very few can truly relate and identify; we bonded so much because of the wildness of our shared experiences. 

What was the favorite interview question you were asked?

My favorite interview question was probably about Morgan Freeman. On my resume, I have a “Fun Facts” section and one of mine is that I’ve exchanged gifts with Morgan Freeman. I got to share that story and make the judges laugh - and shamelessly ask them if they had any plugs so I could meet the man who has accepted my gift from his doorstep and returned the favor on mine at my family’s home in Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

I also loved talking about the plans I had curated to deploy if given the job of Miss America. I had spent a lot of time in my preparation curating a Strategic Marketing Plan that I viewed from the lens of an investor and what it meant to truly form collaborations and partnerships at the national level to advance our organization into the next 100 years. I was very eager to talk about this because my studies surround finance and global markets, and I felt that knowledge directly coalesced to helping me become ready for the job of Miss America. 

What kept you grounded during the week?

My faith kept me grounded during every single moment. Even in the moments where I was tempted to completely give up and succumb to the numbing and overwhelming fear and anxiety about my talent on the final night (and in remembering that every moment was internationally broadcasted), God was there. He kept giving peace that I absolutely did not deserve. He taught me so much about His protection during the entire process, and I learn more about this and about His provision, especially in relation to Miss America, every single day. 

Since Miss America, I have been so inspired to continue leaving a legacy and making the broadest impact possible. I know that with or without a crown, I have already received an eternal one - and that is where I want my impact to lie. I am so honored and so humbled to be one of the few women who ever get this experience, and never want to take the experience for granted. 

Here’s to serving Alabama for the next few months — and to a lifetime of service after that. 

I can't thank Lauren enough for answering these questions for us. I hope you enjoyed both of her posts. 

Answering Your Miss America 100 Questions - A Guest Blog by Lauren Bradford

On Instagram, I asked what questions people would ask a Miss America 100 candidate. Several wonderful questions were submitted. Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, was kind enough to take a crack at answering them for us. This is the first of a two part post. I hope you enjoy it!

Miss America is often inexplicable, absolutely unequivocal, and deeply meaningful. As every Miss America candidate has said before me, Miss America is something that very few people have experienced and thus, very few can truly relate and identify; we bonded so much because of the wildness of our shared experiences. 

How did you spend your down time?

I spent my down time reading my Bible, journaling, in prayer, and listening to music. I’m not a huge napper, so I didn’t do much of that because I found that our curfew and room to ourselves made for a great deal of sleep at night. I was thankful to spend a lot of the waiting and “margin” time with other Miss America candidates, and would not trade those delirious laughs for anything. 

What goes through your mind as you’re standing on the Miss America stage?

Standing on the Miss America stage presents a feeling unlike any other. I think more than anything, I was proud to be there, and proud to represent my state. To represent the entirety of one’s home state is a responsibility and a privilege that few will ever have. The Miss Alabama Organization is an incredibly supportive program and I had worked harder than I ever had for anything in my entire life. I knew that I left no stone unturned in my preparation process, so there was nothing else I could have done to prepare for that moment. That led to a lot of peace, which I am so thankful for. 

What was the preliminary process like?

Prelims were so much fun, especially the first night, because it’s the first time you’ll ever perform on the Miss America stage. You can’t get that moment back. My first night of prelims was talent, and the story behind my talent is one that was filled with challenge, and learning what it meant to truly uphold tenacity. I actually tied with another candidate for the song I originally wanted, and lost the runoff, as only one Miss America candidate can perform each song. Therefore, I didn’t have a song picked out until 50 days before Miss America. Those 50 days were filled with hours upon hours of playing, and going to physical therapy twice a week to avoid injury in my shoulder, back, and arms due to overuse of those muscles to support the violin. After all of this and working so hard day and night, playing my electric violin and punk rock version of “Beethoven’s 5th Symphony” on the Miss America stage with a performance that I was so proud of brought me to nonstop tears in the dressing room until the closing number. I have never felt more proud of anything ever before. It was such a reward that was well worth the physical pain and emotional stress leading up to it. 

I can't thank Lauren enough for answering these questions for us. I hope you enjoy both of her posts.