 I always write about all of my speaking appearances, but unless you're at the event, you never really get to hear me speech. Until now... St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Ashland posted the speech I did there Sunday on their website. You can see it at: http://saintmlc.com/ And I filmed a promotional video for the Ohio State Parks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources a couple months ago. It's posted as a YouTube video right below... You can visit their YouTube site at: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOhioDNR 1 Comment  With Lindsey at HopeFest. For 3 years, I curled, curled and curled my hair some more. So it was time for something new! "Whatcha gonna do?" (If you watched "America's Got Talent" tonight, you will understand that odd reference...). Chop it! I'm enjoying my job as Miss Ohio even more as the end comes closer. I think it's because (1) I know that these are some of the last memories I will make this year and (2) I've learned SO much this year that I can just be myself and enjoy where this path has taken me. It's been an incredible ride.  Special Olympics Trials I'll do a quick list of my appearances these past two weeks and then there are pictures too! Fashion Show - Cleveland Special Olympics - Granville East Elem. Famous Ohioans (Day 2) - Celina CMN Mercy Children's Hospital - Lima Better Business Eclipse Awards Dinner - Dayton Ohio Trauma Committee Meeting - Columbus Primrose Princess Party - Mansfield CMN Wal-Mart Campaign - Urbana Hope Fest Cancer Walk - St. Henry Buds Corvette Show - St. Marys  Corvette Driving CMN Sam's Club Tour (3 Locations) - Dayton St. Paul's Methodist Church Testimony - Celina The Dragonfly Foundation Golf Outing - Mason Tri Rivers Career Center Awards Banquet - Marion CMN Wal-Mart Golf Outing - Moraine VA Hospital 2k Walk and Roll - Cincinnati Baseball Game Diamond Classic for CMN - Akron Immaculate Conception School Assembly Presentation - Celina Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources Videoshoot - St. Marys Habitat for Humanity for Miss Ohio Community Service Day - Shelby Miss Ohio Bowl-a-Thon - Mansfield St. Michael's Lutheran Church Testimony - Ashland Mr. and Miss Ohio State Pageant Judging - Columbus Get Real Assembly Speaker at Parkway Schools - Rockford Yep. Two weeks. Times that by 25 and you have my entire year! :)                There was a moment last weekend when I was standing on stage singing in front of Prince Edward, Miss America, the other Miss State Titleholders, and all of the important guests that I thought, "Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that by the age of 23 I would be here, singing for the Prince." The Duke of Edinburgh Ceremony was last weekend in Alabama. It was an incredible weekend meeting the Prince and having a reunion with some of our Miss America Class of 2012! All weekend, people kept asking, "So what's your favorite event you've done this year?" And I would name a few things and then say, "But I think this weekend is going to be right up there too." It most defiantly is on top of the chart for this year!  With Laura, Miss America The public speaking events continue and the school visits have been picking up (I think they're trying to get them in before the school year end!). I was in two schools today to speak at a 5th grade DARE Graduation and then also to watch a 4th grades' "Famous Ohioans" presentations. The students did a great job as they impersonated their famous Ohioan. I met Annie Oakley, LeBron James, Orville Wright, and about a dozen "Ellen Bryan" and "Erica Gelhaus" students. I truly am very honored to have had students want to do their presentations on Miss Ohio. I've said it before and now again... this is just the most incredible job ever!     Mercer County Girls at Spring Forum This time last week I was talking to the Miss Ohio 2012 contestants about what it's like to be Miss Ohio. And you want to know what I was thinking the entire time I was giving my presentations? "This is weird!" Weird because for the past 3 years I sat where they were sitting. And weird because the girl I will pass this job and title on to was sitting in front of me. This past week I've been busy with appearances (don't I always say that?! Haha!), and I actually have quite a few photos to share. I've been slipping up on taking pictures recently, so it's a nice change to have some documentation again.  Backstage at the Fashion Show! Something I love about this job is that every day I learn something new. My appearance line-up last week: Richland Bank Meeting - Speaker Civic Foundations - Speaker Chamber of Commerce - Speaker, Singer Lexington School - Speak, Read, Sing Ball State University Singers - Performance Spring Forum - Presentations Half Marathon - National Anthem, Awards Dayton Children's Hospital Meeting - Speaker Ohio Bureau of Workman's Comp - Speaker Kalahari Duck Durby - Sing, Awards TWIGS CMN Fashion Show - Model At the Fashion Show today, one of the current Dayton Children's Ambassadors, Colin, had me in tears during his speech. He was so inspiring and genuine. All of the CMN Children have truly changed my life! And now pictures! And then a video...             This is a semi-complicated video. I was visiting a first grade class and we skyped another class in Virginia. The class in Virginia then asked if I would sing them something, so I sang a couple of lines... For your enjoyment (and probably laughter)!  With Miss America 1958 These past two weeks I've been able to be Miss Ohio and get in some family/friends time too. Haha! That may sound crazy, but personal time this year is a bonus. I was in a friend's wedding, sang for another friend's wedding and then went to Alexandria, Virginia for Easter with my family. Three Saturdays in a row? Unheard of! Between my appearances with 7up/Snapple, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in Toledo and Dayton, and the Bureau of Workman's Comp, I've been getting ready for Spring Forum this coming weekend.  With Christina on the flight to D.C. Now that I'm approaching 2 months until I pass on the title of "Reigning Miss Ohio," I've been looking ahead to life past June and I'm still hoping to start a career in TV Broadcasting. My fingers are crossed that throughout April and May I'll hear back from news directors. After all, the only reason I even began competing for Miss Ohio was to develop skills for my career. All I know is that right now I'm a resume writing, DVD demo reel making machine! Haha!    And to end this entry, a video of Mark and Bailey's wedding - taken from where I was singing in the balcony of the church! As promised, I spent last week filming a glimpse in a week as Miss Ohio. When I say "filming" don't think of a big production crew though... This was done by me on my small handheld video camera. It's not a polished video by any means and my professors would cringe at the number of jump cuts and bad edits - but its purpose is to simply take you through a week in my life right now. Ok, so here is the answer to, "What do you do as Miss Ohio? What's a week like?" Press play to find out...  Our dog not even moving as I pack... again. Clearly our dog Jake doesn't think anything of me unpacking and packing again in the same night... He's used to it and so am I! If I had more time or energy at this moment, I would create another map to show you where I've been these past 2 weeks. BUT, I'm working on something even better than a map!! Most people ask me, "Have things slowed down since Miss America?" My response is always, "No, they've actually picked up!" But when I try to describe what a typical day or week is like, it's hard to describe the continuous traveling, speaking, singing, meetings, scheduling, packing, etc. in just a few sentences.  Signing autographs at an appearance. So... I started a project on Friday that I'm VERY excited about! In one week, I will be posting a 10 - 15 minute video of what a typical week is like for me. I started shooting it with my handheld camera on Friday and will finish the video this Friday. It will be a true look at what I do. From a clip when I just woke up to last night where I spoke to 2,500 people - it's the day-to-day real life of Miss Ohio. Check back here in a week. I promise to shoot and edit a fast pace, entertaining video!  Reading to students at Noble Academy.  To best explain for my lack of blog post last week, I thought I would create a nifty little map to show you all of the places I've had appearances in the past 2 weeks. I did my best to put the star in the general area of the city I was in, but I know it's not perfect. Columbus has the most concentration mainly because I did a tour with 7up there last week. They have released their new 10 calorie sodas, so I did autograph signings at 12 Wal-Marts to promote the product! And the Toledo group of stars was from Tuesday, which was National Pancake Day at IHOP - where proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network.  Most of the feedback I get is that people like to see the photos on here the best, so I'll save the writing and just post photos below with a description of the event. There have been a couple articles published from interviews I've done recently that you might like to read. The links to the articles are: (1) An Interview with Ellen Bryan Miss Ohio 2011 (2) Miss Ohio's Cause Lightning Safety not World Peace I also just had an exciting meeting at the Ohio State Fairgrounds about this year's state fair which is July 25 - August 5. They've just released the names of the performers coming to the fair this year. Check out who it is HERE!                 Andrea and I at NOAA Kids Day The mileage counter is adding up on my car (almost to 23,000 miles), but I put a few "flyer miles" on the Miss Ohio traveling meter too last week. I spent the week in Washington D.C. at NOAA Headquarters and at the Capitol Building where I met Speaker of the House John Boehner. I'll never get tired of telling Christina's story to NOAA employees and weather enthusiasts in general because they are never tired hearing about it. They are simply the best audience and ask the best questions afterwards. What a great support system for our family to be part of! Other than traveling to D.C., I covered a good bit of distance in Ohio too... This includes: Dayton, Chillicothe, Delphos, Mansfield, Ashland, Anna, Celina and Columbus (several times to Columbus) in less than 10 days.  With Kelsey at Miss Mansfield I've been doing more speaking too. Over and over I keep thanking my Dale Carneige classes for preparing me for these days when I'm giving keynote speeches every other day. And though my official broadcasting career hasn't started yet, I have had some incredible opportunities to be on TV. The WLIO half hour special ran on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX and I hosted a hour of a telethon in Mansfield. Things I've been doing when not on official appearances are meetings with the Ohio Severe Weather Committee, National Weather Service Offices in Wilmington and Cleveland, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Parks Department. We're working on very exciting things for this spring and summer to promote Ohio and lightning safety!  Reunion with some of the Miss Ohio Class of 2011. I also forgot to mention that Christina's story was mentioned in USA Today last month too. The link to the article is: USA Today Lightning Article. I'm up to 11 books now that I've read since coming back from Miss America too. Mostly biographies and motivational books. And finally, I've been loading up on sugar in anticipation of Lent starting in a week. 40 days of fasting are right around the corner. :)           I want Jenna's Today show job! After my Aunt Becky read my last blog post, she text me to say that she couldn't believe I wrote I was energized from Miss America. She left Vegas more tired than ready to go. Well, I must confess that I have slept A LOT in these last 2 weeks. And not on Ohio time either. I've read 6 books since I've been home because I go to bed at 10pm and can't get my mind to sleep. So, I just sit up and read until usually 3am. One day I'll be on Ohio time. I had nearly a week off before my first appearance back from Las Vegas. In the meantime, I caught up with a lot of people!  Christina's first Birthday party at therapy. My sister Christina turned 29 and we celebrated for 4 days straight. Went to my friend Kelly's wedding shower. (The first time I'll be a bridesmaid!) And I've eaten at every restaurant in Celina - meeting friends there to catch up. I also did a lot of cleaning. A lot! Finally unpacked from college (yes, that was left over from May) and ended up donating 5 big boxes of things to Goodwill that aged in range from 1995 - 2011. Haha! Dad made the comment that it looks like I'm getting ready to move out - which is true (ok in 5 months when I get a broadcasting job!!!). My appearances this past week included: WLIO Interview, WCSM Interview, Right to Life Send Off, Lake Festival Meeting, American Red Cross Bowling Fundraiser, and the Miss Ball State Pageant. Also, tune into WLIO this Saturday, February 4 to watch a half hour special on my journey to Miss America!       | AuthorEllen Bryan, Miss Ohio 2011, is a graduate of Ball State University. She is pursuing a career in broadcasting. ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
RSS Feed