The Taste of Columbus

Sunday evening I traveled to Columbus, Nebraska to make an appearance at the "Taste of Columbus." All procedes were being donated 50/50 to the Paws and Claws, a non profit in Columbus, and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

Visiting while Columbus people enjoyed the great food!

There was a large crowd of 700-900 people from the Columbus community who came to support the city and Paws and Claws. The event consisted of tastings from Columbus eateries. My main duty was to help raise money for Paws and Claws. I sold raffle tickets, and I must say nearly every person bought a ticket in support of the cause!

Signing autographs and visiting!

I was also surprised with an autograph picture from "Fred," a youtube star from Columbus Nebraska. He wrote me an autograph picture, so of course I had to do one in return! Fred is now a junior in high school, has had millions of views of his youtube videos, and has contracted with Nickelodeon to make a movie and sitcom.

It was a pleasure to be invited by Columbus to attend one of their largest fundraising events. The food was amazing and the company even better! This was my last appearance as Miss Nebraska USA, in my sash anyways :-), so it was great to go out with a bang!

Sending my best,

Belinda Wright

Miss NE '10

Hope Center for Kids Gala

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the 3rd annual Hope Center for Kids Guild Expresssions of Hope 3rd Annual Gala at the downtown Hilton in Omaha, Nebraska. The event started at 6PM with hors d'oeuvres then the dinner and program at 7:30PM. There were around 800 people, marking the largest crowd and doubling the audience since last year's gala. This was amazing news for the Hope Center for Kids, meaning more donations and funding would come their way. It was an honor to be recognized along with the Governor, mayor of Omaha and many other influencial people in Nebraska.

With Nicole Panneton, Mrs. Nebraska 2010.

The evening was a touching one. We heard testimonials from kids who have attended the Hope Center. Shocking facts that Nebraska has the highest millionaires were capita but also the highest rate of poverty in the African American community is not something Nebraska should be proud of. North Omaha is where a large majority of this poverty lies. And the Hope Center is there to help bring up the statistics and change the gangs, drug rates and high school drop outs. Out of kids that utilize the Hope Center, 80% of them attend college and 92% graduate high school. This blows other statistics of them in the same demographic out of the water!

With the mayor of Omaha.

The entire focus at the Hope Center is simple; it's purely "Hope." The mission of the Hope Center for Kids is to break the cycle of hopelessness for Omaha's inner-city youth by providing tangible hope through faith, education, employment and collaboration.

At cocktail hour.

Michael and I before the program.

This is a program I am excited to get more involved with. Hearing the success stories that the Hope Center has made for inner- city kids going through countless struggles is truly inspiring. To sit back and not help is something none of us can do. No matter how small the task is, volunteering to give back not only helps our society but impacts lives.

With more people from cocktail hour.

Please visit the Hope Center for Kids Website and discover more about this amazing nonprofit organization and see how you can help!

All the best,

Belinda Wright

Miss Nebraska USA

Mavericks

With the campers.

With Mrs. Nebraska and Miss Douglas County.

I was asked to help out with a program, at the University of Nebraska Omaha, that helped young girls aged 5-10 years old with self confidence. The girls learned a dance with the UNO dance team and performed during half time of the UNO volleyball game. Along with Mrs. Nebraska and Miss Douglas County we helped the girls become more comfortable with public speaking. The girls had some fun showing us their talents, this ranged from a fun dance to singing or cheering.

The second day we had a tea party and then picked a girl that we thought had what it takes to be Little Miss Maverick. Emily won, but any of these girls could have been chosen. They grew an incredible amount. I really think this program helped with the girls' self esteem. They all left feeling more confident with themselves than when they came.

Best regards,

Belinda Wright

Monday Night Live

Tonight Amanda Soltero and I were asked to judge the University of Nebraska- Lincoln Homecoming skits. This took place at the Leid Center and it was packed to capacity of excited UNL students. Husker spirit filled the theater as we watched dances, skits and steps. The creativity put into these was amazing. We couldn't stop laughing. The winner did a knock off from the America's Got Talent show, check it out here. This group went last and I've never heard a louder applause! It was fun for Amanda and I to be apart of this experience. We are both UNL students, Amanda a freshman while I'm a senior anticipating graduation in December.

Go Huskers!

Belinda

Miss NE USA

Rosenblatt

Rosenblatt Stadium is in its final month of professional baseball. I was asked as one of the 13 "Nebraska Celebrities" to help close down the historic stadium during its final month. I went to the stadium and threw out the first pitch. I was a little nervous to throw this pitch because it had been a good four years since I've thrown a softball or baseball. But to my surprise I made it to the plate!

Throwing out the first pitch.

Where things get real interesting is when the clouds change from a dark grey, to a yellow, and then to a weird dark red color. I had heard the rain was supposed to start around 7PM, but it was 8:30PM so I was thinking that the rain was holding off. And it was, until I went out to the outfield to take the mic and pull off the huge "3" to a "2" for the countdown. At that moment it started to down pour. And I don't mean a light rain; it started to come down in bucket fulls. I pulled off the big number "3" and said a few words and then we took off running. The bad thing was that there was hardly any coverage from the rain and we had to run all the way back around the diamond.

Preparing to tear down the "3" to a "2" in the pouring rain!

Drenched!

This was one of those memories that I will never forget. It was a lot of fun and made the night that much more interesting!

Yours truly,

Belinda Wright

Popcorn Days

I visited my second hometown, North Loup, to help celebrate Popcorn Days. I gave a short speech at the 7PM talent show thanking everyone for their wonderful support. After that I took lots of pictures with everyone. Then it was off to ride rides at the carnival for the evening! On Sunday I judged the floats then rode along and threw out candy! The parade was a blast, but with Nebraska weather I've realized you get either rain, wind, heat or snow. And during the parade I got wind! My candy box flew off during the middle of the parade and my crown nearly flew off! Last time I was in a parade I got rained on, so it was only right I got wind this time! Nebraska has to keep things interesting!

Little girls light up when they try out the crown! :-)

With girls from the talent show.

This guy is from Loup City, NE and has been to 186 consecutive Husker football games.

The dance team that I used to be on!

North Loup Popcorn Days is always a good time. There's free popcorn, since we are the popcorn county and always lots of things going on for the entire family to enjoy!

With my track coach from high school, an amazing woman who taught me so much not only in track but life.

Throwing out candy.

If you ever get a chance to check out Popcorn days, you won't be disappointed!

Belinda

Dancing With the Stars

I was honored to be invited to Youth Emergency Services' fundraising event-- Dance for a Chance. This fundraiser was held at the DC Centre on August 27th at 7:30PM. All profits from the event went to support the efforts to serve homeless youth who live with hunger and abuse issues on a daily basis. Dance for a Chance is a dance event similar to the television show, Dancing with the Stars.

The Dancers!

Ten area stars who included: Kim Armstrong (Foundation Program Coordinator at Mutual of Omaha), Nick Bahe (former Creighton basketball star and host of 1620 the Zone's Schnick & Nick Show), Chad Carr (President of Ticket Express), Kristen Case-Penrod ( Chief Service Officer for the city of Omaha), Anne Hindery (CEO of Non-profit Association of the Midlands), Mary Nelson (KMTV's The Morning Blend), Bo Ruud (Former Husker football star), Adrian Whitsett (KETV news anchor), and me Belinda Wright (Miss Nebraska USA). We all had dance lessons from a professional dancer prior to performing for the fundraiser. After each star performs, judges will score the dancers and the audience has the opportunity to vote as well.

With Mary from the Morning Blend.

Amanda came to watch!

I had four practices prior to the competition and fell in love with Latin dancing. My partner and dance instructor, Zach, decided that the cha cha was the best suited dance to perform. It is one of the most challenging styles of Latin dance so I was instintly excited! We decided on a personal favotire song of mine: Black and White by Michael Jackson. If any of you know me, or watched my web interview from Miss USA you know that I am a MJ fanatic. This way, even if the dance went bad, the song would be awesome! Our dance featured 2 dips and dramatic lift for the ending. I was nervous I would have trouble remembering the complex routine, but come the night of the show I had it down!

I was happy with my scores receiving all 9s. Chad Carr ended up winning the even from online voting that knocked everyone else out of the water! But some of you may be wondering what is YES? YES stands for Youth Emergency Services. For over 35 year Youth Emergency Services has offered a safe place for young people in crisis. Last year along more than 160 homeless and at-risk teens spent at least one night in the Omaha shelter. The Youth Street Outreach Program helped 425 homeless and street dependent young people to find a safe place to stay, something to eat, and supplies to get though a time of crisis. YES workers also guided those who needed special help to the right places. YES also has a maternity group home and a transitional living program. Both programs assist homeless and at-risk youth as they transition to living independently in the community. Check out YES here.

Waiting for the results.

Guerin Austin, a former Miss Nebraska was there!

The evening was completely successful and I was so happy my grandma and mom made the trip to the event. But the night wouldn't have been so special if it wasn't for the volunteering we did with YES. That Wednesday we went in and met the youth who were utilizing YES. We served them food and got to talk one on one with many. They opened up and I left feeling extremely inspired and thankful. YES is an organization that is helping change lives. So dancing in the event to fun YES was simply amazing.

-Belinda Wright

Nebraska's Big Rodeo

Posing for Nebraska Life Magazine. Photo cutisy of Jorn Olsen.

Today my sister and I went to Nebraska's Big Rodeo in Burwell, Nebraska. I started the day by appearing in the parade at 10:00AM. Then had a meet and greet at the fair grounds at 12:00PM and then appeared in the Grand March at 1:00PM before the rodeo started.

My sister and I before the parade in the morning.

My official candy thrower :-)

The rodeo returned to Burwell as it did in 1921 when the town's first-ever rodeo began with a wild horse race. The facilities at Nebraska's Big Rodeo are one of the largest outdoor rodeo areas in the world. Events like clown acts, dinner bell derby, a mounted flag presentation and much more may be happening at the same time as regular events take place in the arena. Many visitors return just to see what they missed last time! The rodeo and fair are held each year on a sprawling 40 acres of grounds.

Photo cutisy of Jorn Olsen.

Signing autographs at the meet and greet. Photo cutisy of Jorn Olsen.

She came out and watched Miss USA in Vegas!

Meet and greet.

It was great to return to Burwell for the rodeo. I had been there about 4 years ago. It's a great summer activity for the entire family! The rodeo hits home to me because my mom and uncle used to participate in the horse show back in the day when they were in high school.

At the Grand March Parade.

The rodeo attracts a larch crowd from all over Nebraska. The Calamus lake and recreation area are located in Burwell as well, so the town was packed! All of the hotels were filled in Burwell, as well as the surrounding towns. It was amazing to be able to talk to people from all over Nebraska. I was so humbled by the large amount of support I received from people who had watched the pageant and were cheering me on when I competed for Miss USA. That's the great thing about Nebraska; we have some of the best people living here!

Check out Nebraska's Big Rodeo here.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend,

Belinda