Greetings!

Wow, I cannot believe tomorrow is March 31st, where did this month go? It seems like every year no matter what I am doing, the month of March is hectic and full. I hope you have had time to enjoy this past month and are looking forward to warm weather and many Spring days ahead!

The school tour this month has continued to be successful and I have been to some really great schools within the state. I had the opportunity to be a guest host on KPTS Fundraising Telethon which was a very fun experience - especially meeting Wes Santee, Olympic runner, world record holder in the 1500 meter run and indoor mile, not to mention fellow Jayhawk. He is as authentic as they come, and a great ambassador for the state of Kansas - Wes, such a pleasure meeting you, I hope our paths cross again soon.

I was in Pratt this weekend for the Miss Kansas 2008 Reality Weekend and it was filled with...well, reality. The contestants were challenged in every aspect and have a lot of work to do before June, and they will get it done, you wait and see the differences when you seem them on stage! You'll see more about this and understand the "reality" come June. It was so great to see Daryl, Doug, Lisa & Misty - my guardian angels and my very dear friends, I cherish our times that we all have together as a team.

I hope you are getting very excited for the Miss Kansas 2008 pageant - there are some really neat things being planned, it is going to be incredible.

Once again, this last week has been a very full week for me as I was giving school presentations in the Kansas City and Topeka area. I was in the Blue Valley school district elementary schools, and I was very, very impressed. The students behaved incredibly well; I was impressed with the staff at each school, and am very appreciative of the anti-bullying policies that they currently have in place. Blue Valley - thank you for treating me so well at each school - I applaud you on the success that you are having as a district, very remarkable!

This is another full week with school presentations in Ness City, Chase County, Garnett, Baldwin City, and many more!

Until next time -

Alyssa

PS - Cheer for our Kansas Jayhawks who are in the FINAL FOUR!!!!!! Rock Chalk Jayhawk Go KU

Hello all! I realize it has been forever since I last posted - so sorry about that! To make up for it...you will be getting an extra long post

I have been EVERYWHERE, in Kansas of course!

The Liberal Pancake Festival was something I had been looking forward to all year and it was everything that I thought it would be, plus more. I stayed with George and Connie Rosel who are absolutely wonderful, they made me feel like one of their own! Jack Ewing and I emceed the Miss Liberal Pageant, I just love Jack, and boy did we have one heck of a time!
It was great to see Shameem..and let me tell you something, Shameem has got moves!! Ohhh baby, can she dance, I can't even explain it, but she was freakin' awesome!!! You will definitely have to look for her in a few years when she is making it big time. Trust me, she will. I was able to judge the talent show - AMAZING. It was incredibly difficult to pick the winners, everyone was so talented, I was honored to be judging. The following day I had the big pancake race where the pressure was on Liberal to once again defeat Olney England. As a former runner, I was incredibly pumped for this race yet nervous at the same time. George and Connie got me in the car, took me on the route, and tried to convince me to do a practice-run. No practice run for me, then I would not have made it through the real thing - ha! Now before the race, as I was mentally preparing, I was told that I was not allowed to win as I was an honorary runner. Well...I thought that's fine, I'm out of shape, I probably will not win; HOWEVER, I'm a competitor and once the gun has sounds, I make no guarantees as to what will happen...and yep, my competitive drive kicked in, I took off and finished "unofficially" in third place. Unofficially was a term used by the Liberal community, if you ask me..I took third place! Oh, and another thing I forgot to mention...it was about 13 degrees outside and sleeting. The route was covered in sand so that we could still run. In Liberal America, the US defeated Olney, England in the International Pancake Race! We were able to even chat with Olney via web cam - I have actually never experienced web cam until then, and it was really neat seeing and visiting with our friends in Olney. Although the parade was canceled due to the weather, my time spent in Liberal was wonderful, and thank you to everyone in Liberal for being so welcoming.

After I left Liberal I drove 8 hours to Lawrence for Kansas City Presentations the following day, not to mention in another snow storm! Well, I woke up the next morning and, you guessed it, school was canceled. SNOW DAY!!!! Fortunately, I had stayed with my friends for the night and as KU's classes were cancelled, I was able to hang out with my friends, it was so great to see all of them, I have really missed them more than anything this year! They are just the best friends anyone could ask for!

Since then I have been giving school presentations EVERYday. I am in a different part of the state everyday and giving between four and six school presentations a day - it is hard work! Yet, very rewarding work as well. Gosh, I can't even remember where I've been in the last month... let's see, Burlingame, Marion, Lost Springs, Topeka, Hiawatha, just to name a few! At all of the elementary school presentations, there is a competition between each school. This competition is to see which school can listen and clap altogether at the same time...pretty tough, and they have all done well. As of today, the school that is in first place is Eisenhower Elementary from Wellington and second place is Inman Elementary from Inman. The race is getting pretty close, yet Eisenhower Elementary has been in first place for quite a while - since November! We'll have to see if any other schools can knock them off the top!

Several weeks ago I had a full weekend with the Wichita Women's Fair and the Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen pageant held in Wellington. I am so excited for Alasyn Zimmerman, our new Outstanding Teen. She is going to be a phenomenal representative of our state and I am excited to share part of her year with her. You will absolutely love her, she's genuine, sweet as can be, and the real deal - once you meet her you'll know why!

If only spring could get here sooner, I'd be content!! Hope all is well with each of you, and you're surviving this long winter!

Until next time -

Alyssa

Greetings!!

I am back in Kansas and it feels great. I had the most incredible experience at Miss America and am very proud of everything that I have accomplished there. If I had the opportunity to re-do any of the experience, I would choose to do it all again and do it all the exact same. What an incredible feeling to be on that stage representing this great state. As you may have seen, there were a lot of changes that happened this year... I felt truly blessed to represent the Miss Kansas Organization and am very honored to be a part of this organization.

I really enjoyed my time with the other contestants - I developed great friendships with Kim, Miss MS, Molly, Miss TX, Melissa, Miss CA, and Kirsten, Miss MI. These are wonderful friends that I will keep in touch with forever!! I was thrilled to see Kirsten take on the job of Miss America, she is a class act, and I developed such a great friendship with her, I know she will do great.

I cannot even begin to express my thanks for all the support that I received while I was in Las Vegas - from the community of Minneapolis, my family, the Miss Kansas Organization volunteers, and from my 20 sorority sisters that made the trip to Vegas to support me - you all made this experience that much more special.

The next few months are absolutely swamped! And I mean literally, hopefully I will have time to breathe
I look forward to seeing all of you as I continue to travel across the state of Kansas.

God Bless and thank you all for your continued support.

Alyssa

Miss Kansas 2007

P.S....I'm still on Pacific Time - oh my!

Subway Sandwich: $6.00, Tank of Gas: $40.00, Driving across the great state of Kansas at 4am to speak with children: PRICELESS.

Hello!

Last week I had another successful, busy week presenting in Courtland, Minneapolis, Chapman, Manhattan, Andover, Pretty Prairie, Phillipsburg, & Logan. I am in a different city daily and giving 4-6 presentations a day as well.... it is awesome!

Monday night I was in Emporia for the first annual Kansas Festival of Christmas Trees. While signing autographs at the mall, I met two wonderful women who are huge fans of the Miss America Organization; I could have stayed and chatted with them all evening! I then went to the ESU women's basketball game where I helped recognize Emporia State's president, Michael Lane.

Just to give you a taste of my schedule... After leaving Emporia at 8:45, I hit the road and arrived in Minneapolis at 11:00, worked out and followed up on my current events. I was in bed at 12:45, woke up at 7:00, and arrived in Manhattan at 9:30. I left Manhattan at 2:00, hit the road again, was in Wichita for a meeting at 4:30, and a meeting at 5:30. I then left Wichita close to 9:00, and arrived in Kansas City at midnight. It just keeps on going....

Stay tuned for the reality show which will air on Friday, January 4 at 7pm CST on TLC. There will be an episode every Friday leading up to Miss America Live on January 26 in Las Vegas.

I hope your Christmas shopping is well under way - only 18 days left!!

Regards,

Alyssa

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Hello!!

I have had an incredibly busy month and have loved every minute of it! I came back to Kansas on Friday in time for a Saturday morning parade, was at a workshop all day Saturday, and am now at the airport waiting for my departure to LA for the shooting of the reality show that will air on TLC later this year. Last week I had the opportunity to be a part of the Miss America Cruise - which was fabulous! There were 31 contestants on the cruise and it was great getting to know all of the girls - I'm looking forward to being with them for the next two weeks. There were three former Miss America's on the cruise, Lee Meriwether, Leanza Cornett, and Shawntel Smith. Lauren Nelson, Miss America 2007 and Caitlin Brunell, Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2008 were also on the cruise. We bypassed the tropical storm and were able to see the islands of Key West and Cozumel. More fun on the cruise included the Miss America talent show, the autograph signing party, and lunch at Alice's with the Mayor of Key West. I am so glad that I went on the cruise and it was a great honor to represent Kansas!

The school presentation tour is definitely keeping me busy! Within the last month, I have been all over the state having between four and six presentations a day. A few weeks ago I was in Independence, Ks for the annual Neewollah Event. It has been one of the highlights of my year!! I was able to attend a talent show, emcee the annual crowning, and participate in the parade - riding in a 30' Cobalt Boat!! Independence sure knows how to throw an event, and I was very honored to be a part of the festivities.

I am loving my job, excited for Miss America, and hoping my plane arrives soon

Best Wishes!

Alyssa

"Sorry I'm late! There were cows in the middle of the road and I had to wait for them to cross..." - Alyssa George, Miss Kansas.

Hello All!

Yes I do live in Kansas and once in a while I run in to roaming cattle! However, this is my first acquaintance with cattle while in my car

I would like to begin by congratulating all of the women who will be competing for the Miss Kansas title this June - Alex Miller, Danielle Coffman, & Megan Ensley! I have had an absolutely wonderful time at these local preliminaries, I am looking forward to more!

The school tour is going well, I have recently been to Manhattan, Abilene, Solomon, Junction City, and many others - I will head up to the northern part of the state this next week. Today was a great day as I helped Eudora celebrate their 150th birthday at the annual Eudorafest, spoke at "Hawks, Cops, & Kids," and helped emcee the Miss Capital City Pageant.

I will anxiously be awaiting the next few local preliminaries, more school presentations, and the Miss America cruise!

Respects,

Alyssa

Hello!

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy and have opened the door for several new and exciting opportunities for the Miss Kansas Organization, for which I am grateful.

I recently threw the first pitch for the Kansas City Royals baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, and all the practice definitely paid off as you will not find my pitch on youtube or sportscenter! The most difficult part about it was getting home at 1:00am and waking up at 6:00am to make it to my next appointment!

As busy as I am with the job of Miss Kansas, it is one that I truly enjoy. On Saturday evening I had the privelage of attending the Kansas National Guard 891st Engineer Combat Battalion recognition ball. It was with great honor that I was able to meet the men and women that give up their lives to fight for the people in our country. Many of these men and women not only fight for our country across seas but come to aid individuals and communtites when disaster strikes in our own area, Greensburg, Ks. What an honor it was to represent Kansas at this event and shake the hands of these heroic men and women.

School presentations, sponsor visits, and the Miss America preparation are all on schedule and going very well. In mid-October I will be traveling to Los Angelos for the shooting of the reality television show that will be taking place prior to the airing of Miss America, and then on to Florida, where I will be traveling on the 2007 Miss America cruise. May the busy lifestyle and exciting opportunities continue!

All my best,

Alyssa George
Miss Kansas 2007

Greetings,

Summer is officially over and the school tour is well on its way! This last month I have had many appearances a few including my attendance at a KU kickoff event - ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, a Kansas Children's Service League Event, and I began the school tour, moving on to 15 school presentations this week, I will be in a different city every day! I was able to be at home in Minneapolis last week for several appearances in the area, it was great to see friends and family. I am blessed to be part of such a wonderful community with incredible support. This month I look forward to many more school presentations and will be awaiting the countdown to Miss America, January 26, 2008.

Best Wishes,

Alyssa George
Miss Kansas 2007

Hello All!

One amazing and fast month as Miss Kansas has already flown by and I can't believe it! Every day I am continuously reminded by the wonderful people we have here in the great state of Kansas and I am truly honored and blessed to be representing this state. Although it's only been one month since my official duties began, I am now able to write a book on humbling experiences. From the parade where I was soaked with water guns to the flat tire in my new car, I can honestly say that I am staying real!

Bennett Autoplex in Salina, Ks is the new car sponsor for the Miss Kansas Organization along with Phoebe's Boutiqe in downtown Wellington, Ks. Last week I attended three days of anti-bullying workshops in Salina, Ks and met with a National anti-bullying advocate who is going to help me promote my platform, Bullying: The Bystander Effect, nation-wide.

Over the next couple weeks, I will continue meeting with youth organizations at the state and national level promoting my platform, meet with current and prospective sponsors, and further my preparations for Miss America competition.

Regards,

Alyssa George
Miss Kansas 2007