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| Meet Miss Coon Rapids 2011 Megan Ehlert  To the City of Coon Rapids, Thank you for taking me in with open arms! I was crowned just a few short weeks ago and it has already a been an exciting time! I competed with nine other accomplished women from around the state in personal interview, life style and fitness in swim suit, talent, on stage question, and my favorite area of competition, evening gown. The competition began with personal interview where I had a chance to meet the wonderful judges and tell them all about me! For me, this area of competition is always fun because I can talk about myself and my platform work for hours! After a rehearsal that same day, we began preparations for the final night of competition the next day! After a much needed trip to get a spray tan, it was off for hair and makeup. Having a pageant in the middle of winter is always difficult since being anything other than pale is hard to do - I am so thankful for the invention of spray tanning! Once the hair and make up are finished I can't help feeling like a queen already. Who doesn't love getting all dolled up and looking pretty?! Once the pageant began, it flew by! The theme to this years pageant was the 50's with classic jazz music to pump everyone up. The opening number was choreographed by Megan Torgerson, former Miss Minnesota! Once we danced our socks off, it was onto life style and fitness in swim suit and talent followed that! After a brief intermission, each of us were asked an on stage question about our platforms to be sure each contestant can handle themselves with grace and confidence with answering any kind of question. Finally, the beautiful evening gowns were put on. As we all graced the stage, we realized how quickly the past two hours had flown. As we lined up for the final look and awaited the results, I can honestly say that it could have been any of us! It was such a great group of fun, talented women. The first runner up was announced and I was so hopeful for the chance to represent this city! As my name was called, a rush of thankfulness and happiness came over me. After Allison Lordbock, Miss Coon Rapids 2010, placed the crown on my head I took my first walk as Miss Coon Rapids 2011. Since that moment, everyone I have met has welcomed me with open arms and has been so welcoming. A huge thank you goes out to all the volunteers at the pageant because without them, the show would not go on! I have never seen a more dedicated group of individuals on a pageant committee in my life! To Diane Buszta and the pageant organizers, you put on a class act each and every year- congratulations to you all! For those of you wondering, my talent is twirling baton. I have been a baton twirler since the age of 8 when I grew in St. Louis, MO. At that time, all of the neighbor girls twirled baton! I have been to nationals several times, named Miss Majorette in several divisions, and twirled for marching and pep bands throughout high school in Maple Grove. Twirling has always been fun for me and I love to see peoples faces when they remember what twirling is like! I enjoy twirling to fast paced, high energy songs and for competition, I twirled to "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. In preparation for Miss Minnesota in June, I am seeing if a new song choice is needed, but it is going to be hard to beat that song! A new costume and a few new tricks should do the trick! Speaking of Miss Minnesota, I am so excited for the chance to bring the Miss Minnesota crown back to Coon Rapids and then hopefully on to Miss America! I have always dreamed of being on that stage at Miss America! I will be competing with 20 other young women from across the state in what will surely be a fun filled week! The week will be full of rehearsals, appearances, preparations, and little sleep! Doing my best is all I can ask for and I hope to represent you all well there. The Miss America Organization is unique in that each woman is to have a passion for their platform. My passion just so happens to be with animals. I have had this passion since a very young age which lead me to finding Can Do Canines in high school. Through the organization and a continued love of animals, I went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Animal Science. Can Do Canines and I are dedicated to enhancing the lives of people through a mutually beneficial partnership between human and dog. I am a "puppy raiser" which means I volunteer my home to a puppy from about eight weeks of age until they are about 16-18 months. During this time, I train them to the skills needed to help a client in their future. They are trained to retrieve any dropped object, pull open doors and drawers, touch handicapped door buttons and elevator buttons, and most importantly, bring them independence back to their life. In the last few years, we have expanded our services from hearing assist and mobility assist dogs to diabetes assist, autism assist, and seizure response dogs as well. Along with those changes, we now service clients outside of Minnesota into the Dakota's, Iowa, and Wisconsin allowing us to reach more people and change lives. Those dogs do more than just physical tasks, they provide freedom, peace, and independence to those who might have lost it. Through the smiles, hugs, and licks, I have seen the remarkable things these dogs can do. If you are interested in finding out more information, visit candocanines.org for details. I would love to come and speak to as many groups and individuals as possible, please feel free to contact the Miss Coon Rapids organization at misscoonrapidspageant.com for requests. I hope that I have the opportunity to meet as many of you as possible and look forward to sharing more on my platform with you all.
Sincerely, Megan Ehlert Miss Coon Rapids 2011  Allison's Farewell Dear friends, families, and supporters, I am so very proud of the Miss Coon Rapids Organization. This organization allows young women the opportunity to use their talents and abilities for something far greater than a crown, to use what God has placed inside of them to reach and inspire those around them. Representing this community and state has been an incredible honor and privilege, filled with memories and experiences that will forever be with me, and I would like to say how truly thankful I am to have been given this opportunity. Thank you to our amazing sponsors who regardless of tough times continue to believe in our organization and the young women it helps develop. Also, to the community of Coon Rapids, and to the Junior Royalty families, you have welcomed me into your hearts and homes. I am so thankful for every single event that I was part of because it was in these moments that I was able to connect with the people and organizations that make this city so great. To the Epiphany Church, I owe a huge thank you. I have seen and visited a lot of churches in my life, but few can say they reach out to their community in the way this church does. Thank you to the staff for opening your doors and allowing the Miss Coon Rapids Organization to have a home within your home. Diane, you are so much more than a pageant director, you are a friend, you’re an encourager, and you are someone that I will always value in my life. Thank you, Tiffany and John for allowing my mother and me to be frequent guests in your home. To the Buszta family, thank you for bringing me into your family and into your hearts. I am so very thankful for your continued support and commitment to this organization and the people within it. To Libby and the Huebner family, you have also so graciously brought me into your life and welcomed me into your home as a place of comfort and rest. Libby, you put so much time and effort organization and I cannot say thank you enough. You helped strengthen my interview skills and encouraged me to see issues from new perspectives; you were always there no matter what and I know you always will be. The Miss Coon Rapids committee is made up of the most wonderful people that have truly touched my life. The Leggate family, Theresa, Sue and John, the Zieglers, Megan Torgerson, Teda Staricha, Tina Vande Vrede, Caroline LaCoursiere, and several other faithful volunteers, thank you so much for everything you have provided for me this year. Most of all, thank you to my incredible family for loving me and supporting me in every way throughout my life. You have shaped me into the person that I am today and it is your love and support that truly enriches my life and motivates me to keep dreaming and never give up. Finally, the greatest thank you goes to my Savior Jesus Christ, who has redeemed my life and who holds my heart within His hands. Lord, you are my all, thank you for giving me life anew each day. This has been an amazing journey filled with incredible adventures and wonderful memories. I am so proud to forever be Miss Coon Rapids 2010. Sincerely, Allison Lordbock MEET MISS COON RAPIDS 2010 Allison Lordbock
My name is Allison Nicole Lordbock and I am proud to be your Miss Coon Rapids 2010. Just a few weeks ago my journey as the new Miss Coon Rapids began on the Coon Rapids High School stage. As I stood on that stage alongside seven other incredible women my heart raced as the crowning moment got closer and closer. When my name was announced as Miss Coon Rapids everything inside of me jumped into the air as I saw my family and friends leap up from their seats screaming and cheering! Time has raced by since that night and my weeks have been filled with fantastic appearances around Coon Rapids getting to know this wonderful community. I am originally from the small Northern Minnesotan town of Brainerd, Minnesota. I grew up on my family’s horse ranch learning the value of hard work early on in life. Pageants were never part of my goals as a young girl; I was very content riding my horses into the sunset. However, much of what I learned growing up on our ranch has helped me become the strong young women that I am today. I learned that most people are capable of far more than they may at first believe. When there was a load of four hundred bales of hay to be stacked in the barn’s hay loft, it was easy for me to feel overwhelmed and defeated. However, working together as a family the task was completed, working one step at a time. I learned to have a strong positive work ethic and to never be afraid of hard work. After graduating with honors from Brainerd High School in 2005, I packed my bags and headed down to Fort Myers, Florida to attend the Fort Myers Florida Master’s Commission. I was nervous about leaving my family and moving so far away, but I was very excited to see where my journey was going to take me. Fort Myers Master’s Commission is an intense discipleship program for young adults who have a passion to serve. While taking correspondence college classes from North Central University in Minnesota, I began travelling throughout Fort Myers, the United States and finally internationally with motivational speaker Reggie Dabbs and Jason Maupin of Elevate Industries. I was part of a team leading Kids Club programs throughout the low income housing districts of Fort Myers. I also had the chance to work in local jails and women’s shelters. I travelled to Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Washington D.C, and the Carolina’s, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and several other states in two short years. I also went into Holland and Belgium speaking in international schools and local churches. Currently I am completing my Associate of Arts degree at Central Lakes College and living in Brainerd, Minnesota. After graduating this spring I will be continuing my education with a focus on communications and youth ministry. I have a heart and a passion for working with young people. This passion will fuel my work as Miss Coon Rapids. My platform focuses on encouraging youth to set high standards for their lives, believe in their dreams and make positive choices in their daily lives. You cannot change what you have done, but you can change who you will become. Many times the choices of our past can become stumbling blocks that seem to hold us back in our lives, but they need to be stepping stones that we can learn and grow from. I want to be a voice for my generation encouraging them to set high standards for their lives and more importantly to keep those high standards. This coming June I will be competing for the title of Miss Minnesota. I am so excited to stand on that stage as Miss Coon Rapids with such an amazing committee and support team behind me. Coon Rapids has a strong legacy with the Miss Minnesota Organization and I have big shoes to fill in upholding that legacy, but I am excited for that challenge. I am so honored to have this opportunity to represent this community. In just a few short weeks I feel as if I have been welcomed with open arms into your community, experiencing and enjoying the beauty that Coon Rapids has to offer. I am so blessed to be in this position and I am excited for my year to come. There will be parades, speaking opportunities and appearances with the lively Junior Royalty. However, most importantly I will have the opportunity to impact the lives of young adults in Coon Rapids and inspire them to believe in themselves and in their dreams. Thank you for welcoming me into your city as your new Miss Coon Rapids 2010. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - George Eliot Your Miss Coon Rapids 2010, Allison Lordbock
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