Miss America's Outstanding Teen

Receiving a rose from Sam Haskell at the gala Friday night is one of my favorite memories of Miss America week.

Meet my Miracle Man - Adam

I’ve uploaded lots of pictures in hopes you will have a decent idea of what I experienced during the week of Miss America.  Without a doubt, it was the most exhilarating week I’ve ever had.  Two inspirational aspects of the week that that are not included in the following images:

 1. The unbelievable 53 contestants  – I was touched by their discipline, charisma, and over all elegance in how they handled the pressure not only at the competition, but how they live their everyday lives.  These girls were so powerful they made me consider competing in the future someday.

2. The former Miss Americas – I was able to visit with these magnificent women in the Miss America suite every night following the competition.  They continue to carry on their legacy year after year, and learning from their stories and advice was priceless.

One more thing… If I had to pick out one thing that stands out about the week, it would be the heart of the sponsors, volunteers, and people who “make it all happen”.  I found it interesting to hear the various reasons why different people support Miss America and their opinion of the organization.  These people believe in the power of the woman with the crown, but most importantly they believe in the organization and what it does for women as a whole.  And it goes farther than that.  They love the organization on a personal level,  just like I do.  I have never felt such a rush of encouragement and pride to be involved as the teen titleholder.   Thank you to those who represented Komplique, Joseph Ribkoff, Artistry by Amway, and Wen for the multiple conversations and insight that led me to this rush of excitement and passion for Miss America.  Also, to the people I met from around the country, including the state directors and the Miss America staff. Its because of you that a positive spirit continues to fill the air throughout the week of competition.

1/9:

Autograph signing with the boys from Regalia Magnificent Apperal.

"Sister" photo shoot provided by Jenn Cady and make-up/hair by Taylor Roark.

Jeff Parker is the possibly the greatest guy you will ever meet. He treated me to dinner, lunch, and breakfast multiple times and also made sure I didn't leave Vegas without plenty of Miss America souveniers. He's a charm!

1/10:

At rehersal for Tuesday nights preliminaries where I performed my dance solo. Dena Blizzard is the BEST host!

I had an exceptional lunch at Olives (new favorite restaurant!) in the Bellagio with Micheal Hannah and David Wyncheck. Two of my favorite people to be around. Thanks a million to both of you!

Meet the sweet Caroline Rocha - she makes the most beautiful jewelery. I fell in love with her bracelets at the trade show. Click here to check out the many unique, hand crafted bracelets just like mine.

Tuesday night prelims for Miss America - I had the honor of sitting on the front row with Mr. Art McMaster.

10/11:

Started off the morning right in production rehearsal with MY GIRLS! As you can imagine, with about 40 of the Outstanding Teens from around the nation seeing each other for the first time in a few months, it was an exciting time. These girls, my best friends, are the most supporting, compassionate, and talented teens you will ever meet.

Tony Bowls is responsible for this dress specially made for the teen performance at the Wednesday night preliminaries. Do you have any idea how thrilled I was?! MAOTeen couldn't be more grateful for his support. He also sponsored the dresses for all of the other contestants. What a guy!

This one goes out to Mary Bocchicchio for organizing our rehearsals and making sure the MAOTeens looked flawless. Not many girls get to say they performed on the Miss America stage!

10/12:

With the former Miss Americas at a luncheon sponsored by Neiman Marcus.

Wearing Joseph Ribkoff at an autograph signing with fourpoints. I finally got to personally meet the staff behind my favorite magazine - They're great!

 * Thursday night I also received my Duke of Edinburgh award.

1/13:

* Friday was TEEN DAY! I will post a separate blog about the teen’s aventure to Wayne Newton’s Ranch and tour of CMNH St. Rose Hospital.

Teresa and I with John Best at the gala.

James Pieron and the girls from Komplique at the gala. I absolutely love them.

Kristina Janolo, Josh Randle, and Mary Sullivan

10/14:

Saturday was packed with multiple outings and events. Two of my favorites: my new sister, the invincible Laura Keappler's crowning and being introduced on national television during the pageant! I was also able to meet the celebrity judges, have my first official photograph taken with Laura, and attend the VIP dinner.

Mark Ballas from Dancing With the Stars

The Edwards Family Foundation was formed in 2001 with the sole intention of providing holiday joy to the less fortunate children in the local St. Petersburg area each December. Each year, in part with the City of St. Petersburg, volunteers put their hearts and minds into making  an exciting event for children and their families. They present a gala of joyful gift giving, holiday cheer and smiling faces. This year they gave away 1,400 bicycles with helmets, 420 complete food baskets, and hundreds of new toys, and clothing items.

I was able to accompany Kristina Janolo and a few of our other wonderful local title holders to the Edwards Family Foundation Gala where we were welcomed by Mr. Edwards and Mayor Foster.  We always look forward to seeing Mayor Foster who has done a beautiful job with the city of St. Petersburg and has also been a charm to the Miss Florida Organization.

I was overwhelmed by the immense detail required to pull off an event of such magnitude. HUGE props to the many volunteers who made the process possible.  This was an event where you cannot imagine how special the atmosphere was without physically being there.

12/11/11:

We couldn't be more proud of Kristina Janolo, Miss Florida 2011. She is kind, hilarious, disciplined, genuine, and overall magnificent. We knew she would represent our state with honor and grace at Miss America.

I am blessed to have three beautiful girls in my life – Kamari, Emily, and Justyce.

They are 5th graders at Leesburg Elementary School and absolutely charming young ladies. I couldn’t be more proud as their mentor. While having a mini Christmas celebration a few days before winter break, I realized I only had one more semester to visit with them while I am still local and in high school. Ouch! This calls for extra visits to the elementary school.  Mentoring at any age is an incredibly rewarding experience. They each hold a piece of my heart and I love them to death.

Meet Justyce! Pictures of Emily and Kamari to come soon : )

12/21-22:

Over the past six months I have been working to complete my Duke of Edinburgh Award.  There are four distinct categories of requirements (click here for more information) with the last category being an “adventurous journey.”  I was able to complete my journey in my home state of Florida with:

 Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011

Kristina Janolo, Miss Florida 2011

MaryKatherine Fechtel, my sister and Miss Florida’s OT 2010

Rachel Strever, Miss Florida’s OT 2011

Samantha Janolo

Kalen Dennis

Danielle Mueller

Amanda Wilcher

 D.J. Janolo

Huge thanks to my parents, Vince and Dixie Fechtel, who put together the trip and created an exciting experience for all of us.

Our itinerary consisted of a plethora of outdoor events in Inverness and Crystal River. First was an airboat ride sponsored by Wild Bill’s Airboat Tours. After we each held a live baby alligator,  we were handed ear muffs and whisked onto a airboat to tour the Withlacoochee River in search of local wildlife. Not only did we love exploring the river, but had a blast as “Dangerous Dave” spun the boat in 360 degree turns for an extra thrill. Huge thank you to Wild Bill’s who also gave each of us a famous t-shirt and nominated us as “official swamp gangsters.”

After lunch, my dad gave a lesson on knot tying and how to securly tie up a boat.  After a briefing on canoeing skills, we then set off to paddle our way down a cut-off in the river. Canoes were provided by Riverside Lodge, where we also spent the night.  More thank you’s to our new friends at Riverside Lodge for making sure we had everything needed to complete our journey!  Once dusk hit, we set up a campfire on Discovery Island where we cooked our own meals and made smores.

Early the next morning we set off for Adventure Diving where we were given a lesson on Florida’s manatees and the natural springs of Crystal River . Once suited up in wet suits and snorkel gear, it was off to swim with the manatees! The officers from the  Crystal River Archeological Park  picked up our group after lunch on a tour boat and brought us to the park featuring pre-historic burial mounds.  We not only learned about the history of the natives who once inhabited the area, but were also taught how to throw a unique spear called an “atlatl.”  Our time was wrapped up by learning about basic archeology and sifting through an actual site to find small bones and other artifacts.  We decided that in all, the trip was way too much fun, and we are going reunite and do it again next year. Success!

GenerationOn’s Holiday Gift Campaign was a tremendous success!  113,631 kids and teens made a commitment to volunteer.  I spoke at multiple schools and programs over the course of the two week campaign.

Here are examples of how generationOn’s campaign to volunteer affected kids in my own community:

Mrs. Davis at First Academy led her 4th graders in raising funds to provide gifts for a needy family for during Christmas.

This 5th grade class at Leesburg Elementary School wrote essays what volunteering means to them personally.

The Boys and Girls Club of Lake and Sumter County promised to carry through with simple actions of kindness and become life long volunteers.

Miss America’s Outstanding Teen has partnered with Girls Know How® (Downingtown, PA) to promote reading and career exploration to elementary and middle school children across the country.  Girls Know How comprises a fictional series of fun, entertaining chapter books that encourage readers ages 8 to 12 to pursue the careers of their dreams.

As an ambassador of Girls Know How, I have been delegated several series of books to donate to local elementary and middle schools in my area. What a great opportunity to encourage the young women of my community to explore their dreams that will lead to their future success as active participants of society.  Leesburg Elementary School as well as First Academy Elementary and Middle Schools have welcomed the books into their libraries.

click to learn more about Girls Know How 

 

Here is a brief log of what I have been up to lately!

• 11/30:  The Lake Sumter Children’s Advocacy Center’s mission is to provide a child friendly, community-based facility where a child victim can be safely interviewed, provided with crisis counseling and therapy, and receive specialized medical exams where needed.
  I was able to participate in a fundraiser for the center by speaking about the importance of volunteering and performing during their program.

• 12/7:  Spoke to the elementary, middle, and high schools at First Academy-Leesburg about the ways they can give back and encouraged them to pledge to volunteer through generationOn’s Holiday Gift Campaign.

• 12/9:  While visiting the Boys and Girls Club, I recruited middle and high school students to pledge to make their mark on the world through volunteering and the Holiday Gift Campaign.

• 12/12:  I made a special trip to visit Leesburg Elementary School’s 5th grade class to once again advocate the Holiday Gift Campaign and ask for pledges to volunteer.

• 12/14:  I went back to Leesburg Elementary School to follow up on the kids volunteer efforts and rewarded those who had carried out their pledge with a surprise lolipop.

11/20:

Ms. Allison picked us up from the airport in Philadelphia and later treated us to a dinner at R2L where I had one of the most extravagant meals of my entire life! We stayed the night at Ms. Nicole's beautiful Brownstone home in downtown Philly. I was also able to spend time with her two daughters and national princesses, Alexis and Gracie.

11/21:
 

My first stop was the second grade class at William Penn Charter School. I met with the classmates of one of the MAOTeen National Princesses, Alexis Melchiorre, and talked with them about the various ways that they can give back to their community.

Ms. Allison accompanied me to the Miss America Organization's office in Southern New Jersey. There, we met with the staff, enjoyed a luncheon, and even had a sneak a peak at the upcoming Miss America Competition Guide.

Mr. Art McCaster - President & CEO of Miss America

Emily Doyle, Katie Schreckengast, Maria Cinti, and Kaitlyn Miller all came to my hotel room Monday night for a pizza party sponsored by Autumn Marisa. They will all be competing at Penslyvania's Outstanding Teen.

11/22: 
 

Tuesday began at The Woods School where I performed and visited with the residents. The school serves people with exceptional needs at all stages of their lives.

Meet my girl, Miranda! Not only was she waiting at the door when I arrived, but she sat on the front row while I danced. She couldn't have a sweeter heart.

In between school visits, I was given a special tour of the Philadelhipa Museum of Art. Being one of the largest museums in the United States, I was only able to see a glipse of the multiple majestic rooms in my two and my two and a half hour time slot.

Thank you to the director of the museum, Jane AllSopp, who presented me with these two unique books, and Deena Gurson for giving me an exclusive tour.

Next was the US Dream Academy, where I met up with Mr. Lavarr Zuber. After speaking about my platform S.E.R.V.E. and performing in the auditorium, I visited with the children and signed photo cards. The kids were incredibly enthusiastic! They surprised me by studying my bio and platform before I had arrived. The US Dream Academy is an after-school and mentoring program which has an overall goal to nurture the whole child while altering attitudes, enhancing self-esteem, supporting emotional and intellectual growth, and sparking dreams.

We wrapped up the night by seeing a broadway show...Billy Elliot!

 11/23:

Wednesday morning Mr. Anthony took me to some of the sights around town including the Liberty Bell and the National Constitution Center.

I had never tried cheese steak before and I'm proud to say my first was from Philly! Ms. Dianne made sure we fit Geno's famous cheese steak into my schedule.

 

I spent the afternoon with visiting The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as an ambassador of the Children's Miracle Network. I participated in an arts and crafts project with them and signed photo cards for each child. I made individual trips to see those who were unable to come out of their rooms.

Dinnertime was spent with three of my MAOTeen National Princesses. I adore Savannah, Gracie, and Alexis!

Parade rehersal with John Best and his crew was my final stop of the day.

11/24:

“Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2012 Elizabeth Fechtel wrapped up her week in Philadelphia by performing at the 6ABC Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade. She woke up extra early to say ‘Good Morning America’ with national weatherman Sam Champion from Good Morning America. Then she rode on the Kittens float with Miss Delaware’s Outstanding Teen 2011 Victoria Brown-O’Brien, Miss New York’s Outstanding Teen 2011 Lauren Molella, Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen 2011 Kaitlynne Kline, Miss New Jersey’s Outstanding Teen 2011 Natalie Ragazzo and six of the national Princesses. She then performed during the All Wrapped Up segment of the show.”

I had breakfast Daisy Duck at the Four Seasons Hotel.

I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide, driver, and friend during my stay in Philadelphia.

We were excited to be riding on the giant "Kittens" float!

Upon returning to the hotel, Ms. Dianne and I had an extravagant Thanksgiving dinner with the parade staff.

11/25:

I returned home on Black Friday where I was able to spend a “second Thanksgiving” with my family.

What an incredible trip!!!

Thank you to John Best, Brenda Goldsmith, Art McMaster & the Miss America staff, Nicole Melchiorre & her family, Larry Harvey, Alyson Sulpizio, Anthony LoRusso, and Robbie Mackey.