Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

At the end of November, I always anticipate the flow of "what-I'm-thankful-for" Facebook statuses and Tweets. Don't get me wrong, they are great to see and hear, but why do we always wait till November and Thanksgiving time to remember to thank the people we care about and acknowledge the things we are blessed with? I'm guilty of it, too, but my Thanksgiving resolution (we'll start the New Year's resolutions a little early) for the coming year is to remember to be thankful always.

And there's no better time to start than now.

Tomorrow at this time, I will be home with my family... tomorrow could not come sooner. My family is back in Richmond, Virginia. For those of you who did not know - I was born in Kansas, but we moved to Virginia when I was 5. I completed grade school out there and then made the decision to come back to Kansas for college. But that decision means that I am verryyy far from home. I have not seen my parents or my brother since August so saying that I am excited for tomorrow is the understatement of the year.

All that being said - it is apparent that I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for the opportunity to go to such a great school in the great state of Kansas. I am thankful for my friends and their continuing support in everything that I do. I'm thankful for the heat in my apartment when I come inside from the cold! I'm thankful for the many communities that I am a part of that encourage me to grow independently and also alongside them. I am thankful for my teachers - for their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences with me. I am thankful for books.

Of course that's not nearly all of what I am appreciative of in my life. But I am committing right now to remember to be consciously thankful each day of my life - not just at the end of November.

Because there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

Miss Hay Capital

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to be present at the Miss Hay Capital 2014 pageant to give up my title to two new deserving young women. I arrived in Yates Center at 8am after a 5:30am wakeup call. After meeting the women competing that day, rehearsals got underway and interviews started. Before I knew it, it was time for the show.

I was blessed to be asked to sing the National Anthem to start off the program as well as share the stage emceeing with Mandy Ronen. I performed my Top 10 talent from last year at Miss Kansas, Girl on Fire, which was followed by a special performance by the Hay Capital princesses to the original version of the song. Nine women competed on that stage for the titles of Miss Hay Capital and Miss Woodson County. I got to see bits of the phases of competition from the wings. A few special guests made the trip to Yates Center, Theresa Vail, Miss Kansas, Brooke Taylor, Miss Hay Capital 2012 and 1st Runner up that year at Miss Kansas, and Angela Thomas, Miss Woodson County 2012 and Top 10 at Miss Kansas.

At the end of the night, Mai-Thy Ta was crowned the new Miss Woodson County 2014 and Callie Hobkirk was crowned the new Miss Hay Capital 2014. I know these two ladies will represent the area phenomenally through the year as well as when they compete in Pratt for the title Miss Kansas in June. I am incredibly proud of the other seven contestants, some where returning contestants, some it was their first time competing in this division and some it was their first time ever. No matter what, it is always a feat to make it to the end of the night, knowing you did your best and learning from the process to apply it later.

I want to sincerely thank everyone from this program and this community that has offered their love and support to me this year as I represented Yates Center. Traveling to Pratt to compete in Miss Kansas with communal support and well wishes is incredibly encouraging. Megan Weber, my director, happened to be pregnant with twins due the week of states, but somehow she made the trip out to Pratt to support me. I am thankful for her as well as Mary Weber and Lance Davis - all of whom were staples in my success. Lance was kind enough to help me set up my Tip A Queen event at the Feedbunk in Yates Center where the waitresses and I raised $1,000 for the Children's Miracle Network in one night through tips. It was incredible. I also would like to extend my gratitude toward my friends and family both in Kansas as well as Virginia. It means so much to have everlasting love and support being radiated across the country toward me. I have had a wonderful year and am blessed to have spent it with quality people.

On October 26th, I competed in the Miss Augusta/Miss Butler County pageant and was awarded the latter title. So I will be representing Butler County this coming year and at the Miss Kansas 2014 pageant in June. I am looking forward to continuing my journey with the Miss America Organization and expanding my connections and community through my year of service.

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014