National Anthem at a Division 1 Hockey Game!

I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach from last night when I sang the National Anthem in front of over 5,000 people at the St. Cloud State Division 1 Hockey Game! I have sang our National Anthem well over 100 times at sporting events since I was 15 years old, but this one was by far the most exhilarating!

Look at all those people!

I have gone to several SCSU Hockey games through high school and I was so thrilled and honored that I was asked to sing the National Anthem!  The arena is HUGE holding 5,381 seats.  I arrived an hour before the game started.  The event coordinator took my mom and I into the empty arena where I was overjoyed with excitement when I saw how big the arena was.  He took me to an empty locker room where I warmed up and mentally tried to prepare myself.  All of these awful scenarios ran through my head, what if I fall on the ice, what if I forget the first note, what if I forget the words!  Even though I have performed this hundreds of times it still crosses my mind.

The time came where they took me into the penalty box and the anouncer was introducing all  of the players.  There were Husky cheerleaders on the ice doing beautiful figure skating moves and jumps, the lights were flashing with different colors and the anouncer reminded me of someone from Jock Jams.  The crowd went crazy over the Husky players, especially the student section.  This is where the butterflies started and for some odd reason my leg started to shake.  They told me to take the ice and I walked slowly to my spot.  The players were lined up on each side of me with the flag directly above us.  Finally the anouncer said, "Singing our National Anthem, performed by Miss North Metro-Bethany Beniek," I brought the microphone close and started to sing.

If you would like to see me singing the National Anthem, my mom video taped me. You can watch it by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOP8-jJES7A

You can't tell in the video, but my leg from the knee down was shaking profusley!  I have never had that happen to me, even when I performed my talent on the Miss Minnesota stage I didn't get that nervous.  I am very pleased with how everything turned out and it was an experience I will never forget! 

The spotlight

I had to wear my SCSU St. Cloud Sweatshirt :-)

Got to watch the game right behind the glass!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all get your fill of candy :-)  I know I already have.  I'm dressing up as a Star Trek Character!  For those of you who don't know me very well, I LOVE Science Fiction movies, I'll sit down and watch Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Trek anyday of the week!

Always,
Bethany Beniek

Miss Twin Cities and Miss Capital City Pageant

On Saturday, October 23rd I attended the Miss Twin Cities and Miss Capital City Pageant in St. Paul.  Bailey Wachholz, Miss North Metro's Outstanding Teen, and her Mom car pooled with me down to the cities. It was great getting to know my sister queen a little better.  We went out to eat with our new director Christina before the pageant.  We got to know each other better and talk about the year ahead of us.  I'm so excited for what the next year has in store :-)

The pageant was fantastic! With ten young women competing, it was full of great entertainment.  I was pleased to see some new faces on the stage.  I hope they all continue to compete because they all seemed like intelligent, poised, and talented individuals.  I want to congratulate Kaylah Dockter and Kathryn Knuttila for their years of service! They were both great representatives of the greater Twin Cities area.

Aja Majkrzak was crowned the new Miss Capital City and Lauren Johnson the new Miss Twin Cities!  I am very excited that I get to compete with them at Miss Minnesota this coming June!  I had the opportunity of competing with them last year :-) How exciting! Congratulations to them both!

Local Title Holders

The "North Metro" Girls

I'm very excited to announce that I have been asked to sing the National Anthem for the St. Cloud State University Division 1 Hockey game this Friday!  The stadium holds over 5,000 people and they almost always sell out!  Don't worry my Mom will be there with her camera so I'll post some photos this weekend.

I hope you all enjoy your Halloween week, can you believe it's almost November! Crazy!

Always,
Bethany Beniek

CMN Bracelets are IN!

Good news everyone! I got my "Children's Miracle Network" bracelets delivered this past week.  I will be selling them on a donation basis throughout my year as Miss North Metro hoping to reach my goal of $10,000!  By clicking on the "CMN Logo" on the right you can see how much I have raised and securely donate online if you're interested.  The bracelets come in small youth sizes up to larger adult sizes and you have your choice of yellow or red, which are the two symbolic colors of the Children's Miracle Network.

Two of my friends, Addie and Levi wearing my Youth sized CMN Bracelets 

I had the opportunity of selling my bracelets yesterday night at the STC Entourage Kick Off Party.  Everyone was very supportive and I raised over $200 in a few hours :-) I have to give a huge thank you to the STC Entourage for letting me be apart of their special night.

Last week I also attended the Tech High School Orchestra Benefit Concert on the campus of St. Cloud State University where Miss Capital City, Kaylah Dockter, Miss Minnesota 2010, Kathryn Knuttila and former Miss South Central, Aja Majkrzak shared their talents with us.  It was a wonderful concert!  Kathryn, Kaylah, and Aja were so inspiring with their performances.  They really showed everyone what the Miss America Organization can provide for young women, scholarship, professionalism, talent and endless opportunities.

Tomorrow I will attend the Miss Capital City/ Miss Twin Cities Pageant.  I am very excited to attend my first local pageant as the new Miss North Metro! I hope to see you there!

God Bless,
Bethany Beniek  

Off to a Great Start!

I'm very excited to share with you that tonight, TGIFridays Restaurant in St. Cloud partnered with me to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network at their annual "Bar Champs" competition. Bar Champs is a world wide competition that all TGIFriday Restaurants participate in where the bartenders do "flare" and flip bottles.  It is so much fun to watch, they juggle bottles in the air, they stack glasses on top of each other, the music is pumpin' in the background and the crowd always cheers for their favorite bartender :-) 

I want to thank the amazing managers at the TGIFridays in St. Cloud for choosing the Children's Miracle Network as their charity to donate to, and for helping me raise $415 tonight!

Congratulations to the St. Cloud Bar Champ 2010, Justin Williamson!

Always,
Bethany Beniek

Miss North Metro 2010

Today, I was crowned the new Miss North Metro 2010!  I cannot believe I have been blessed with another year of service for Miss Minnesota Organization.  For those of you who have not met me, I am Bethany Beniek, a 22 year old senior at the College of Saint Benedicts majoring in biology.  This is my third consecutive year competing within the Miss Minnesota Organization and I cannot express how much I have grown because of this organization.

Today was fast-paced, but I got to meet four other intelligent, talented women who also competed for Miss North Metro,  Brittany Tischmak, Natalie Davis, Justine Kirkeide, and Tiffany Buszta.  Everyone performed wonderfully and I couldn't have asked for a better group of gals to compete with.  Congratulations to the first runner-up, Natalie Davis! I would also like to congratulate the very first Miss North Metro's Outstanding Teen, Bailey Wachholz!  She is Miss North Metro's "little sister" queen and I look forward to spending my year with her.

I will be writing in this blog as often as I can with appearances and events that I will be attending as Miss North Metro 2010.
I recently gave up my title of Miss Moorhead 2009 on September 11th, 2010.  If you would like to catch up on what I have done last year please check out http://www.missmoorhead09.blogspot.com/ .

After giving up my title as Miss Moorhead I dedicated a lot of my time organizing a concert on September 24th benefiting the Children's Miracle Network, which is an organization that has become a part of my life.  The local UTVS Channel did a couple of specials on the event, please check them out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Qd9FenjC0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtRgPMUGnwg

One of my goals as Miss North Metro is to reach my goal of raising $10,000 for the Children's Miracle Network.  I have raised $6,422 within the past two years.  I know I can make this goal a reality with the help of my friends, family and supporters.  Please visit http://www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx?i=9703E6+A65A0B7 if you would like to make a direct donation, but if you see me around I will always have some handy cilicone bracelets that I will be selling for $1.  They are very stylish bracelets that say "Childrens Miracle Network" and you have your choice of yellow or red (the two symbolic colors of the Children's Miracle Network).  For only $1 you can support a worth while organization, and raise awarenesss at the same time by wearing the bracelet itself!

I am very excited for this upcoming year and I look forward to what this new journey in my life will reveal.

Always,
Bethany Beniek

Bailey Wachholz, Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen 2010, and I, Miss North Metro 2010

Crowning Moment

Fun photo with the other local title holders :-)

Kathryn Knuttila, Miss Minnesota 2010, and I