Martin Luther King Jr once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?”  As a young teenager I initially was introduced to community service as a requirement for a school group.  I choose to volunteer at a senior day center and after my first hour I was hooked.  The ability to help others and bring a smile to their face was contagious!  Now 25+ years later I still carry the same passion to help others in our community.  As many of you know my year as Mrs. Colorado American has focused on supporting the needs of the terminally ill and their families largely due to my experience of my father’s terminal illness, Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration, also known as FTD or Pick’s Disease.  I have partnered with organizations like Make-A-Wish, HopeKids, Project Angel Heart, There with Care and AFTD (Association of FTD) to be able to help families, like mine, who have a loved one with a life-threatening or terminal illness. 

As Mrs. Colorado American it is also important to help our Colorado communities!  On December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire ripped through my neighboring communities of Louisville and Superior and was making its way to my community of Northwest Arvada.  Being out of town at the time I first learned of the fires from a neighbor and then turned to social media where I learned the fire had spread to residences.  As I watched social media and national news coverage, my heart sank for the families who had minutes to flee their homes, some barely having enough time to grab their pets before leaving behind a home full of memories.  Those that know me, know that I am a solver by nature – if I see a need, I immediately start figuring out how I can help rather than waiting for others to help.  As I was thinking through different ways I could help families immediately and from out of state, the Marshall Fire got personal – I received a text message ordering my neighborhood to begin pre-evacuation immediately.  The feeling of helplessness hit a whole new level – now not only am I not in Colorado able to help those impacted by fire, but now I am not even home to be able to help save my family’s cherished memories.  Thankfully, I have an amazing friend and neighbor who immediately offered to get our cat Roscoe and each of my kids’ baby memory boxes and to bring them with her when it was time to leave.  Thankfully a few hours later the pre-evacuation order was lifted, and my neighborhood was safe from the fire. 

I share all of this with you because it fueled my determination to help the 1,000+ families who lost their homes to the Marshall Fire.  Had it not been for the heroic efforts of first responders, my family could have been one of the 1,000+ affected.  Upon returning back to Colorado, I began connecting with various organizations that were in need of donations and/or manpower to help meet the need of the Louisville and Superior communities.  One of the amazing gifts of participating in the Mrs. Colorado Program is that you immediately gain a sisterhood of local titleholders, many of whom share a passion to help their communities too.  With less than 48-hour notice, I was able to gather my sister queens Emily Sanders (Miss Colorado for America Strong) and Danette Haag (Mrs. Colorado America) to volunteer with me at the Arvada Elks donation site.  We spent several hours sorting and organizing donated clothes for Marshall Fire victims!  To see the Elks Lodge filled with donations was heartwarming.  Coloradans stepped up to help those displaced by the fire.

Most recently, I was able to gather my sister queens and local titleholders to volunteer at the A Precious Child Marshall Fire Relief Center that is being run out of a vacant department store at the Flatirons Mall.  Three of us were responsible for running donations from the arrival center to the sorting and organization center and then assisting with sorting and organizing donated clothes.  We were quite the spectacle – pageant queens learning how to maneuver pallet jacks!  But in all seriousness, being able to see the bottom floor of this department store filled with items for Marshall Fire victims was unbelievable.  A Precious Child set up donations in different departments and had items on display as if it were a true department store.  Seeing the care the organization put into in making sure they had both quality and quantity donations, but also that the relief center was set up in a way that helped the fire victims maintain dignity was extraordinary.   We hope to be able to arrange a Mrs. Colorado Program volunteer day at the A Precious Child Marshall Fire Relief Center giving an opportunity for local titleholders throughout the state to help make a difference to those impacted by the Marshall Fire.

I encourage everyone rather than waiting for someone else to fill a need, take the initiative and do what you can to help fill the need.  As my dad taught me - you never know when you may be the one in need, so do what you can while you can!