Anyway
by Mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone may try to destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway...

Searching for the Next Mrs. Oklahoma

Reposted with permission:
On April 26th, the new Mrs. Oklahoma International will be crowned at the Seretean Center in Stillwater. Representing the best of what Oklahoma has to offer, she will head to Chicago in July to compete for the title of Mrs. International 2009.

Just who is Mrs. Oklahoma International? "She is a woman who believes in family, marriage and community service," says Lauri Rottmayer, Executive Director of the Pageant. Mrs. Oklahoma International is not just any ordinary competition or pageant! The participating women have careers inside and/or outside of the home. The unifying theme they share is "A platform issue"; a cause, a passion or a relevant social concern they pursue to bring awareness to the Oklahoma community as a whole, which will be their focus during the year as Mrs. Oklahoma. The women generously support family values, schools, non-profit organizations and community groups. They contribute to these causes for various reasons pertaining to their marriage, family, friends or personal experiences. The competition salutes them for their contributions to their community. Without them, many social issues would not be addressed.

The heart and soul of the International system is to make a difference in the lives of others through each contestant's choice of a platform or issue that they promote. In 2008, International Pageant Group joined forces with the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement to unite women in the fight against heart disease. Go Red for Women celebrates the energy, passion and power we have as women to band together to wipe out heart disease and stroke. The Oklahoma International Pageants are now in the fight against heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women in America. This involvement in the movement can help save lives of mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters, grandmothers, best friends, and other women just like you!

Beginning 21 years ago, Mrs. International® was developed to have higher standards than other pageant systems. The very first woman to wear the Mrs. International crown, was Rhonda Berglan of Oklahoma. The focus behind Mrs. Oklahoma International® is to showcase women 21 to 56 years old, married at least six months and a resident of the state. Each contestant competes in Interview Competition, which is valued for 50% of her overall score, Evening Gown, valued for 25% and Fitness Wear for 25%. Each contestant has the opportunity to select a platform of her choice that she spends the year promoting. Husbands are a direct part of the show, escorting their wives in the Evening Gown competition, and the husband crowns his wife titleholder. Mrs. Oklahoma 2008 is Sasha Townsend. Who will be the next lucky woman to wear the crown?

So who will be Mrs. Oklahoma International 2009? Will she be you?

For information about the pageant or to enter, please visit www.TheMrsOklahomaPageant.com .

American Heart Association: You're the Cure Oklahoma Action Alert

It's that time again....the Oklahoma Legislature is back in session starting today!! Over the next 4 months we have the chance to educate our lawmakers on policies that will reduce heart disease and stroke and create a healthier Oklahoma.

Click here to tell your lawmaker to support the American Heart Association's legislative agenda.

This year the American Heart Association will support the following:

1. Passing a Good Samaritan Law that will encourage everyone to use an Automated External Defibrillator if the see someone suffering a heart attack.

2. Passing a strong statewide smoke-free law so that all workplaces are smoke-free.

3. Making it possible for local communities to pass their own strong smoke-free air laws.

Again, click here to make your voice heard. Tell legislators to make preventing heart disease and stroke a priority this year. Thank you!

Ads for the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative

Starting Early: How the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative Helps Schools Prepare Young People for Healthy Marriages

As stated in the ASPE research brief introduction:
Over 2.5 million students across the country complete their high school education each year. How many of these students will emerge from their adolescent years with the skills and information they need to choose a life partner and form a healthy marriage and stable family? To increase the odds that young people in Oklahoma will enter adult life prepared to address these important life tasks, the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI) works with the state’s high schools to help them offer a research-based curriculum that addresses relationships and marriage in ways that are relevant to the needs and interests of youth. The OMI approach has resulted in a long-term sustainable effort that has strong institutional support. More than 55,000 students so far have elected to take the classes at 289 schools across the state.

About the research brief:
This ASPE (Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Human Services Policy, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services) Research Brief describes lessons learned during the establishment of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, drawing on findings from an in-depth process evaluation conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. under contract to ASPE. This brief was prepared by Robin Dion and Timothy Silman. Future briefs will focus on specific aspects of the OMI’s implementation, including its successes and challenges, and strategies used to address obstacles encountered.

To read the entire brief, follow this link.

The Miss Northwestern Scholarship Pageant

With Miss Northwestern 2009, Jordan Gaskill

I emceed the Miss Northwestern pageant this weekend. It was a blast! The contestants, volunteers, and judges were wonderful, and although I had a few less-than-articulate moments, I think the whole event was a success. A beautiful new titleholder, Jordan Gaskill, was crowned and all contestants benefited from their experience, earning cash and tuition scholarships to NWOSU and the healthy attitudes and life skills that come through competition. In addition, Miss Northwestern's Oklahoma Star was chosen from among five Miss Northwestern stars. The new Miss Northwestern Oklahoma Star is Sagelyn Budy. I also had the opportunity to share a little bit about the Mrs. International organization, my personal experience with the Miss America organization, my work with divorce support and divorce prevention, and my Mrs. International competition experience. I am also delighted to share that the little Northwestern Stars think that the Mrs. Oklahoma crown is just beautiful. Here are a few photos. I hope you enjoy them. :)

With board member Amanda Schroeder and director JoDe Bradt.
Amanda and I competed together at Mrs. Oklahoma in 2007, and
she thought of me when working with the board to decide
on a mistress of ceremonies for last night's event.

Thank you both for your hard work, energy and effort
in creating this opportunity for NWOSU women, and
thank you for including me, ladies! I'm blessed to know you. :)

An emotional moment
between executive director JoDe Bradt
and outgoing Miss Northwestern Ashlynn Frey

With Ashlynn, Miss Northwestern 2008
Such a sweet young woman and very deserving!

With Liberty Bird, one of the precious Miss Northwestern Stars

Ashlynn and Liberty

With Abbigale Hall, another beautiful Miss Northwestern Star

Congratulations to all of the contestants, all of the Northwestern Stars, to Jordan and Sagelynn, and all of the volunteers and sponsors who made last night's event a huge success!

To JoDe, Amanda, and the Miss Northwestern board,
thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.

New website design

Hello friends and family,
I just wanted to keep you up to date -- I have completely updated my website with a new design to match my blog! I hope you enjoy it!

www.SashaTownsend.com

National Wear Red Day is February 6.

Wear red

• To show your support,
  
• To honor those who have lost their lives to heart disease,
• To inspire conversation and share your story,
  
• To inspire compassion, conversation, and a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Love your heart through your choices:

• I choose to eat baked, not fried.
• I choose to be empowered.
• I choose to show my support.
  
• I choose to connect and inspire.
• I choose to move, not sit around!
• I choose to WEAR RED.

Become a You're the Cure advocate.
You can make a difference by:

• Responding to You’re the Cure Action Alerts by sending an email or making a phone call to your lawmakers asking for their support of a bill,
• Sharing your story with legislators and others to help bring the facts to life,
• Stopping by your lawmaker’s local office to deliver information about an issue,
• Attending a town hall meeting in your area,
• Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper,
• Getting friends and family involved.
  

All four of my grandparents have had problems with their hearts. Both of my grandmothers are in heaven now. Heart disease is preventable. Love your heart. Do it for the people you love, and do it for yourself.

Emceeing Miss Northwestern OSU, Thoughts on Pageantry ...

This weekend I will emcee the 2009 Miss Northwestern Oklahoma State University Pageant held in Herod Hall Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, January 31, in Alva, Oklahoma.

The director has included my biography in their press release. Click the link below to read it!
http://www.nwosu.edu/miss-northwestern-emcee

This Saturday, Miss NWOSU 2008 Michelle Bruffett will crown one lucky lady Miss Northwestern OSU 2009. Although only one woman will take home the crown (and all of its opportunities and responsibilities), I believe that all contestants will benefit from their participation. Pageantry develops interpersonal and public speaking skills. Pageantry provides extra motivation to stay healthy and fit. A pageant title opens doors for your community service efforts. The volunteers and staff of each pageant believe in the pageantry and what pageantry can do for young women, and what these young women can do for their communities through the skills they learn in competition. As an added perk, as a contestant, you make a lot of great friends! I still keep in touch with women I competed with at the state and international pageants. I have become friends with women who inspire me; To me, it doesn't get any better than that!

I am an avid supporter, even though as titleholders, we are often misunderstood. (Who can forget how Sarah Palin was made fun of?) Like one recent reporter said, I see nothing wrong with using our beauty, interpersonal skills and talent to earn scholarships and the opportunity to serve as a titleholder. And I am always amazed at the difference a year makes: Watching Kirsten Haglund as she gave up her Miss America title, I noticed the poise and confidence she gained in a year, after traveling 20,000 miles a month, speaking, teaching, and representing our pageant and our country as Miss America. She matured. She grew up. I witnessed the same increase in interpersonal competence and maturity in Oklahoma's Lauren Nelson in her year as Miss America. Kirsten also earned over $50,000 in scholarship money, and devoted a year of her life to promoting awareness of eating disorders and representing the Children's Miracle Network. It all begins at your local or state pageant. One woman will begin the journey to Miss Oklahoma America this Saturday. Who will it be? I hope you'll join me at the Herod Hall Auditorium to find out.

For more information about pageant opportunities in Oklahoma, in particular, the Mrs. Oklahoma, Miss Oklahoma, and Miss Teen Oklahoma International pageants, visit www.OKPageants.com. The International pageants are affiliated with the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement, a nationwide movement that celebrates the energy, passion, and power of women to band together and wipe out heart disease. Our pageant is different, because we don't compete in swimsuit (just fitness wear) and although we are all talented women :), there is no scored talent competition. Our state winners go on to the Mrs. International, Miss International, and Miss Teen International competitions, competing with state titleholders and titleholders representing other countries from around the world. (It is an incredible experience.) While I don't support every pageant system (I don't support pageants where children wear make-up, for example), I do support pageantry in general and hope you will get involved, as a volunteer, a contestant, a member of the audience, or pageant or contestant sponsor. If you decide to enter my state pageant, let Lauri know that I recommended you!

Being Mrs. Oklahoma has been an incredible experience and I have grown tremendously because of it; and I still have three months left! In our system, your year is what you make it. You can be as active or as inactive a titleholder as your schedule allows you, but the more active you are, the more of an impact you can make on your community and the more you can personally benefit from the program. I never want to be a titleholder whose crown and sash are on a shelf, collecting dust! I hope to see you all at the Miss NWOSU pageant this weekend and our state pageants in April!

Mrs. Oklahoma 2008 to Speak at Family Relations Conference

The Oklahoma Council on Family Relations (OCFR) will hold its 29th annual Healthy Families conference on March 6, 2009 at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma. In keeping with the conference theme and the stated motto of OCFR, Building Family Strengths, I will be leading a round table discussion entitled, "Supporting Children and Youth After Divorce." We will focus on building on current family strengths, recognizing and addressing warning signs and typical post-divorce reactions, and promoting family resiliency through individual and community support.

This year's theme is "Healthy Families: Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Wellness". The theme was selected to develop a better understanding of the various aspects of family wellness and promote resiliency within the family. The conference will pay particular attention to practices that promote physical, sexual, and emotional wellness in families with implications for research, policy, and practice. Additionally, the importance of building relationships with families through engagement, accessibility, and responsibility and the impact of this upon family wellness will be emphasized.

The conference program is designed to address a balance of academic, research, application, and policy interests with a theme that is broad enough to capture a variety of topics relating to families of all forms and family members at any age or stage.

OCFR presenters include students, instructors, researchers, family life educators, practioners, and advocates from a variety of interest areas and issues including diversity, aging, applied programs, parenting, marriage, interpersonal relationships, family development, violence and neglect, childhood and adolescence, mental health and wellbeing, professional education and development, theory, research methodology, risk and resilience, prevention and intervention strategies, and public policy.

This is a fantastic opportunity for me to present and share my opinions and research with family researchers, educators, and practitioners, who work with families year round. It could be a tough group; I know that my platform can be controversial. However, through preparation, passion, and personal experience, I feel that we will have a lively and productive discussion about how we all can better support children after divorce, and the resulting thought-provoking conversation are certainly worth it. Afterall, it all begins with people thinking differently about divorce and divorce support. The conference is cosponsored by the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative and the National Council on Family Relations.

Learn skills to help make your relationship last. Forever. For Real.

The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI) is celebrating 10 years of serving Oklahomans by offering more exciting workshops with new skills and activities for couples at all stages of their relationships. This year, the annual Forever. For Real. program will be held in Oklahoma City and Tulsa on the same day! Join us at whichever venue is closest to you! Attend the free Forever. For Real. program on Saturday, February 7, 2009 to learn simple, hands-on, fun ways to strengthen and renew your relationship. More than 165,000 Oklahomans already have experienced an OMI program, and we invite you to set aside time to focus on your own relationship.

The Oklahoma City program will be downtown at the Cox Convention Center, Saturday, February 7, 2009. Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. The Forever. For Real. program will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided. To register for the Oklahoma City program click here. For more information, please visit our website at ForeverForReal.com or contact Kristin at 877-435-8033.

The Tulsa program will be at the Tulsa Convention Center, Saturday, February 7, 2009. Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. The Forever. For Real. program will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided. To register for the Tulsa program, click here. For more information, please visit our Web site at ForeverForReal.com or contact Kristin at 877-435-8033.

And another exciting part? Engaged couples can receive a $45 discount on their marriage license by completing the “Forever. For Real.” program. Additionally, we will be giving away great prizes throughout the day!

I hope to see you there!