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Millstream
Two times a crown
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| |  | | | |  | | Elizabeth Hawthorne was crowned Miss Oakland County 2010 on July 10. Photo provided (click for larger version) |
July 21, 2010 - Former Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008 and Clarkston High School graduate Elizabeth Hawthorne brings home another crown as Miss Oakland County 2010.
"It was great being crowned because I've worked so hard for it," she said.
Hawthorne competed against seven other girls on July 10 at the Costick Activities Center in Farmington Hills. Hawthorne not only won the crown, but she also won awards for swimsuit and talent, the community service award, and the American essay.
"In all I received $2,000 in scholarships, which was very helpful for me because college is getting very expensive nowadays," said Hawthorne, who is currently attending Oakland University with a major in psychology.
Miss Oakland County is a local level of the Miss America program, which she has competed in since age 13. Next June, Hawthorne plans to go to Muskegon to compete for the Miss Michigan pageant. If she wins there, she will go on to compete for Miss America in January 2012. As Miss Oakland County, she will travel around the community and take part in many community events.
"I'm trying to get in to middle schools and high schools when school starts up again to try and talk about my platform, which is 'Best Bones Forever: Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention,'" she said. "It's very important kids learn they need to take care of themselves now because it's when their bones are developing."
She would also like to get a program in the schools where they teach students about osteoporosis, nutrition and exercise.
"I know we have a gym class, but they don't really teach us anything, they just teach us how to play sports, not everybody is really a sports buff," Hawthorne said. "I think having the nutrition and everything behind that, that will really teach the kids and teenagers what to do to take care of themselves."
She said she has a busy schedule ahead of her.
"This (past) week I was at the Farmers Festival all week in Farmington. I got to meet a lot of people. They were very, very welcoming of me being the new title holder," she said. "I'm really just trying to travel around the state, not just my community. I just really want to stress my platform, it's a big reason why I did get involved."
Other activities include going back to her hometown in Grand Haven for the Coast Guard Festival and be in the parade, as well as helping out at the Dr Pepper/Snapple event in Mount Pleasant, which is a big sponsor for the Miss Michigan organization.
"One of the other things I'll be doing is going to a lot of the other local pageants and supporting the girls, I know a lot of the other girls I compete with," she said. "It's been a long time growing up with them, so it's always exciting."
Wearing the crown and having the title of Miss Oakland County is like a job and comes with a lot of responsibility. One of which is being a positive role model, which Hawthorne says she tries to be everyday with or without a title.
To read more about her experiences and to see more pictures check out her Miss Oakland blog at http://missoaklandcounty10.blogspot.com
"This is a huge honor and it really opens up doors to meet new people and really help out in the community, that's important to me," she said. "Miss America program has changed my life and really help make me the person I am today, being able to give back just means so much to me."Trevor graduated with degrees in English and communications from Rochester College. He wrote for his college and LA View newspapers before joining The Clarkston News in May 2007.
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