Miss Orem Maddie Millard to relinquish crown Saturday

May 15, 2015 8:49 am  •  

OREM – Maddie Millard, the current Miss Orem, will relinquish her crown to one of 11 contestants this weekend as the Miss Orem and Miss Orem Teen Scholarship Pageant celebrates its 76th anniversary.

There are three contestants eyeing the Miss Orem Teen title.

The Miss Orem winner will compete in the June 2016 Miss Utah Competition. If Miss Orem takes the Utah Crown she will compete in the 2017 Miss America Scholarship Pageant.

Miss Orem contestants will be reviewed by five judges in the following competition categories and scored: private interview, 25 percent or total score; talent, 35 percent; evening wear, 20 percent; on-stage question, 5 percent; swimsuit, 15 percent.

Miss Orem Teen contestants are scored in four areas of competition including: private interview, 35 percent; talent, 35 percent; evening wear, 20 percent; and lifestyle and fitness, 10 percent.

Daily Herald reporter Genelle Pugmire can contacted at gpugmire@heraldextra.com, (801)344-2910, Twitter @gpugmire

 http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/miss-orem-maddie-millard-to-relinquish-crown-saturday/article_ef65751d-5270-5883-afb9-336088ed0878.html

NOV
20

Lights On and the Gift of Service

Last night the City held the fifth annual “Lights On!” celebration at the Orem City Center.  I was pleased to joinmembers of our community as we listened to performances by the Cascade Elementary Children’s Choir and sang Christmas carols together. We also heard a performance by Miss Orem and Miss Orem Teen and met mascots from UVU, the Orem Owlz, and the SCERA Theatre.

As part of the celebration, children in our community pledged to complete an act of service for someone in need. Then two children were selected to officially flip the switch to turn on the Christmas lights on the City Center grounds. It was great to see their faces light up with excitement as the lights turned on.

It is always a pleasure to rub shoulders with members of our community.  Thank you to those who dedicated their time and energy to make sure this event was a success. I hope that all of us in Orem, regardless of age, will feel the spirit of giving and look for opportunities to serve during this holiday season.









































Miss Davis County Kara Arnold claims Miss Utah 2012 title

Published: Saturday, June 16 2012 10:04 p.m. MDT

Miss Davis County Kara Arnold from Bountiful was crowned the new Miss Utah 2012 at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City Saturday night, winning the title after a week of competition involving 44 girls from across the state of Utah. (Chad Braithwaite) Miss Davis County Kara Arnold from Bountiful was crowned the new Miss Utah 2012 at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City Saturday night, winning the title after a week of competition involving 44 girls from across the state of Utah. (Chad Braithwaite)

Miss Davis County Kara Arnold will be putting medical school at the University of Utah on hold for a year, after walking away from the Miss Utah 2012 pageant Saturday night with a new crown and a new title.

Arnold was named along with nine other finalists at the beginning of competition Saturday, as the original field of 44 contestants from across Utah was cut down to 10 following a week of preliminary competitions at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City.

In addition to Arnold, the other top five finalists in the pageant included Miss Pleasant Grove Lea Wride, fourth runner-up; Miss Orem Hannah Harkness, third runner-up; Miss Pioneer Valley Ciera Pekarcik, second runner-up and Miss Duchesne County Brittani Reinhardt, first runner-up.

The top ten finalists named Saturday night also included Miss Nebo Rebecca Johnson, Miss Draper Brooke Lavery, Miss Cache Valley Lindsey Lopez, Miss Sandy Vanessa Watson, and Miss Washington County Krissia Beatty.

The 44 Miss Utah contestants await preliminary awards, Wednesday June 13, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite) The 44 Miss Utah contestants await preliminary awards, Wednesday June 13, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite)

Arnold, who recently graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in biochemistry, will represent Utah throughout the year and at the Miss America pageant in January 2013. She will also receive a $10,000 scholarship, serve as a representative of the Children's Miracle Network, and promote her personal platform, "Discover Your Potential — Step Up with STEM." STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and Arnold's platform focuses on encouraging women to explore opportunities in those fields.

Putting her schooling on hold for a year will be worth the chance to have the Miss Utah title, Arnold said Saturday night during the competition.

"Both experiences I know will be amazing," she said. "There are so many reasons why Miss Utah will prepare me to be a better physician in the future."

The five semi-finalists at the pageant each received a $600 scholarship, while the fourth runner-up also received a $600 scholarship, the third runner-up an $800 scholarship, the second runner-up a $1,500 scholarship and the first runner-up a $3,000 scholarship. In total, more than $170,000 worth of scholarship money and awards were given Saturday.

Kara Arnold, the new Miss Utah 2012, performs her talent number during a preliminary competition, Wednesday June 13, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite) Kara Arnold, the new Miss Utah 2012, performs her talent number during a preliminary competition, Wednesday June 13, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite)

Additionally, the 44 competitors at the Miss Utah pageant raised $39,000 and dedicated 876 hours of service to the Children's Miracle Network during their time as titleholders. The Miss America Organization, which adopted the Children's Miracle Network as its national platform in 2007, has helped to raise more than $7 million for the charity since the beginning of January, and more than $54 million since its formal adoption.

Other awards given Saturday night included an award for the contestant who raised the most money for the Children's Miracle Network, which went to Jessica Francis. The community service award went to Lea Wride, while the Miss America Academic Scholarship award went to the new Miss Utah Kara Arnold. The People's Choice award was given to Alexandria Murrillo, the Spirit of Miss Utah award to Heather Marie Bolz and the Glenn Harmon Instrumentalist Award to Hannah Harkness and Rebecca Johnson.

Miss Davis County Kara Arnold is crowned Miss Utah 2012, June 16, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite) Miss Davis County Kara Arnold is crowned Miss Utah 2012, June 16, 2012. (Chad Braithwaite)

Preliminary award winners included Brooke Lavery, Brooke Christensen, and Brittani Reinhardt in Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimwear, as well as Kara Arnold, Hannah Harkness and Lea Wride in talent.

Urban Talent Agency also sponsored awards this year, giving winners a chance to audition for top agencies in the U.S. Alisha Lee, Miss UVU; Ciera Pekarcik, Miss Pioneer Valley and Brooke Christensen, Miss Rocky Mountain, claimed these awards in the areas of vocal performance, dance performance and modeling.

The Sadie Huish Memorial Scholarship for community service was given to Vanessa Watson, Miss Sandy.

Copyright 2012, Deseret News Publishing Company

 



Now I Can expands to serve more patients

Now I Can expands to serve more patients

Sergio Orozco, Nicholas Wood, Miss Orem Hannah Harkness, Dresden Sanft, Emilee Barker, and Britton Buckingham cut the ribbon for the Now I Can Foundation's new facility in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Now I Can specializes in intensive physical therapy for children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald


PROVO -- The Now I Can foundation has been open in Provo for nearly seven years helping children with cerebral palsy or other neuromuscular disorders, but on Tuesday it held its first ribbon-cutting ceremony. The event was held to celebrate Now I Can opening a third training gym.

The new gym will allow the foundation to see two more full-time patients every day, meaning the wait list for treatment will be much shorter.

"Because the therapy is so customized and we have kids there for so long we have only been able to see four full-time patients a day," founder Tracey Christensen said. "With just one more gym we can do so much more."

Patients at Now I Can do therapy in three- or four-week sessions, four hours a day, five days a week. Christensen says the wait list for treatment has been up to six months long in the past.

In addition to debuting the new therapy gym, Now I Can also celebrated the naming of its three gyms after its biggest sponsors, Zions Bank, Little Heroes and Xlear.

At the ceremony Zions Bank and Little Heroes donated a combined $35,000 to Now I Can.

"It was great timing to be able to name our gyms after some of our biggest donors because it is important to let the community know that they are businesses that give freely," Christensen said. "All the money goes toward helping families who can't afford treatment. There are many families who don't have the insurance to get therapy but because we have the funds so many more people are able to come and get the therapy they need."

Blaine Yates with Xlear says his group has been donating to Now I Can since he met Christensen a few years ago and learned what Now I Can was all about.

"We are very excited about today and the expanded facilities," Yates said. "We are excited to be able to help get more kids in therapy when they might not have been able to get it by themselves."

Therapists at Now I Can say all the patients get two people dedicated to them the entire time they are in therapy, making the addition of a new training gym and therapist a big deal for those waiting to get treatment.

"The kids work so hard and can achieve way more than with traditional therapy," said Natalie Walker, physical therapy assistant. "Being able to bring in more patients to go from using a walker to using crutches and just help them make that progress is a big deal."

Sarah Wood's son Nicholas has cerebral palsy and is in his third week of therapy with Now I Can. He got to assist with the ribbon cutting. She says being able to see so much support for the foundation is great, especially for families struggling to pay for therapy.

"It is a lot of money and that is a big sacrifice for families to make and to know it is going to be eased a little bit because of these people is great," Wood said. "The hope Now I Can has given us just makes our future so much brighter."



Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/science/health-med-fit/health/now-i-can-expands-to-serve-more-patients/article_6e46f85f-9e41-566e-9c75-2889624bbf09.html#ixzz1m2SoiCbU





Chamber of commerce honors late Orem mayor

Chamber of commerce honors late Orem mayor

Miss Orem, Hannah Harkness, provides a musical interlude at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce 2011 Senatory Arthur V. Watkins Awards ceremony at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. This year's lifetime achievement award was given to Orem's late Mayor Jerry Washburn and accepted by his wife, Betty Wasbburn. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald



Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/chamber-of-commerce-honors-late-orem-mayor/image_629a6c1d-5a35-5004-a984-da8b4b2d1f5a.html#ixzz1m2RuMbjv

Parade kicks off Pioneer Day celebrations

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – Pioneer Day celebrations started early Monday morning for the Days of ’47 Parade. After months of preparation, the state’s oldest parade marched through downtown Salt Lake City.

Bands, floats, royalty; the parade were covered at this year’s Days of ’47 Parade.

Hannah Harkness, Miss Orem, talked to ABC4 about her job in the parade. Miss Orem said, “We got up early this morning and we've just been seeing the floats.”

An early, or maybe late Sunday, start for everyone in this year’s parade.

For those in the parade, this was the time to put all of their work on display. The Wilford Stake spent months and thousands of hours to get their float ready. They took their namesake and an original Utah pioneer to become the theme of their float.

A perfect example of how this parade, remembers our state’s heritage and looks to the future, celebrating Pioneer Day in Utah.

(Watch the video- you will see the Miss Orem Royalty twirling on the float.)

Photo taken by the Daily Herald. Orem's Float in the Provo Grand Parade (2011)