Having a platform that encourages the involvement of the mentally challenged, I take advantage of each opportunity I am given to work with them. I recently volunteered with Oak Creek Center, a local mentally challenged work center. Each client at the facility is given one of three jobs based upon their individual ability to perform the task. The clients are as diligent and persistent at completing these jobs and receiving a check as the average person is with their career. I encourage each client as they work for hours to complete their job. If I compliment their progress, their face instantly lights up and you can see the drive that each client possesses. All of the clients at Oak Creek Center have unique personalities that grow more on me each hour I spend at the center. After just one day with my particular group, I learned things from their individual ways of communicating and what made each laugh, to how they like their sandwiches cut and drinks poured. I was reminded of the impact I can make when tears fell from one client’s face as I left the center. I am looking forward to the Oak Creek Center Christmas party on the 19th, I’ll keep you posted!
Tonight I visited a private care home for the mentally challenged. My cousin, Bobbie, is one of the four girls who live here, and it is inspiring to see each of her housemates looking after one another. Bobbie is very sick and the special attention she receives from the other girls in her house is comforting. To reward Bobbie for her strength through the sickness and her housemates for their on-going support, I brought each of the girls a special Christmas bear and a candy cane full of chocolates. I will visit again soon and hope to see their Christmas sprits up! Please keep Bobbie in your prayers throughout the holidays.
My dad’s sister, Aunt Donna, has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer. She had been on remission for 22 months after surviving breast cancer, before her recent diagnoses. A group of ladies from the Lufkin Junior League decided to decorate her house from top to bottom with Christmas trees, lights, wreathes, garlands and many other holiday ornaments. The decorations lifted the sprits of the entire family and gave my Aunt Donna a holiday cheer. As I helped the Junior League put out the holiday decorations, I saw their genuine care through their efforts and my family truly appreciates their concern. Please remember her in your prayers as she fights the struggles of cancer.
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(pictured Brooks Dennard, Miss Frisco, Mayor Mike Simpson & Lea Ciskowski, Miss Teen Frisco)
On Saturday, November 10th Miss Frisco, Brooks Dennard and Miss Frisco Outstanding Teen, Lea Ciskowksi were on hand to help honor our Veterans by participating in the Frisco Community Parade.
Congressman Sam Johnson of the 3rd District of Texas served as the Grand Marshall. He is a 29 year veteran and decorated hero of the Korean War who survived 7 years in a POW camp.
The Frisco Community Parade is a long standing tradition and one that has evolved as the town has grown. Long time Frisco residents remember the annual homecoming parade as one of the big events of a small but fast growing town, where thousands of Frisco residents and families lined Main Street to honor the schools, football teams, bands and community organizations that participated. It has been a tradition that has grown each year and one that the Parade Committee wanted to make sure continued.
The Miss Plano Frisco Organization was proud to participate again this year in honoring Veteran’s Day and participating in the annual parade which was also a Salute to Our Troops.
Happy Thanksgiving
As we enter the Holiday season, I thought it would be a great time to remind everybody to remember to count your blessings. Today, I got to spend two hours visiting Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH). TCH is 
the only Children’s Miracle Network hospital in the greater Houston area, covering 19 counties. I learned today that 100% of the money raised in the Houston area goes directly to TCH and that money will support their Charity Care program for patients. TCH is located in the Houston medical center and is known for its expertise and developments in the treatment of cancer, premature infants, cardiology, diabetes, asthma, HIV/AIDS and attention-related disorders. The website for TCH is http://www.texaschildrenshospital.org./
I thought it might be fun to join their Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) family and lend a hand wherever I could. So I set up a meeti
ng with the Director of the CMN and she agreed to give me a tour of TCH and introduce me to some of her staff. We began the day by touring the floor where they keep babies ranging from various stages of being premature. Each of the babies was really tiny but still adorable. As I walked through the area, I got a chance to talk to some of the parents and they all were really thankful that their baby was alive and in the hands of such great doctors. After we finished there, I got to see the “No Pain” floor. On this floor all the long-term patients at the hospital were really thankful. On this floor, no doctors or nurses are allowed, which means no one can give you a shot! On this floor all the colors were very bright and exciting. There was a librar
y and classroom for studying, but there were also lots of playrooms so that kids could relax and just be kids even though they were in the hospital. It was so awesome to see the kids just kicking back and relaxing even though some of them were attached to the medicine poles. I hung out with them for a little while getting to meet them and sign autographs. When I left the floor, I remembered why I started volunteering in the first place. It’s the warm feeling that you get when you see the smile on someone else’s face. We finished ou
r tour by visiting one of the long term patient floors where I got to spend some time individually with some of the patients and their families. I got to talk to kids ranging from 2 to 16, all who were in various stages of treatments or recovery. I did get to see one little girl who was packing to go home. The smile on her face was a mile wide. As I increase my involvement with both Texas Children’s and the Children’s Miracle Network, I will remember to be Thankful for the things I do have and I hope to make a difference in the lives of all the children I get to meet.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day
Our Miss Teen North Texas Pageant will be held January 12th! Our sponsor for this event is Eagle U. We are excited to have Eagle U as a sponsor and encourage everyone to check out their Leadership Camps!
We are currently seeking contestants between the ages of 13 & 17 to compete for the title of Miss Teen North Texas. Click here for more details. You can also email Jan Mitchell at jan@mpfo.com.
The pageant will be held at Plano West Senior High School! Our current titleholders will emcee and entertain during the show!! What an awesome event it will be - see you there!
I have a couple of prayer requests for those of you who read the blog. 
The first is for one of my best friends, Shara, whose daddy passed away yesterday. He choked on part of his dinner at a business meeting and despite multiple tries, the Heimlich didn’t work. The ambulance took 30 minutes to come and by the time he was taken to ICU he had 1% brain activity. They made the incredibly tough decision to take him off life support last night. Shara is in my Kappa pledge class at Texas and is actually going to be my roommate next year. She is brilliant (Plan II), witty, and most of all sincere. This sudden tragedy has really shaken up all of us. Please pray for her and her family. 
Also, another close friend, Aaron, was just diagnosed with bone cancer. He’s a freshman Fiji at UT and is going to have to take off 10 weeks for chemotherapy. Athletic, smart, driven, hilarious; there is not a person I know that doesn’t love Aaron. Luckily, he is a fighter and with prayers, we know he’ll beat this. Thank you so much for keeping these wonderful people in your thoughts! - Brooks
When people ask me what is one of my greatest assets, I always answer, “My smile.” So when our Service Learning Director asked if I wanted to help with a mission to help others smile, I of course said, “Yes!” So on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, I had the privilege of volunteering with a dentistry mission in Houston at the Spring Branch Family Development Center. The mission was sponsored by the Texas Dental Association Smiles Foundation and is known as the Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM). TMOM is a large multi-day dental mission that brings hundreds of dentists, dental professionals and other volunteers from across Texas together to donate their professional services. Their goal is to relieve immediate pain and restore smiles. I joined 42 other students from Lon Morris, more than 400 dentists, and over 100 other 
volunteers from many walks of life. Over the two days we helped at least 800 people get dental work performed that was needed but they could not afford. Our job was to assist the patients in getting the paperwork filled out, walk them from station to station, keep the area clean, help to set up and tear down the tents, and my favorite part was to talk to them to get them to relax. The days were long! I had to be there by 6:30 in the morning both Friday and Saturday morning. Although it seemed as though our work was never ending, watching the patients smiling as they were leaving made it all worthwhile. When asked what my favorite part about helping these two days, my response was easy. Getting to help others feel that their smile is special and telling them as they left to "Just Keep Smiling!" 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO THE MPFO FROM TAYLOR & HER BEAGLE BOOMER!
I am happy to say that my first appearance as Miss Teen Frisco was awesome! I was invited to sing the national anthem at the Light the Night Walk in Frisco , Texas , at the beautiful Dr. Pepper Ballpark. This walk is a fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that raises funds for people with Lymphoma and Leukemia. It is very close to my heart because I have had two family friends diagnosed with these cancers. Every year, my family and friends have participated in this fundraiser and this year, I was lucky enough to not only participate, but to also begin the festivities by singing the National Anthem. 
There were so many people! I got to visit and play with the children at the "Kidz Zone" area of the park. There were crafts and games everywhere! One thing I love about being a titleholder is being able to visit with these children and having them think you are the coolest thing in the world because you have a crown on your head. They always say "Look! It’s a princess!" And sometimes I forget that I have a crown on and want to turn around and say, "A princess? Where?!" They were so sweet and ENERGETIC! It is hard to keep up with them in heels!It was a wonderul day, and a beautiful night with all of the lit balloons. I am so glad I got to share this experience with you. 
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