Featuring Miss Washington Pre-Teen!

The day I was crowned was the happiest day of my life. Who would ever have imagined that I could win my first pageant. Since being crowned my life took me on an incredible journey where I have done many unimaginable things and made friends that I know I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

After being crowned I knew I wanted to accomplish big things and give back to my community. The first thing I did was work with the National Charity League at the annual Camp to Belong reuniting foster kids with their birth siblings for a single week over the summer. One of the things I did is help set up stores at the camp so that the kids could pick out and try on whatever formal outfit they wanted to wear for the final night of camp. It made me so happy to see the smiling looks on the kids faces when they put on their first ever fancy outfit.

Another thing that I did to give back to my community is I used the prize money I won to buy 20 pillows, 40 pillowcases, and 50 emergency blankets for the homeless teen shelter, Friends of Youth. I noticed when delivering the pillows that their fridge was falling apart and their shelves were held together by duct tape. I used the remainder of the money to purchase new shelves. Then after installing the shelves I wiped down their entire fridge. All the people at Friends of Youth shelter were very thankful and many of the homeless teenagers reported that they had slept better. This feedback made my heart very happy and I felt as though I had made a difference in my community and in the lives of many people.

Then it was off to Nationals where I got to spend time with my sister queen Ally.  Ever since the two of us were crowned together we quickly bonded and couldn’t wait to spend time at nationals together.  We had so much fun at the beach, in Disneyland and just having fun in all the rehearsals.  I also had the chance to spend time with all the new friends I made along the way. For the rest of my life I will carry with me the memories we made and the bonds we formed that week, as well as the excitement of getting my first ever Spirit Stick.

After Nationals, it was back to volunteering in my community.  I worked at the Issaquah Food Bank, the Eastside Baby Corner Annual Luncheon, and I continued to serve monthly meals to the homeless teens at Friends of Youth.

Now I would like to recognize some of the people that have made this amazing journey so memorable. I would like to thank my mom and dad for their constant support in everything that I do. And for giving me all the love in the world whenever I needed it. Next, I would like to thank my sister queens. Bella and Kendall, you are best little sisters anyone could ask for. Thank you for all the fun times and always making me laugh. Marianne, Ty, and Kayzin thank you so much for being such great big sisters and for always looking out for me. All of you have been such great sister queens and I have loved getting to know each of you individually. Lastly, I would like to thank all the great friends I have made along the way that I will cherish memories with for eternity. And I would especially like to thank Ella Sadler for being my best friend and Kim and Kendall Sadler for their support and advice. If it were not for them I never would have entered a pageant. Signing off I am and forever will be your 2016 Miss Washington pre-teen Kate Dixon.