Williston Herald 6.17.10

Miss N.D. is ‘grateful’

Dennison looks toward the future
Thur. June 17th, 2010

Days after the evening gown has been put away and the cheers of the crowd have become a memory, one fact remains.

Miss North Dakota has plans.

Miss Grand Forks Beth Dennison, 21, was crowned Miss North Dakota 2011 on Saturday at the Williston High School auditorium. From the moment Miss North Dakota 2010 Katie Ralston placed the sparkling crown atop her head, Dennison said she was thinking of the opportunities the state title offers.

"I just thought of how all the things I want to do are now attainable for me," she said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. She said it took a few days for the realization to sink in.

"Over the next couple of days, it's starting to feel real," she said.

Dennison said she plans to spend her year-long reign offering support to the Children's Miracle Network, the national platform for titleholders. She said she would like to work with MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, which is a Children's Miracle Network hospital, to raise money for CMN. She said she would like to use her statewide tour of schools, which begins in the fall, to create a network between classrooms and the hospital. She said the classrooms could organize fundraisers for a specific child in the hospital and would then be able to exchange letters with the patient or communicate online.

Dennison said she worked to come up with a plan that is more than a great idea but a "real, do-able plan."

Another issue close to her heart is volunteering, as evidenced by her platform "Leading by Example: A Child's Guide to Being a Volunteer." She plans to bring this message to schools across the state when she visits students.

"I've been a volunteer since I was a kid," she said. "By speaking to the kids I can make them feel empowered and challenge them to build their communities."

Dennison said she began volunteering when she was around seven. She lent a hand by helping at church. From there, she moved on to helping at nursing home residents with everyday household tasks.

"There's just so much you can do," she said.

In 2006, the spirit of volunteerism took her to Guatemala. Though the overall project was to build a women's center in San Lucas, Dennison's assistance was a bit more down to earth.

"My job was to fill up bags of dirt and move them," she said. "It was a good workout."

The image of a then-future Miss North Dakota lugging bags of dirt may be a little hard for some to imagine, but Dennison is quick to put that image into perspective.

"They see us when we're all dolled up," she said. Dennison said the woman she, and other pageant contestants, are offstage is just as important as who they are onstage.

"Through the pageant, we're doing wonderful things with our lives," she said. "A lot of us are putting ourselves through school."

Growing up, she learned the importance of hard work. College was something her family could not afford so she had to work for it. She approached the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant, her first, in the same manner. She said she looked at her first pageant as a time to "learn and grow." "I didn't think I'd win on my first try," Dennison said.

Now that she's won, she has hit the ground running. With her first week as Miss North Dakota filled with a whirlwind of interviews and public appearances. However, she spoke highly of how quickly everything seems to be happening for her.

"You only get a year with this opportunity," she said. "I don't want to waste any of it."

Dennison is looking toward the future, working to submit her head shot and talent routine for the Miss America Pageant to be held in January. She performed a contemporary dance to "Let it Be" by the Beatles. "I like the Beatles," she said of her song choice. "I love their music."

However, she said she will not be able to perform that song in the national competition and may pick something by musical artist Josh Groban.

Closer to the present, she is planning to run in "Grandma's Marathon" on Saturday in Duluth, Minn. "It will be my first full marathon," she said.

She said time management and a strong support system have helped her to achieve her goals. Dennison also thanked the community of Williston for hosting the pageant.

She also spoke highly of area businesses who supported the pageant by offering scholarships and prizes to the contestants.

"I'm very grateful," she said.