Michelle Bergh

Miss Amazing Pageant Volunteer 2013, 2016

I know I've enjoyed the excitement of pageantry over the years. . . being up on that stage, performing or speaking in front of a live audience, and sometimes, even the excitement of winning a crown or trophy.

But there's a group of women who often don't have a lot of opportunities to do those things. Some women have mental or other disabilities that make it difficult or impossible for them to compete equally in most pageant systems.

In Minnesota, we are fortunate to have two pageant systems that are designed just for these special young women. We have the "Miss You Can Do It" pageant and the "Miss Amazing" pageant.

I was fortunate to have the "Miss You Can Do It" winners work side-by-side with me at my 2009 Children's Talent Show/Fundraiser. Making that appearance and getting up on stage was such an important highlight of their year as Queen. I also invited the Miss Amazing titleholders to assist and make an appearance at both my 2012 and 2015 Talent Show/Fundraisers.

In February, 2013, I volunteered to assist at the "Miss Amazing" pageant. I was a "runner" for the Talent competition, so my job was to escort these amazingly talented special young women to and from the stage for their talent competition performance.

In April, 2016, I was able to volunteer again. This time, I was honored to be assigned to one awesome young contestant. I was able to spend 12 hours with her, helping her get ready for every part of the competition. In the time we were together, we bonded and became friends.

I cannot tell you how excited these young women were, and they all were simply "amazing"!

If you'd like to volunteer with them, here are the links:

http://mn.missamazing.org/

https://missyoucandoit.com/become-a-contestant/

Here are some photos from the two events.