March 19, 2010

(Lake in the Hills, IL/ 3-19-2010)--On March 25, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be holding a hearing of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee to review the current classification of tanning beds.

To provide insights around the FDA’s hearing, the Melanoma Research Foundation is hosting a noon Congressional briefing on Wednesday, March 24, just one day prior to the public hearing. This briefing will discuss the controversies around indoor tanning and current research findings that are driving change.

Speaking at the briefing will be Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation and witness at the FDA hearing: David E. Fisher, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School and Erin O’Connor, Miss Illinois 2009 who lost her mother Mary O'Connor to skin cancer.

Recent research has shown that using tanning beds before age 35 increases your risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent and occasionally using tanning beds can triple your chances. In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization recently reclassified tanning devices into the highest risk category as "carcinogenic to humans."

We invite Miss O'Conner to share her story with Members of Congress and legislative staffers on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 in the Cannon House Office Building, Room 304 at 12:00 noon.

"It's important for our nation’s lawmakers to understand the devastating impact of melanoma and the dangers of indoor tanning. Sadly, Erin has experienced personal loss because of this horrible disease but as a result, she has taken up the critically important work of educating others on skin cancer prevention," said Timothy Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation. "We look forward to helping her share her story in the halls of Congress.

The Miss (Illinois Scholarship Association) is based in Lake in the Hills, IL and helps provide the young women of Illinois who compete in its local and state programs, opportunities for their personal and professional development through the organization's scholarship programs. Miss Illinois competes for the title of Miss America in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association, visit www.missillinois.org

Press Contact: Betsy McDaniel
Illinois Scholarship Association, Inc.
847-624-2236

March 16, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Illinois Scholarship Association, Inc.
Betsy McDaniel, Business Manager at 847-624-2236
Email: ilstatedir@missillinois.org

Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O'Connor rehearses with dance partner and teacher James Dutton at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Naperville. The pair will perform a tango at the Dancing with Chicago Celebrities fundraiser benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Chicago Friday. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/lifestyles/2096358,6_5_NA11_MISSILLINOIS_S1-100311.article

Rich in history and social significance, the Miss America Organization is a not-for-profit organization that has maintained tradition for many decades of empowering young women to achieve their personal and professional goals, while providing a forum in which to express their opinions, talent and intelligence.

For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association and Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O’Connor, schedule interviews or to coordinate a visit for your event, please contact Betsy McDaniel, Business Manager at 847-624-2236 or email bmcdaniel.appearances@gmail.com

February 27, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Amalia Schwerdtmann-Executive Director
Illinois Scholarship Association, Inc.
Email: ilstatedir@missillinois.org
Phone: 847-997-0294

Miss Illinois 2009, Erin O'Connor will visit the Illinois National Guard's Detachment 1, Company B, Military Intelligence, 33rd Brigade Support Troop Battalion as the unit's Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are fielded on March 3rd. The Peoria-based unit will field he UAV's, which sends brigade-level commanders real-time intelligence of ground activity and is virtually undetectable.

The flight to Camp Shelby, on board an Illinois Air National Guard C-130, is expected to depart from Peoria, IL and arrive at Bobby Chain Airfield, MS. She will then continue on to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Miss Illinois is expected to perform with Joe Cantafio and the 101st Rock Division.

Erin O'Connor became Miss Illinois in June-2009. The Illinois Scholarship Association is a State Pageant that then goes on to the Miss America Scholarship Pageant. The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement program and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women.

Miss O'Connor will travel to over 150 schools in Illinois to promote her platform "Skin Cancer Awareness and Prevention" and the State Platform of "Character Counts".

Rich in history and social significance, the Miss America Organization is a not-for-profit organization that has maintained tradition for many decades of empowering young women to achieve their personal and professional goals, while providing a forum in which to express their opinions, talent and intelligence.

For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association and Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O'Connor, schedule interviews or to coordinate a visit for your event, please contact Betsy McDaniel, Business Manager at 847-624-2236 or email bmcdaniel.appearances@gmail.com

Link to Original Story
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
www.copelink.com

Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O'Connor (pictured above, left, with CancerCare Director of Communications Jeanie M. Barnett) came out to support the "troops" for Teb's Troops' third annual 5K fundraiser on July 26 at Soldier Field in Chicago...
Read Full Story

Link to original story
Examiner.com - USA

One of many cases in point is the newly crowned Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen, Andrea Novak. She has a grade point average of 5.0 and is a consistent ... Read More

Link to original story
By Tim Kretschmann | PageantCast News Desk

One of many cases in point is the newly crowned Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen, Andrea Novak. She has a grade point average of 5.0 and is a consistent presence on the A Honor Roll at her high school in Arlington Heights. ... Read More

Issue date: 6/24/09 Publication: Western Courier Section: News

Erin O'Connor, a Western Illinois University theater-acting major and dance minor, was crowned the 2009 Miss Illinois June 20 at the Miss Illinois Pageant in St. Charles. She will advance to the Miss America Pageant, which will be televised live on Jan. 30, 2010 on TLC.

O'Connor (Evergreen Park, Ill.) was crowned the 2009 Miss Macomb on March 30. Her platform, "Take Care: Skin Cancer Education and Prevention," is dear to her heart since her mother passed away from the disease. For her talent, O'Connor danced ballet en pointe.

On Monday before the state pageant, O'Connor was presented with a key to the City of Macomb for good luck.

An American Cancer Society volunteer, O'Connor was a team captain in a Spring 2009 Relay for Life event that raised $1,500 for cancer research. She also speaks to children at area schools about skin cancer prevention.

She has performed in University Theater productions, unrehearsed Shakespeare plays through the theater department and two major dance shows each year.

O'Connor is the fourth Western Illinois University student to be named Miss Macomb and then win Miss Illinois. It has been a decade since Western's Marching Leathernecks Band Baton Twirler Amanda Meadows was crowned Miss Illinois (1999). Previous WIU Miss Macomb to Miss Illinois winners were Nancy Beaty (1977) and Carolyn Paulus Woodman (1972). Macomb High School graduating senior Kristin Castillo won the Miss Illinois title in 2001.

Erin is the daughter of Terrence O'Connor of Evergreen Park and a graduate of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. - University Relations

Link to Original Story

Issue Date: Jun 22, 2009 | Macomb, IL | Macomb Journal

Erin O'Connor, Miss Macomb 2009, has been named the new Miss Illinois. O'Connor, a 20-year-old Western Illinois University student from Evergreen Park, was crowned Saturday at the Miss Illinois Pageant, held in St. Charles.

As the new Miss Illinois, O'Connor was awarded a $10,000 scholarship.
She was also a preliminary winner in the swimwear competition on Friday and the winner of a community service award.

The service award, based on the pageant contestant's platform, comes with an additional $1,000 scholarship.

"Take Care: Skin Cancer Education and Prevention" is O"Connor's platform.

Nancy Foote, who along with her husband Bob are co-executive directors of the Miss Macomb Pageant, said O'Connor was thrilled to take the crown.

"It was a big deal," Foote said, adding that O'Connor's father, Terrence, as well as her grandfather and "a bunch of aunts and uncles" attended the pageant.

O'Connor wasn't the only big winner at the Miss Illinois Pageant. The Footes were given a special award for 50 years of service to the Miss Macomb program. O'Connor was unavailable for comment Monday.

However, she is scheduled to participate in the Heritage Days Parade Saturday morning.

O'Connor will advance to the Miss America Pageant, scheduled to be televised live Jan. 30 on TLC.

By Kevin Sherman | Kevin Sherman Photography
The top five contestants for the Miss Illinois 2009 pageant, from the left, Jamie Johnson, Rachel Brock, Corina Harwood, Chelsea Fahey and Erin O'Connor wait for the winner to be announced on Saturday night at the Norris Cultural Arts ...
Kevin Sherman Photography - http://www.kshermphoto.com/ Read Full Story

Thursday, June 25, 2009 | By Michael McGuire
Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O'Connor http://examinermike.blogspot.com/ Read Full Story

By wiunews | http://www.westernillinois.com/
Read Full Story

Publicity Contacts:
Lisa Barnes; 212/572-2014; lbarnes@randomhouse.com
Diana Franco; 212/572-2533; dfranco@randomhouse.com

Promises I Made My Mother
By Sam Haskell
With a foreword by Ray Romano

"People find it hard to believe that a guy with [Sam Haskell's] outlook and approach to life can ever make it in this business, and that's what amazes me. He did and he still does and I don't see him ever compromising who he his. … After reading [PROMISES I MADE MY MOTHER], and learning more about his life, what inspires him, the things he's accomplished, the way he did it, and the core of who he really is, I felt I needed to call my brothers and tell them something. My list of heroes has changed. I have three now." —From Ray Romano's Foreword

"What would my mother say?" As former Worldwide Head of Television for the William Morris Agency, Sam Haskell asked himself that same question more than once in his long career. Haskell has handled the hottest stars and packaged the highest-rated shows. But he didn't land those opportunities by acting like the agents we see on Entourage. His Mississippi roots—and, above all, his devoted and indomitable mother Mary—instilled in him values of faith, integrity, and honor that made this small-town boy successful beyond his wildest dreams, and still guide him to this day. In PROMISES I MADE MY MOTHER (Ballantine Hardcover; April 28, 2009), Haskell reveals how the pledge he made to his mother to live a decent life allowed him to thrive—not only as a husband and father, but in the cut-throat, shark-infested waters of Hollywood.

In amusing, affecting, and frequently warts-and-all anecdotes, Haskell chronicles his upbringing in Amory, Mississippi (pop. 7,000), weaving his mother's life lessons into the fabric of his engaging story. In these pages, you'll discover Haskell as a child, experiencing the power of hope as he waited patiently for the "Cheer Man" (a rep for the detergent company who gave ten dollars to anyone using the brand) to visit his tiny town, as advertised on TV; learning humility after losing an eighth grade "Good Citizenship" award he cockily assumed he'd win; and confronting the complications of human character when a traumatic, near fatal car crash exposed the true nature of his judgmental, unfaithful father.

In Hollywood, Haskell would rely upon honesty, self-reliance, and his mother's teachings of faith to rise swiftly from scoring a gig as a worker in the William Morris mailroom to becoming an agent and then an executive vice president. His capacities for friendship, foresight, and being "thoughtfully political" would allow him to handle client crises like Swoosie Kurtz's deal-breaking insistence on a private bathroom while shooting Sisters, to tense negotiations that nearly scuttled the last year of Everybody Loves Raymond and the entire existence of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. They also helped him breathe new life into the flagging Miss America pageant—desperately in need of a makeover when he took the reins in 2005.

At last, Mary Haskell's precept that "it takes a good parent to make a good child" would help Haskell lovingly (though not infallibly) raise his own family, and both ease and endure his mother's death from cancer. Ultimately, Haskell achieved success with self-respect, and through his story, we learn how we too can maintain our dignity and integrity when faced with life's challenges. This stirring memoir is a testament to mothers everywhere who instill in their sons the lasting values they need to become devoted fathers.

About the Author
SAM HASKELL, former Executive Vice President and Worldwide Head of Television for William Morris, was named by TV Week as one of the 25 Most Innovative and Influential People in Television. Now focused on philanthropy, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

PROMISES I MADE MY MOTHER
By Sam Haskell
A Ballantine Books Hardcover; April 28, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-345-50655-9; $24.00; 256 pp.

(St. Charles, IL / 5-12-09) --The 2009 Miss Illinois Pageant returns to the Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles, June 18-20, for three fun-filled nights of competition, as twenty-six young ladies from across the state to compete for the opportunity to represent Illinois at the 2010 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Preliminary phases of competition, including lifestyle and fitness, evening wear, talent and on-stage question, will be contested on the nights of Thursday, June 18th and Friday, June 19th. The week culminates with the coronation of the new Miss Illinois 2009 on the night of Saturday, June 20th.

The Norris Center and the city of St. Charles have proudly served as the home to the Miss Illinois Pageant for the past four years. Tickets are available by phone through the Norris Cultural Arts Center Box Office by calling (630) 584-7200 ext. 10. Special package pricing available.

# # #

The Miss Illinois Scholarship Association is a preliminary pageant in the Miss America Organization.
M.A.O. is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the M.A.O. and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance!

For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association, Miss Illinois 2008 Katie Lorenz and
the 2009 Miss Illinois Pageant or to request a copy of our Media Kit, please contact:
Amalia Schwerdtmann
Miss Illinois Executive Director
847/997-0294
ilstatedir@missillinois.org

(St. Charles, IL / 5-12-09) -- The second annual Miss Illinois Scholarship Charity golf outing will be held Saturday, June 20 during Miss Illinois week, which culminates in the crowning of the 2009 Miss Illinois Saturday evening.

The golf outing will tee off on the golf course at Pheasant Run Resort & Spa in St. Charles, where many of the Miss Illinois Week events will also be taking place. Family members and friends of Miss Illinois contestants, as well as the public-at-large, are welcome to participate in the golf outing.

Registration is $100 per person and includes golf, cart, driving range, lunch, raffle prizes, and awards for Longest Putt, Closest to the Pin, and Longest Drive. Lunch entertainment will be provided by 2008 Miss Illinois Katie Lorenz, and the 24 Miss Illinois 2009 contestants. First tee time is 8:00am; lunch and awards will be 2:30-4:00pm.

Hole sponsorships with signage are also available to businesses and individuals: Bronze level for $250; Silver level, which includes registration for two and a ¼-page ad in the Miss Illinois Program book; and Gold level at $1,000 including a foursome registration, ½-page ad in the Program book, and two tickets to the 2009 Miss Illinois Pageant Saturday evening. Diamond and Platinum sponsorships are also available.

Proceeds from the golf outing will benefit the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association, as well as the Children's Miracle Network, the official sponsor of the Miss Illinois Charity Golf Outing. To register and for more information, call or email Glenn Schwerdtmann at 847-917-9279 or gschwerdtmann@comcast.net.

The Miss Illinois Scholarship Association not-for-profit corporation is a duly-accredited state preliminary scholarship association in the Miss America organization - the world's largest provider of scholarship and cash assistance to young women.

The Miss (Illinois Scholarship Association) is based in Lake in the Hills, IL and helps provide the young women of Illinois who compete in its local and state programs, opportunities for their personal and professional development through the organization'sscholarship programs. The Children's Miracle Network is the official platform of the Miss America Organization; every state and local contestant is required to raise $100 at the local level and $250 at the state level for the charity. For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association, visit www.missillinois.org or call Executive Director Amalia Schwerdtmann, 847-997-0294.

Soundcheck: When Tours Sing the Recession Blues (May 07, 2009)
Concert pianist Jade Simmons once stood on the runway as Miss Illinois and the first runner-up to Miss America, and she's been a spokeswoman for the U.S. Labor Department's Youth Opportunity Movement. But these days she's busy ...
WNYC New York Public Radio - http://www.wnyc.org/?sourceref=rss

Springfield Moms, Dads, and Grandparents Area Family Resources for ...
By Lisa

Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen & Pre-Teen 2009 Pageant - May 24, 2009 at 2pm. The Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen & Pre-Teen Program promotes scholastic achievement, creative accomplishment, healthy living and community involvement for ... Springfield Moms, Dads, and Grandpare... - http://springfieldmoms.org

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam's homecoming event was a wonderful tribute to an outstanding young woman. The week long activities culminated in a spectacular show on Saturday evening that opened up with the video of Katie's crowning moment. The Zionsville Performing Arts Center was packed and the applause thunderous as the audience followed Katie through her victory on the big screen. Katie was greeted with a standing ovation as she took her Miss America walk on stage. She then sang the Mariah Carey ballad, "Hero."

Miss Indiana 1983 Teri Schultz yelled to the crowd, "Indiana, it's about time," then the crowd went wild with agreement.

Katie then put the Miss Indiana crown on the head of Megan Meadors. She was chosen to assume Katie's responsibilities as the state's titleholder, now that Katie will serve as Miss America 2009.

Several of Katie's 2009 Miss America Pageant sisters were also in attendance including, Miss Michigan Ashlee Baracy, Miss Utah Kayla Barclay, Miss Oklahoma Kelsey Cartwright, Miss Illinois Katie Lorenz, Miss Kentucky Emily Cox, Miss Arkansas Ashlen Batson, Miss Tennessee Ellen Carrington, Miss California Jackie Geist, Miss Florida Sierra Minott, Miss New York Leigh-Taylor Smith and Miss Iowa Olivia Myers.

MAO Chairman of the Board, Sam Haskell, III, was also in attendance to celebrate Katie's homecoming.

Co-State Executive Directors Frank Ricketts and Aren Howell did a phenomenal job planning this extraordinary event for Miss America and made her week in Indiana feel like a royal tribute!