Sadie Loveless’s MAO Journey

03/21/2024

YESTERDAY WAS NATIONAL POULTRY DAY AND I MISSED IT?? 🐥🐓🐔

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love chickens. From rain boots, to pajama pants, to sweatshirts, I can make entire outfits out of my chicken gear. What many don’t know is that I started my love for agriculture as a five year old when I started 4-H. I wasn’t into the arts and Girl Scouts didn’t seem right either. My involvement in 4-H lasted fifteen years where I won numerous awards, gained leadership experience, and learned to advocate for my passions. The best part about 4-H is the ability to give back as an adult. I have mentored, judged, and hosted for shows at the Ionia Free Fair where I know that it is home.

Fun Fact: in the outfit of expression category in my first ever pageant I wore my club tshirt, carried one of my trophies, and my favorite chicken Zeus on stage!

01/23/2024

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

I am so excited to share that I will be spending the summer studying abroad in Costa Rica. I will be completing three weeks of field work as a partner with Au Sable Institute, then staying for eight weeks to be an intern with the Association for Development through Education. I will be working in one of the most biodiverse hotspots of the country in between two mountains. The little town of Vara Blanca is near the San Jose airport and is home to around 200 people. During my time I will be learning about the culture and the environment, while also working with the community. My biggest ask right are for prayers for guidance, confidence, and safety during the upcoming months as I prepare for this amazing opportunity.

As a result I will not be competing this year in the Miss America Opportunity. I know I have been asked by several people why I was taking a break from competing, and I think this is why.

10/19/2023

Looking forward to getting back into pageant land this weekend! Can’t wait to take the stage again!

10/04/2023

ITS NATIONAL 4-H WEEK!

At five years old and being an only child my parents started looking for extra curricular activities I could partake in to increase my social skills. I tried sports, Girl Scouts, and dance, but none of those really stuck with me at the time. I went to the Ionia Free Fair and saw my first rabbit show and said I want to do that.

While the rabbit thing didn’t quite stick I fell in love with CHICKENS! I became the chicken queen and won first place in poultry showmanship every year from the age of nine to nineteen. Getting older meant becoming a mentor and helping younger kiddos, advocating for the club that helped spark my interest in agricultural education.

This summer I was invited back by my 4-H leaders to host the Ionia Free Fairs poultry show. I got to interact with kids who’s shoes I had been in several times before and hand out awards to those who went above and beyond! The Ionia Free Fair will always hold a special place in my heart and I will always love giving back to the community that helped shape me.

FUN FACTS!
I was in 4-H for 13 years!
I showed chickens, goats, rabbits, decorated cakes, and led a cultural club that focused on world wide poverty.
My first pageant ever had an outfit of expression category where I brought my favorite chicken Zeus on stage with me.
I am the only person to be the Ionia Free Fair Queen for two years besides the queen serving during World War 2!
My first chickens name was Tricky Chicky.

09/20/2023

Preparing for this competition last year the thought of winning seemed like a lucky chance, not an accomplishable goal. Hearing my name called still sends chills down my spine and remembering the cheers from the audience brings tears to my eyes. It isn’t easy balancing a science degree, a social life, and a job. As many people know that isn’t enough to satisfy me. Receiving this title I knew I wanted to live it out to the fullest. Who knows if they will ever receive an opportunity like this again? The opportunity to represent small town America, while also representing small town agriculture was a blessing. Thank you to my friends and family for encouraging my ambitions and supporting my accomplishments when I have myself in over my head. I truly felt that I was able to represent my hometown, my love for agriculture, and the best version of Sadie possible this year. Thank you for the memories and the success! This experience will truly be missed, but MFRH is in good hands! Signing off is Sadie Loveless, your Miss Flat River Heritage 2022!

02/25/2023

This is why I support agricultural education programs!! It isn’t about winning every gold medal and getting the highest officer position. It’s about making core memories, learning real life skills, and developing the self confidence to make a difference in the world you live in!!

In light of FFA Week, I have a confession to make. I wasn't actually very good at FFA.

I wasn't necessarily bad at FFA. But I wasn't particularly good either.

A while back, while helping a student prepare for a speaking competition, she remarked about how easy it must have been for me, back in my day. (Which I will add was not THAT long ago.)

That's a fair comment, given the fact people actually pay me to talk now.

But it wasn't true. Public speaking was my passion in FFA. But I was never great at it. I never even made it to state. Obviously, I never got to deliver that keynote on stage at convention like I dreamed about.

Another time, a student asked me about being an FFA officer. I surprised the student when I said I was, but only at the chapter level. "President then, I assume?," he responded.

Nope, not even President.

In all reality, my four years of FFA was rather unremarkable compared to many.

And that is the single greatest secret of the organization that changed my life.

You see, any organization has the power to change lives of the top few. FFA is amazing at that. I see it every time I have the privilege of working with those top kids.

But FFA has something beyond that. Something further reaching.

For every one of those top kids you see delivering a keynote, walking across a stage, giving an interview - there are a dozen more back home.

Kids back home who are quietly going about their FFA experience. Most of which, will be like mine, rather unremarkable. Yet still, their lives will be changed.

FFA supplies students with a skill set, a knowledge base, and an experience to make them country-strong and world-ready. For the top. And the middle. And even the bottom.

FFA prepares kids for success, whether they travel the country in their corduroy jacket or never leave their high school shop.

FFA, along with the advisors who selflessly lead it, has the ability to reach down to the bottom and indiscriminately pull kids up. An ability unmatched by any other organization.

FFA is life changing for the most successful. But FFA is life changing for the rest of us too.

So even though I wasn't very good at FFA, FFA was still very good to me.

Which is why this jacket will always hang in my office - as a daily reminder to when I was rather unremarkable, before FFA, and an advisor who cared, changed that forever.

02/22/2023

Although it’s only February, Miss Michigan is fast approaching! There are two ways that you can help support me in this journey! You can enter an ad and show off your business across the state of Michigan to a brand new network of people! However, if you’re not a business owner you can create an ad wishing me luck at Miss Michigan! The company designing the books does a great job working with any design, photos, or messages and can create an ad for you free of charge! I will be leaving a link where you can find all of the information to purchase an ad down below. Please send a private message or leave a comment if you have any questions!

https://missmichigan.store/products/2023-program-book-salute-advertisement

02/19/2023

12/25/2022

Happy Holidays from the Miss Flat River Heritage Scholarship Program! We hope that everyone has safe travels and enjoys spending time with their loved ones during this time of the year!