I Love Kids!

Hello all! A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I went to the Tumwater Boys and Girls Club again. I love going there and having the opportunity to educate kids and be a positive role model for them. We had a talk about Diabetes, which was an interesting conversation to have with a bunch of 5-12 year olds. They were very enthusiastic and had tons of questions and really contributed a lot of insight to the lesson. The funniest thing happened. The kids really wanted me to sing and so I sang a song for them, then they wanted me to sing like 5 other songs, then when it was time for me to leave they begged their Girl Scout leader to let me stay for their meeting. We had a fun singing competition where all the girls got to show their talent. Then we colored tickets to Hollywood and gave them to each other! :)



I went to the Miss Auburn pageant, which was a very fun night. The Miss Auburn pageant is the largest local competition in the Miss America Organization. There were 21 contestants! I had a lot of fun visiting with the other local title-holders. It was especially funny when the curtain fell on Miss Washington! I love watching pageants and it always touches me somewhere special when I see the crowning of that lucky girl!





This last weekend I had the honor of being a reader for the Lacey Loves to Read program. I was able to travel to 2 elementary schools and read the preschool class a story. Thank you Susan Joy at Pleasant Glade Elementary and Marie Koehler at Faith Lutheran for allowing me to come to your classroom. Your students were a pleasure to read to.



I am so excited for the next upcoming events and can’t wait to tell you all about it! Check out missthurstoncounty.com to view the appearance calendar.

Until next time,
Sharise Nicole Williams
Miss Thurston County 2008

pictures from vegas

we can share a crown!




team Janet



my mom

Vegas! My weekend getaway!

Greetings from the fabulous Las Vegas Nevada, home of the King, the overuse of sequins and the Miss America Pageant! Yes I am in Vegas just winding up my weekend adventure at Miss America and it has been a blast. But before I went to Miss America, I had a couple appearances that I’d love to tell you about.
I visited the Boys and Girls club twice in the past couple of weeks. They were nice enough to allow me to run the Healthy Habits program with the kids. I was really excited to do the Healthy Habits workshop because I could relate it to my platform “Diabetes Awareness”. I am always trying to find ways to educate the younger generation about this topic. The first day I made a power point with the kids about how “being healthy is being happy” and then the next week I shared with them my famous “sugar-less taste test” with cranberry juice. Each day ended with an insane autograph session and photos. Those kids were so full of character and such a joy to hang out with. I’m really glad that there are after school programs like the Boys and Girls Club that allow kids to play but it also takes learning outside of the classroom.




I also went to the Miss Kitsap/Poulsbo pageant a couple weeks ago. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures but congrats to Heidi Nicks and Hannah Orando I look forward to running with you at miss Washington in July.
This weekend I spent in Las Vegas so I could support one of my favorite people in the world, our reigning Miss Washington, Janet Harding, as she competed for the title of Miss America. Although she did not come out with a new title, I am sure that our state is glad to have her back as a representative of our wonderful state. She did wonderful and I am so proud of her along with the many that came near and far to see her and those supporting from home.
My trip was the best I could ask for. I got to spend the weekend with my 2nd runner up at Miss Thurston, Brooklynne Adams. My roommates from college also were here to share this moment with me. I was blessed to be around Miss Washington supporters, directors, family and friends. But most of all I got to spend time with my mother, who lives here in Las Vegas and was so gracious to give my friends and I a place to stay this weekend.
I fly home today. I will be sad that my stay was so short, but I’ll be glad to be home in my peaceful surroundings. Vegas isn’t the place for me to live, but I would visit anytime!
Until next time,
Sharise Nicole Williams
Miss Thurston County

So winter break is over and I’m back at school. I had my first class of the quarter today, Humanities and Expressive Art. I had one event before I went back to school and that was the Miss Washington Fashion show. I got to spent the day with Wendi, my wonderful director. The theme was “Shoe-la-la” and it was very entertaining and a lot of fun. At the fashion show we were given the opportunity to view Miss Washington’s wardrobe before she heads to Vegas to compete at the Miss America pageant. Miss Washington, Janet Harding’s wardrobe is to die for! Make sure you tune in to watch the Miss America Pageant on January 24 on TLC to see for yourself. I personally will be in Vegas watching the excitement for myself!

Wendi & I

with Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen, Tori Knight


Now I get to focus on school, but don’t worry I will be back in Thurston County every weekend for the next couple months! I’ll be super busy but I am so excited for everything! Be sure to check the calendar on missthurstoncounty.com for upcoming events!

Merry Christmas Thurston County!

Hi all! Sorry it has taken me some time to post. I have been so busy these past few weeks, working and preparing for Christmas. And the snow! Oh my! Has it been crazy! I live in Yelm and I have been driving 45 minutes in the snow to work at the Olympia Grocery Outlet. I really love working there and the owners, Russ and Cyndi are so gracious letting me come back and work while I am on break. You should go there and snatch up some bargains! :) Thank you Russ and Cyndi for being so supportive of my endeavors in school, work and as Miss Thurston County!
A couple weeks ago I was delighted to be given the opportunity to be a part of the Tumwater Tree Lighting. It was an honor to meet the mayor of Tumwater, Ralph Osgood, who later in the day let me flip the switch to light the tree. I spent the day being co-emcee and announcing the musical performances and drawing raffle ticket winners. I even got to sign autographs with my new signature cards!





Last Monday I went to Yelm High School, the school I graduated from, and talked to the health classes about my platform, Diabetes Awareness. Thank you very much Mr. Clinton and Miss. King-Taylor for allowing me to speak to every period that day. It was really refreshing to be able to talk to high school students about my platform that I care about a lot. My little sister, Alicia was in two of the classes I spoke with. They asked a lot of fun questions, it was almost like I was in my pageant interview all over again! I learned from this appearance that I really like to do public speaking. I learned about relating my platform to different age groups. It was a really invigorating experience and I am grateful I had this opportunity to raise awareness of Diabetes in my community.
Due to the snow I hadn’t had any other events, but I did get teeth whitening from a sponsor of the program! Thanks Dr. Bailey!
It’s nice to have some time off on this Christmas Day. The snow is sadly melting, but at least people are able to revert back to normal and travel wherever life may take them. Merry Christmas! Check out this beautiful necklace my sister gave me!! It love love love it!!! Best Christmas present!

Home for the holidays

Part of what excites me the most about being Miss Thurston County is appearances around the Christmas season. It is a season of giving, friendship and community. I love being around community members when there is so much love in the air. The decorated trees and bright lights are enough to bring smiles to these events that I have attended.
On Thanksgiving I attended the Christmas Forest at the Red Lion Hotel. The people at the St. Providence hospital did a wonderful job at putting together this event. At Christmas Forest there was a display of beautiful and inventively decorated trees. There was a masquerade tree, a princess tree, a sports tree, even an upside down tree. I also came to this event on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and painted children’s faces and did crafts with them. I had a great time with my little sister, Alicia who was my travel companion for this event. She is 16 and just got her license. It was cool riding in the passenger seat after all those years of driving her around.
In the passenger seat!
That Sunday I participated in the Olympia holiday parade. Although the weather was on the verge of rain and in the height of cold, it was a lot of fun. I got to ride in a new Mustang convertible GT with my pageant little sister, Mikael. It was so new it only had 20 miles on it when we got it. Thanks All-star Ford for lending it to us. We rode with the top down through downtown Olympia during the parade. I even recognized some of the kids in the audience whose faces I painted at the Christmas Forest kid’s day.


Mikael and I at the parade
The following Thursday I was honored to be a special guest at the Lacey Tree lighting ceremony. As a co-emcee I announced the arrival of Santa after the trees in Huntamer Park were lit. I was amused as I sat next to Santa as eager children came and sat on his lap.
Friday was the Panowics Jeweler’s “Men’s Night Out” which featured raffle prizes for men to get their significant others a wonderful Christmas present and enjoy some good food. I was able to be there to chat with the guests. I also picked the lucky winner of the raffle every hour. I greeted at the door with a few of the girls on the Tumwater dance team. They were a lot of fun and I enjoyed laughing with them. I wish them all luck as they compete in the state and national dance competitions.
Finally on that Saturday I got to be in the Yelm Christmas in the park parade. This event was particularly special because it is my hometown. Going through the parade and having my school friends, teachers, coaches and various community members waving and yelling my name made me realize what I love about the small city of Yelm. At the awards ceremony after the parade there was an intense surprise that I was so not expecting! As the mayor of Yelm, Ron Harding called me to the front of the audience, I was taken aback that he was presenting me with “Sharise Williams day” haha! Thank you city of Yelm for this extreme honor!
More pictures soon!!!!

Community Commuter

What an amazing, eventful, couple weeks it has been! As a student at Western Washington University student I am constantly on the 3 hour commute from Bellingham to Thurston County. It is so worth it to drive 150 miles to see my family and to serve the community that I love. I estimate about 6,000 miles on my car before the end of my year-of-service.

Last Friday 11/7 I had an appearance at the Boys and Girls club “Born to Be Wild” auction. The special guests were from our local Harley Davidson. I enjoyed a night of fun and excitement while the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County was able to raise $350,000 at the auction. Thanks Kristen for being my travel companion.

Last Saturday morning 11/8 I met Wendi at the Bridal Boutique in Tumwater. Omayra’s shop is beautiful and it had a plethora of beautiful dresses one of which she was gracious enough to give to me as the new Miss Thurston County. Thank you so much for the beautiful red dress!

That Saturday evening was the Miss Seattle pageant. This was the first pageant I visited as Miss Thurston County. I got to visit with some of the other local title holders and the lovely Miss Washington, Janet Harding. The show was fun to watch. Congratulations Devanni Partridge, the new Miss Seattle! I had a lot of fun with my chaperones, Trish and Alice, and Trish’s beautiful daughter Kylie. Thanks for keeping me laughing and for the Mexican food!


After a week of school and hard work I made it back on Friday 11/14 afternoon to meet with the Monica and Jesse at the Boys and Girls Club. I am so excited to start my 4 week program for promoting healthy habits, in January.

Saturday was a busy day volunteering for Operation Homefront. I spent all day stuffing stockings with goodies for our wounded soldiers. And when we ran out of stuff, A couple nice volunteers Valerie, Jenn, my chaperone Teressa and I went shopping to get some more! It was so nice to see all the people that showed up to help and support our troops.

Sunday morning I met Wendi, my director, for coffee. It was really nice to get to see her and tell her about my experiences. She gave me some good advice and we were able to talk about ideas. We then rode together to Jodie's house. Jodie is a Mary Kay representave that opened her home to Wendi and I so i could receive a gift of $500 in Mary Kay beauty products. Thank you so much Jodie!


I’ll be back to Bellingham shortly, counting down the days till I get to come home for winter break. I am awaiting all the fun times I will have during this holiday season.

Were all from Bellingham! Miss Thurston County, Miss Washington, Miss Whatcom County

Until next time,

-Sharise Williams
Miss Thurston County 2008