Miss America 1995

Remember Miss America 1995?

We were privileged to hear Heather Whitestone McCallum speak at the OK State Farm Bureau Vespers service last Sunday morning.  As most of you know we represented Muskogee County Farm Bureau as the Farm Family.  We did not win the state contest, nor did we expect to, but the experience of listening to Heather was well worth the time.  Heather is an amazing woman.  She is very gracious and her love for the Lord radiates.  She shared about her deafness and childhood.  Her mother, Daphne Gray was the driving force behind Heather learning to speak instead of learning sign language as a child. Heather also loves ballet.  If you watched the Miss America contest in 1995, you may remember her stunning performance.  Prior to Heather speaking, a video was shown of parts of the pageant.  Her ballet performance was flawless.  I was so struck with her determination when she told us how she was able to dance without hearing the music......think about that....she performed without missing a beat.  At the time she only had minimal hearing in one ear.   She shared that she memorized the beat of the music with the faint sound she could hear.  That is just incredible to me.  It took a couple of months to master the music in her head.   She was not about beauty contests, but rather she had a desire to achieve and get an education.  She was able to do that and more due to the money received from the Miss America pageant.

Heather now has three sons and is married to a former Congressional aide.  She has overcome tremendous obstacles. She recently returned from Afghanistan where she and five other former Miss Americas went to visit the troops.  She said, "God is working in the hearts of our troops."

David and I were able to speak personally with her briefly.  We were waiting for our pickup on the curb of the hotel and she was standing right beside us....she had changed into her jeans....looking very common and I was not sure it was her.  David approached her to confirm it really was her and when I walked up she gave me a very sweet hug.  She is one of those people you just feel like you have known her forever.  Heather really is an  amazing young woman.