GIFT FROM THE HEART ~ CREATED WITH LOVE

When I decided to compete for Mrs. Oregon International 2010 the one award I wanted most, (beside the title, LOL!) was to win "People's Choice". The winner of People's Choice would be awarded a portion of the proceeds collected to give to the charity of her choice.

Now, I have moved MANY times during my lifetime along with the opportunity to travel throughout our great country, and because of this, God has blessed me with incredible, lifelong friendships. So I decided to take advantage of the wide world of cyberspace to reach out and ask for help. I wanted the opportunity to present the American Cancer Society via Relay for Life with a gift that was created through friendship and love. The responses I received from my Facebook posts were unbelievable and touching ~ I even made NEW friends through my requests!

On the night of the pageant when the winner of the People's Choice Award was announced my name was called. I was SO excited and overwhelmed with pride ~ my wish came true and I was going to be able to present OUR gift just as I had hoped!!

On the last committee meeting before our event I had the opportunity to show up in my crown and banner and tell my story of how much I wanted to win this special award. As I stood before my peers to tell them of my journey it was an emotional moment ~ I shared with them that not only did I win the crown but also People's Choice and that the gift I was about to present was made possible because of friendship and love from across the country. As I turned to present the check to our committee chairperson, who is also a survivor, I saw the tears in her eyes and how overwhelmed she was with emotion. It was a feeling like walking on air ~ together we truly can make a difference!

CELEBRATE ~ REMEMBER ~ FIGHT BACK!!

This is a heartfelt motto and one that I try to live up to each and every day.

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to help make this possible. We WILL find a cure one day!!

OH MY ~ Part II ~ WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE!

To really explain how monumental my next WONDERFUL MOMENT truly is I must start from the beginning...

Shortly after I started competing in pageantry I learned of the Mrs. Oregon Int'l pageant and how the system celebrated the accomplishments of married women and their commitment to marriage and family...SIGN ME UP!!!! I competed in the 2000 pageant, made the Top 10 and I was on my way to becoming a forever member of the Oregon International family. I competed again in 2001, did not place, but was determined that I would not let my dream of one day becoming Mrs. Oregon Int'l die.

Fast forward to 2005 ~ I feel that I am ready to achieve my goal so I entered the 2005 Mrs. Oregon Int'l pageant. Again, I did not place...again disappointed and I began to think that maybe I was not the right fit for the International system. But I knew, deep in my heart, that I WOULD be Mrs. Oregon International one day and that I couldn't give up (or age out trying, LOL!!).

Fast forwarding again to 2009 ~ I KNOW that I am ready now and entered the 2009 competition. At this point, although I want the crown (really bad!!), I want to crack the Top 5. I was named 1st Runner Up and tied for Mrs. Congeniality along with Mrs. Oregon Int'l 2009, Sandra Herder ~ I was thrilled because I finally placed!!

2010 is now upon us and I had decided not to compete this year for several reasons, or so I thought. It was 10 years and 4 tries later...yet there was something missing and with that I entered the 2010 competition at the last minute. On a beautiful April evening in Portland, Oregon I heard our MC, Laine Berry, say the words that I had dreamed of hearing for so long..."our new Mrs. Oregon 2010, is contestant number 10, Deanna Bebeau!!" OMG - I literally sank to my knees and was in a total state of shock - I have pictures to prove it!! It was like a Susan Lucci and the Daytime Emmy moment relived!!

Long winded, I know, but I also make no apologies. This is proof positive that if there is something that you want and are willing to work hard and never give up, one day you will see your dream come true!! I am STILL walking on Cloud Nine :)

With Love,

Deanna Bebeau

Mrs. Oregon International 2010

OH MY, TIME DOES FLY WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN ~ Part I

Since my post last fall SO much has happened in my life. A few changes were challenging, but the WONDERFUL things have made those challenges well worth the fight...

Last summer our youngest daughter April, suprised us with the announcement that she was joining the Army...now this is our "wild child", Daddy's little girl, and she learned to stand up for herself from her momma and big sister, Tai! How was she going to survive the Army, or better yet, how was the Army going to survive April?!? With a blink of an eye on a hot August day, our little girl was on her way to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina for basic training, but before we knew it we were on our way to Columbia to attend her graduation. The minute that I walked on to the base my eyes welled up with pride - I watched our young men and women become soldiers and I don't think that I officially stopped crying until I boarded the plane for home. As of this date our soldier is doing great and stationed back in the beautiful Northwest at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA. We are an Army family and SO PROUD!!

In November, just days short of Thanksgiving, a day that you know will come arrived. Our beloved 15 year old black Pug, Pugsley passed away. Bud and I brought Pugsley home to live with us shortly after we were married and I just couldn't imagine a world without a Pugsley. He passed while I was still at work and I was able to keep my composure, but once I got into my car to drive home the dam burst and I didn't stop crying for 3 days...poor Bud didn't know what to do so he did what loving husbands do best ~ while I was at work on the Friday after Thanksgiving, he drove 3 1/2 hours north and 3 1/2 hours south to bring me the cutest little face ever and that face belongs to Kix, our new black Pug puppy. Kix is named after my favorite entertainer, Kix Brooks from Brooks & Dunn. He is a happy boy, not so little anymore, but has snuggled his way into our hearts and bed (under the covers and all!).

HOW IS YOUR ATTITUDE?

One thing that I have learned over the years is that I am in control of my own destiny. The actual path may not be what I originally chose, but ultimately who I am and how I apply life's lessons are up to me.

I work for a growing community bank in Southern Oregon. When I started with the company almost 8 years ago, we were quite small and it was always a treat to see our president stroll through our department once or twice a day just to see how we were doing. One year he had a wonderful poster made that each one of us could take and use as we saw fit. This poster has been at my desk now for close to 4 years and I can honestly say that I take a moment to read what it says everyday. Since I haven't posted in awhile, I thought that I would share this saying and if ever your path seems to take an "off course", that you will think of this and be rest assured that you are still in control.

ATTITUDE

by Charles Swindell

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home.

The remarkable things is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.

So, my question to you - how is YOUR attitude?

CELEBRATE. REMEMBER. FIGHT BACK!!

With my mom Irene Sammons,

a two-time breast cancer survivor,

celebrating life at the annual

Relay for Life event in Medford, Oregon

May 30-31, 2009

Last weekend, at 10:00 a.m., members of the community gathered at Medford's Spiegelburg Stadium to show their ongoing support in the fight against cancer at the annual Relay for Life event. Even through extreme heat, followed by rain and "nature's firework show" ~ thunder and lightening ~ we continued to walk to find a cure!

"Celebrating 150 Years of Oregon" was this year's theme and the teams really showed their creativity. A couple of fun teams were the "Goonies", a popular movie filmed in Astoria, Oregon (and all true Goonie fans know their motto ~ "Goonies never say die!!") and the "Civil War" - for those of you unfamiliar with Oregon sports, this is the annual meeting between the University of Oregon Fighting Ducks and the Oregon State Weasels, oops - I mean Beavers (just HAD to throw that dig in for all of my Beaver friends!!). Their theme was "Divided but UNITED in finding a Cure!". My team - PremierWest Bank - was a wild west bank, complete with ponies, cowboy hats and bandannas and we were "Banking on a Cure". A HUGE shout out to everyone at PRWT for their ongoing support because we couldn't have done it without you!

Each hour we had a different theme to add to the fun and local dance, Tae Kwon Do, and Karate schools gave performances and demonstrations of their talents. DJ Troy, also a committee member, kept the beat compliments of KISS-FM.

The Survivor Ceremony began at 4:00 and as each Survivor's name was called they were presented a medal by the Oregon National Guard. After the last name was called, the Survivors gathered together on the track for their Victory Lap. The look on their faces as they walked by and saw their family, friends and members of the community cheering them on was PRICELESS!! Many are still going through treatment, and the walk is not an easy one, but it just shows the strength and determination of these courageous people and how much it needs to be celebrated!!

As the sun went down and the stars began to light the sky, candle lit luminary bags lined the track. On each bag a name was written in celebration of those who have won; in honor of those who are still fighting; and in memory of those who have lost their battle against cancer. The Luminary Ceremony is a time to reflect and to honor all of those who have been touched by this dreaded disease. A lone bagpiper walked the dark track - a tiny flicker from each bag provided the only light to guide our way - played "Amazing Grace". We followed, walking silently, reading the names on each bag and reflecting. This is one of the hardest, but most beautiful moments. I walked with my mom, who tried so hard not to show she was crying. I put my arm around her and told her it was okay.

I have a strict policy - there are no calories at Relay!! Local companies donate food or their portion of the proceeds back to Relay for Life and the "midnight soup" is so delicious!! I also look forward to the movie and this year was no disappointment! At 2:00 a.m. the screen went up and we were treated to none other than "The Goonies"!! What an awesome show for all ages!!

At 4:00 a.m. I started to see a glimmer of light and then dawn was upon us quickly. I walked from 5:00 to 5:30 and it was absolutely beautiful. After a few more hours, camp came down and we gathered for the Closing Ceremony.

Our year was a success - as of this date we raised $107,000.00 and we are so proud. I am already starting to work on ideas for 2010!! Cancer never sleeps and neither should we when it comes to our journey to FIND A CURE!!

ON THE MOVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Someone once told me that "the grass never gets green under my feet"...I am pretty sure that it meant that I am not one to sit still and watch the world go by. At least that is my interpretation and I am going to stick with it, LOL!!

Last month I felt an urge to do more - something that would help me not only promote my platform "Relay for Life" and the importance of breast cancer awareness and education ~ but also be an example that once you hit "that age" (don't you just "love" it when these two words work their way in to a diagnosis, LOL!!) LIFE AS WE KNOW IT DOES NOT END! I am now the very proud Beauties of America Oregon's 40's 2009!

I am so excited to return to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this August. Beauties of America is very dear to my heart, as I had the opportunity to meet some incredible women at this pageant - in fact two of my dearest friends, Charissa Payer and Billye Fietz are in my life because of BOA. I have several friends competing this year and I can't wait to see them again and also to give a big "Oregon Hug" to those that I will finally be meeting in person! This pageant truly does "Celebrate Beauty at Every Age" and that is a statement that each and every one of us needs to hold true to our heart no matter what your age is! But for now ~
40's Women ROCK!!!

HOW ARE YOU?

Tonight the story of Farrah Fawcett and her battle with cancer aired.

As a daughter, sister, and best friend of a loved one who has fought the battle against cancer, I am still overcome with emotion. With tears streaming down my face, I watched a woman and her family - no different than mine - face the battle of this dreadful disease. I pray for her, for her son, her family and for all of those who are fighting or have lost someone they have loved to cancer. Most of all, I pray for a cure.

In two weeks I will be walking in memory and in honor of those we have lost; who are fighting; and in celebration for those who have won the battle against cancer at the annual Relay for Life event in Medford, Oregon. I will be walking for you, because no matter who you are, each and every one of us have been, or will be, touched one way or another by this "terrorist" called cancer. I will continue to walk, advocate and speak out until I am told that a cure for cancer has been found.

God bless Farrah, my mother, my sister Janita, Tina, Billye, Charissa, you and your families... and thank you for your support.