Randy Rundle has been a fixture in Peoria area Morning Radio for over 30 years, currently serving as co-host of “The Morning Mix with Randy & Shelli,” weekdays from 5:30-9:00AM on Mix 106.9 WSWT.
Randy has served on the Board of Directors ofThe Susan G. Komen MemorialAffiliate andThe East PeoriaYouth Council, along with working on event committees forThe St. Jude MidwestAffiliate,The Center For Prevention ofAbuse, Illinois Cancer Care Foundation andThe March of Dimes. He was a member ofThe East Peoria Elementary District 86 Board of Education for 14 years, as well as a coach for East Peoria Community Baseball, Fon du Lac Park DistrictYouth Basketball, and East Peoria United Soccer. He and wife, Brenda, are parents of three grown children, and grandparents of three. Randy has been an emcee for the Miss Peoria Metro Organization since our inaugural competition in 2013. We are thrilled to have him rejoin us as we bring this competition back to the Peoria area!
Cali Mandrell grew up on a farm in Central Illinois. Dirt bike riding, a passion for horses, her love for all things farming and hunting began here at a very young age.Aside from spending time outdoors, she started tumbling and competitive cheerleading at the age of 6 and continued that until graduating high school in 2015. She also held the title of Little Miss Marigold!Throughout high school, she was an active member in her FFA chapter. In 2015, she was awarded her State FFADegree and shortly after, began her journey to a career inAgriculture.Today, she is a proud member of the “Women Changing the Face ofAgriculture” project, Masters of BeefAdvocacy, and a sales employee at Precision Planting. She is one of many proud woman in a male dominated industry setting the stage for other women to follow their dreams and passions no matter where they might take you. She truly enjoy being a part of something much larger than herself and empowering other women to strive for greatness.
Our second judge of the evening is Susan Downer. Susan and her husband, Jeff, love to camp and travel year round.They also enjoy sightseeing, and riding their CanAm through the hills of the Ozarks. When she’s not doing all of that, she treasures her time with her family. Susan has spent her professional career as an entrepreneur focusing on wellness, marketing, and communication. Her volunteer experience includes tutoring for theAdult Literacy Program through the Pekin Public Library, Director of Illinois River Valley Special Recreation Association and Illinois Special Olympics. She also founded and directed Senior Olympics of Central Illinois for many years. Susan enjoyed more than five years as a public education speaker for the American Red Cross with a focus on saving the lives of the recipients, because she is one of the lives saved by blood donors.
Deanne Mott holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Western Illinois University and a master's degree in interpersonal communication from University of Illinois Springfield. She has worked in higher education for over 20 years and is currently theAssociate Director of Heartland Community College Lincoln. Deanne also serves as the vice president of the Mount Pulaski school board and is on the board for the Land of Lincoln CEO program.
She and her husband, Ryan, reside in central Illinois and have raised five children, four of whom are currently in college. When Deanne isn't making a renovation to their 125+ year old farmhouse, she is likely traveling. She is a former county fair queen and was a director in that system for over a decade. Deanne is passionate about orphan care, having served children in short-term missions in multiple counties.Africa holds a special place in her heart as she has visited the continent seven times and three of her children were born in the beautiful country of Ethiopia.
Ciara Hamende was born and raised in Watseka, ILand currently resides in East Peoria, IL. Ciara is formally trained in multiple genres of dance and has worked as a professional choreographer since 2008. She currently owns and directs Under the Spotlight Dance Company in Washington, IL. Under the Spotlight has been under her direction for 10 years and is both a recreational and competitive studio. Ciara is passionate about inspiring the love of fine arts; especially dance, for all her students. She has been presented choreography, technique, concept, costume, and multiple judges’awards during her career. Her 2022 CompetitionTeam was named the Regional Champions for Nexstar Dance Competition. When she’s not in the studio, Ciara enjoys the outdoors and going on hikes with her rescue pup, Sally.
We are honored to have Rebecca Williams as our head judge tonight! Rebekah is a Mortgage Banker at Flat Branch Home Loans. She loves to empower homeowners and home purchasers with mortgage loan products to achieve their financial objectives. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Communications from Bradley University in 2016. She is involved in Junior League of Peoria, Women in Leadership and Young Professionals of Greater Peoria. Rebekah has an extensive background in the performing arts having trained with Mary Price Boday up until its closure. One of her greatest achievements while studying with Mary was performing as Clara in the Nutcracker two years in a row.
The MissAmerica Organization holds near and dear to Rebekah’s heart, having participated throughout her high school career and earning the title of Miss Chicago’s OutstandingTeen. She has a passion for empowering young women both in the workforce and in personal development.
What a lifechanging year this has been. On a whim, I signed up to join the MissAmerica Organization. I always wanted to, but never had the courage.
I emailed Kaitlyn probably close to 30 times from the moment I signed up to compete (only 4 weeks before the competition) to the day before the competition. She went above and beyond to answer any and all questions I had about MissAmerica.
Little did I know how much my life would change in such a short period of time. Since becoming Miss Central Illinois, I donated thousands of gifts to dialysis patients in central Illinois, developed a partnership with the Secretary of State’s office, created a seminar series on organ donation, registered hundreds as an organ donor, and worked tirelessly to better myself with various forms of community service. Now, a year later, I could not imagine my life without MissAmerica.
Kari and Kaitlyn, thank you for introducing me to MissAmerica.Thank you for the support, guidance, memories, and numerous texts, phone calls, and Facetimes which allowed me to thrive in this organization.You both helped ignite the flame within me to now live my social impact. I cannot thank you both enough for all the sacrifices, late nights, and unending love and encouragement.
Ben, thank you for everything. I mean everything. Helping me with daily interview questions, talent rehearsals, going to every dress store, putting together donations for dialysis patients, and proofreading every paper.You invested so much time and love into me this past year. I’m glad I can now trust your opinion if a dress looks good or to tell me if my hair is in my face during a photo.Thank you.
To my sister queens and Miss Illinois class, I am in awe of the talented, powerful, and kind women I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with this year. I am elated to see where you go in life and know I will always be in your corner.Maddilyn, Brielle, Nora, Sierra, and Hannah – the memories and friendship we created will last a lifetime. I will always be here to support and love you.
To my parents, family, friends, students, and community, thank you for supporting and believing in me. This journey seemed surreal from start to finish. I could not have done it alone without you all.Aspecial shoutout to my Dad who flew to MissAmerica to watch me preform in theTalent Showcase and then proceeded to watch the NFLgame on his phone while Grace Stanke was crowned MissAmerica a few feet away (I was positive he would be a meme on the internet after that).
Grandma Pat, you are crazy. I love you a lot, but you are crazy.This year has confirmed it.Thank you for going to everything. Flying out to watch MissAmerica with me, bringing an entire fan section to every event, and calling me after each local competition I watched to find out who won.You were not just my biggest fan, but the biggest fan of all my Miss Illinois sisters. Especially,Ariyana White who has secured a spot in my Grandma’s heart forever.
Giving up my first job in the MissAmerica Organization as Miss Central Illinois was harder than I ever imagined. Representing my community was the biggest blessing and I will forever be thankful for all the sacrifices made which allowed me to represent the MissAmerica Organization while advocating for organ donation. Even though my journey as Miss Central Illinois ends, I am thankful to be able to continually advocate for organ donation and also continue in the MissAmerica Organization as Miss Quad Cities 2023.To the next women who receives the job of a lifetime as Miss Central Illinois, you are in for the ride of your life with an amazing team. I am excited to pass on this job to another incredibly deserving, powerful, and ambitious women.
For the last time, your Miss Central Illinois 2022, JessicaTilton
Hello everyone, my name is Hannah Hill, and I am your forever 2022 Miss Peoria Metro. I would like to just take a moment to thank and appreciate a few people in my life that made my year so special!
To my Miss Peoria Metro’s Princess Maddilyn, you are such a superstar. Having my sister on stage while I competed for the job of Miss Illinois was beyond amazing. I am so proud of you, you will make a great queen someday little princess! I love you more than you know.
To my parents, brother Drew, and grandparents, thank you guys for being so supportive of me through all of my pageant endeavors.Team Hannah is by far the best team around. Thank you for always putting up with this queen-sized attitude!
To Kaitlyn and Kari, thank you guys for being such great directors during this past year! Your help was much appreciated at state, I couldn’t have done it without you guys! I wish you guys the best, and I hope to keep in touch of course!
To my sister queens, it has been amazing to watch you guys grow over this past year. I wish you all success and happiness, and best wishes to those of you with new titles!
To the contestants and next Miss Peoria Metro, best wishes to all of you.You will all sparkle out on that stage, I am sure! I know whoever is chosen will represent beautifully. Goodluck at Miss Illinois, I know you will make us all proud!
I had such a blast competing at Miss Illinois, and I am so thankful for the opportunity through the Miss Peoria Metro Organization.The scholarships provided through the Miss America Organization have made my future possible, along with the futures of hundreds of other powerful ladies!As for me and my future, I am currently in medical school at the American University ofAntigua College of Medicine and plan to continue my journey here so that someday, I can be Dr. Hannah Hill!
Thank you all so much for your continued support of the Miss Peoria Metro Organization. Your support helps all of us continue our education to make our futures brighter.
Finally, the words we all have to say to end our reigns. My name is Hannah Hill, I am and forever will be your 2022 Miss Peoria Metro.
