When Genevieve Nutting started competing in pageants at the age of 16, it was a spur of the moment decision–she certainly had no idea it would change her life.

"My best friend's mom was the director of Miss Idaho's Outstanding Teen, and that year they had a contestant drop out at the last minute," recalls Genevieve. "She asked me to fill in, so I did. I played piano for my talent."

At the end of the pageant, Genevieve recalls a feeling of disappointment when she didn't make the Top 10.

"As they called the runners-up, I felt that little twinge," she admits. "I thought I might make the cut."

But Genevieve didn't anticipate that her name would be the last they called–she had won the title.

"I wanted to teach young girls to respect themselves," she says. "And I knew that if I combined the largest organization for girls in this country with the largest provider of scholarship for women, that something wonderful would happen."

She was right. As Miss Idaho and now as the $2,000 fourpoints scholarship winner, Genevieve has touched the lives of young women by channeling those four points of the crown: scholarship, success, style, and service.

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Miss South Dakota Loren Vallaincourt is passionate about spreading the word about distracted driving and reducing the number of accidents related to this phenomenon. Her efforts were recently recognized by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He personally called Loren last week to thank her for her efforts and even spoke about her work in a blog post. 

" To help spread the word in South Dakota about distracted driving, Loren has teamed up with State Farm to offer a new grant program that rewards the two South Dakota schools with the best anti-distracted driving campaigns.

But this program also has an innovative twist. From now until January 15, Loren's video diary will be posted on the State Farm Teen Driver Safety Facebook page. For every time viewers click "like" on one of Loren's diary posts, State Farm will add one dollar to the grant amount.

That's right; the amount awarded, up to $10,000, depends on the number of Facebook users who "like"Loren's entries. If that's what it takes to get America's webizens to see and hear Loren's message, I am all for it!

Congratulations, Loren! I wish you the best in next week's pageant, and I thank you for your important service," said LaHood in a recent blog post.