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Congratulations to Miss America 2019 and National Goodwill Ambassador for CMN Hospitals, Nia Franklin!

It’s that time of year again when we welcome a new Miss America to the CMN Hospitals team! We’re thrilled to congratulate Nia Franklin, Miss America 2019 as she takes on the role of National Goodwill Ambassador for CMN Hospitals. CMN Hospitals has been the official platform partner of Miss America since 2007 and Nia will continue that legacy as she visits many of our members hospitals and corporate partner events during her tenure.

A little bit about Nia: She is a native of North Carolina and moved to New York last year for a Lincoln Center fellowship. This past summer, she competed for the title of Miss New York and now becomes the fourth Miss New York in only seven years to take home the Miss America crown. Nia has her Masters in Music Composition from UNC School of the Arts. She sang opera as her talent in the competition and her personal platform is advocating for the arts in schools. You can be sure to hear Nia’s incredible singing voice in the halls of our hospitals this year.

Nia also has a very special connection to CMN Hospitals. In 2011, her dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma T-Cell Cancer. A Stem Cell transplant was his only chance at survival and his daughter, Nia, was a match. The procedure took place at Duke University Hospital and today Nia’s father is Cancer free and living a full and healthy life. Nia’s father calls her his hero. Having gone through this ordeal, Nia certainly has a special place in her heart for kids that are going through similar things and parents that are scared for their families. She has told us that she can’t wait to bring strength, love, and joy to the families and kids who need it most by sharing her experiences with them.

CMN Hospitals’ presence was definitely felt at the Miss America competition this year. We started out the week by hosting a special Miracle Autograph signing with Cara Mund Miss America 2018 and London Hibbs Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2019. We were thrilled with a great turnout and the opportunity to connect with the MAO stakeholders on the CMN Hospitals partnership. We also were able to continue the tradition of inviting miracle kids to the Miss America competition. This year, Cara Mund invited Hannah Miller, our 2014 North Dakota Champion, and her family as Miss America’s special guests. Hannah even got to come out on stage with Cara and be part of the show! Christian Guardino and his family were also in attendance to share Christian’s story and to bring down the house, as Christian sang an incredible rendition of the National Anthem at Thursday Night’s Preliminary competition. At the Thursday night Preliminary, we were able to continue to the CMN Hospitals Theme and brand it as #CMNHospitalsNight where throughout the evening we shared stories, photos, and honored this year’s National Miracle Maker Award Winners.

 

The 2019 MAO Candidate Miracle Maker winners:

1: Miss South Carolina Davia Bunch $33,016.64

2: Miss Kansas Hannah Klaassen $25,838.62

3: Miss Alabama Callie Walker $5,790.20

 

The 2019 MAO State Organization Miracle Maker winners:

1: South Carolina $128,313.80

2: Utah $82,944.11

3: Alabama $76,201.36

We are very thankful to these individual state titleholders and state organizations for going above and beyond in their fundraising efforts for CMN Hospitals and Miss America Scholarships.

For Christian and Hannah, the Miss America experience continued as they rode in the iconic Show Us Your Shoes Parade, hung out in the VIP suite with their families, enjoyed Atlantic City, attended the live broadcast taping of the Miss America Competition on ABC, and presented flowers to the new Miss America during the immediate post crowning press conference. We are so thankful they were able to make time to attend the event and hope they enjoyed the experience!

To Cara Mund Miss America 2018, thank you for your year of service to our organization. The joy you brought to our kids was certainly felt and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. To Nia Franklin Miss America 2019, congratulations once again and we look forward to working with you over the next year!