MISS NM — the official website of the Miss New Mexico organization

Nicole Miner, Miss New Mexico 2009, is twenty-three years old, a music education major and will be graduating from the University of North Texas in the fall of 2010.  She will further her education and obtain a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of New Mexico.

In addition to providing community service to cities, towns and villages within the State of New Mexico, she will be promoting her personal platform and the Miss America National Platform.  Her platform is saving Lives: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This platform is personal to her because her mother was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2003 and is still fighting to be in remission.  She is the state’s spokesperson for the New Mexico/El Paso chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  She has been involved with the society’s fundraising events, such as Light the Night Walk(September 26, 2009), Pennies for Patients, and Man & Woman of the Year, as well as bringing awareness to their organization through the year.

Nicole is a Run Mentor for the Leukemia/Lymphoma’s Team in Training’s (TNT) winter season programs.  Nicole has participated in a three half marathons (13.1 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles) within the TNT program.  She mentors five women and every Sunday morning she runs with them as part their training program.  As a mentor she provides them support and assists them in meeting their fundraising goals.  These five women are training to run the PF Chang’s Half Marathon in Phoenix, Arizona in January 2010.

Together with DKMS Americas, the world’s largest and most experienced bone marrow donor center, Nicole has organized bone marrow drives throughout the State.  New Mexico does not have an organization to facilitate the registrations of potential donors to be put on the national registry.  The goal of the drives is to register as many new committed donors as possible to help find a match for patients who are in need of a bone marrow transplant to save more lives.  Registering to become a bone marrow donor is more than a cheek swab; it is a commitment to help save a life!

As Miss New Mexico 2009, Nicole is the State’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network at the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) Children’s Hospital.  In 2008, Nicole received the “Children’s Miracle Network Maker Award” for raising the most funds in New Mexico.  The Children’s Miracle Network is the Miss America National Platform.  The Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals.  She is a weekly registered volunteer through the Child Life Services at the UNM Children’s hospital.  Her time consists of playing games, reading, music activities and putting puzzles together in the new wing of the Children’s Hospital known as the Child Life Center.

As a community service endeavor, Nicole has partnered with Baskets of Hope.  The Baskets of Hope is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to delivering baskets to children at the University of New Mexico Hospital who are newly diagnosed with cancer or other serious illnesses.  Once a month a group of volunteers meets to fill baskets with inspirational materials, toys, hats, games, CD’s, CD Players, cameras and many other items to nourish them mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Twice a month Nicole and volunteers from Baskets of Hope visit with the children and their parents who are staying with them in the hospital and deliver baskets and talk with them.  She also visits the families that are staying at the Ronald McDonald House and deliver baskets to them.  Nicole also has reading hour in the evenings twice a week to the children staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

Nicole is a mentor to a little girl from the Miss New Mexico Little Miss Program which is endorsed by the Miss New Mexico Organization.  Kambry Wilbanks, an amazing and intelligent 10 year old little girl who is visually impaired.  Nicole’s goal is to bring awareness to the One Small Voice Foundation which is an organization that provides research for optic nerve hypoplasia and hydrocephalus.  Kambry has been the face of this foundation.  Nicole is organizing a golf tournament in the spring of 2010 which will be a fundraiser for this foundation.  She has also been invited to be a special guest judge for their annual fundraiser called Open Toe Shoe Party which is in California on March 27, 2010.

Nicole is an advocate and spokesperson for Biomoda’s screening program for early stage lung cancer.  Biomoda is an Albuquerque based medical diagnostics company focused on early detection of cancer.  Biomoda is working with the NM Department of Veterans Services and New Mexico Tech to screen military veterans who are 25% more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population.  Her advocacy will help Biomoda spread the word about the screening program and recruit more volunteers and save more lives by diagnosing lung cancer in the early stages when it is more treatable.