Kentucky natives meet again at Talladega, renew relationship
THROUGH MAY 8: Nominate a volunteer for the 2015 award
The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide is accepting nominations for 2015 through next Friday, May 8. The winner will receive $100,000 and a brand new Ford vehicle while three other finalists will receive a minimum $25,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation.
While I was Miss Kentucky USA in 2012, I served on the board of the Kentucky chapter of Best Buddies International, a foundation that promotes friendship and equality to children with special needs.
Each member of the foundation gets paired with a "buddy," and Daniel Noltemeyer and I were paired together in February of 2012. We participated in activities around the state.
It's Derby Week actually in Kentucky right now, and three years ago, Daniel and I walked in a Kentucky Derby fashion show. We also participated in dance marathons and other events.
Last December in Las Vegas when I was named Miss Coors Light, I found out that Daniel had won the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award for Best Buddies International. He was up on stage at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony, and we had a little reunion.
We've kept in contact since then. I've got his email so we've been best buds, and we write on each other's Facebook walls. You have no idea how excited I was to see him here at Talladega because it's been five months since we last saw each other.
It's so funny how we got introduced three years ago through Best Buddies Foundation, and now we've found our worlds colliding again in NASCAR.
He's such a good person, and it's been exciting seeing him do his thing.