Tupelo teen wins national title

TUPELO — Gabrielle Putzeys, the daughter of Todd and Dawn Woods, attended the Miss Teen America Pageant in Nashville, Tenn., in July as Miss Oklahoma Teen American and was awarded the national title of Miss Continental Teen. With her new title, she will be making appearances nationwide throughout the next year and has won $50,000 in scholarships as well as thousands of dollars in valuable prizes. She will also have her own page on the pageant web site to spotlight her title.

Fourteen-year-old Putzyes attends Tupelo School where she is commonly known as Gabrielle Woods. She is currently involved in basketball and fast and slow pitch softball in her school’s athletic department. She also works with Karrie Flanagan at Ada Champion Cheer and Tumble on their competitive squad. Putzeys is interested in helping her community in any way possible. In the past she has actively participated in several disaster recovery efforts, including Hurricanes Charley, Rita, Jeanne, Francis and Isabel. From preparing meals to passing out fresh water. She has spent countless hours attempting to help victims regain some sense of stability within a chaotic situation. She has also worked for several years on her community Angel Tree during the holidays to help provide gifts and food to local children as well as in other volunteer situations. She is available to volunteer at events or make appearances in the area by phoning (580) 927-5982 or by e-mail at okteenamerica07@yahoo.com

Putzeys’ hobbies and interests include riding horses with friends and family, singing and listening to music of all types,, reading, attending her school’s sporting events, traveling, and of course and spending quality time with loved ones.

Her future plans include obtaining her pilot’s license at the age of 16. She dreams of serving in the armed forces while utilizing and furthering her piloting skills in hopes of eventually becoming a commercial pilot and doing what she loves for the rest of her life.

Putzeys’ platform issue is to promote the lifestyle of Random Acts of Kindness Foundation who is single handily attempting to encourage others in a worldwide movement. This non-profit organization is nice in the aspect that it does not accept donations of any kind nor does it seek out grants and best of all, it doesn’t usually cost anything to participate.

She is also convinced that the concept of “paying it forward” has astonishing results and that one random act of kindness could ultimately affect and innumerable amount of people over time. She said she hopes her program will inspire others to take the time to do kind things for others when an opportunity presents itself.

Source: Ada Evening News