Miss Teen Klein assists elderly residents

Many of the Valentines that Meals on Wheels clients received last month were the handiwork of Miss Teen Klein, Taylor Hudson, whose platform is encouraging fellow teenagers to pay proper respect to senior citizens.

"Taylor brought us a bundle of cards," explained Andrea Fineman, communications director of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. "Sometimes, our driver is the only person the client sees all day, and whenever they take along a greeting card from Taylor, it really puts a smile on their face."

Greeting cards are just one aspect of "Take Time to Care," Hudson's platform as Miss Teen Klein, which emphasizes the importance of younger people appreciating their elders.

"I grew up with only one grandparent, and she passed away when I was young," explained Hudson. "I visit other people's grandparents and adopt them as my own because I want them to know they are not forgotten."

Hudson, 14, is a freshman at Mayde Creek High School in Katy, and like other girls ages 13 through 17, she was eligible to compete at Miss Teen Klein or any preliminary to Miss Teen Texas. She won the Miss Teen Klein title in a dual crowning on Jan. 9 in Magnolia in which judges also selected a Miss Teen Katy.

Hudson routinely visits residents at an assisted living center on Friday evenings, said Heather Terpstra, associate director of the Miss Cypress/Katy/Klein Organization, which produces area preliminaries in the Miss America Organization.

Hudson is a former Lone Star Princess in the scholarship program, but last year, at age 13, she became old enough to hold a Teen title. Because of her previous years as a Lone Star Princess, said Terpstra, "Everybody knows her, and she is truly like a little sister to many of the Misses. She's also very nice and very personable."

Hudson hopes to speak at schools and school functions throughout the area to encourage other students to visit residents of senior centers and retirement homes. In addition, she wants pre-school and elementary-school students to make holiday cards and birthday cards that Meals on Wheels will distribute to clients the program serves each day in greater Houston.

"Changing the way young people view the elderly is part of my mission," she said. "The voice of experience speaks every day with our seniors if we just listen."

In her application for Miss Teen Klein, Hudson listed some of the thing she's learned from her conversations with the elderly. She wrote, "I saw the bombs falling in Germany. I've felt the pain and anxiety of awaiting an extensive back surgery. I know what it feels like to lose a mother at only six years old. These are just a few of the stories told to me by the wonderful people I have met through 'Taking Time to Care.'"

In addition, Hudson has convinced several of her fellow students at Hintze Dance Center in Cypress to visit nursing home residents, and often the girls go as a group and perform for them, said owner Ginny Hintze. She added that her husband, Gordon Hintze, is particularly proud that Hudson holds the Miss Teen Klein title because he graduated from Klein High School.

Some fellow students also cheered Hudson in the talent competition of the pageant, as she performed a lyrical dance to Adonai.

The seniors that Hudson visits often ask her to tell them about her pageant appearances, said Terpstra, explaining that there will be plenty to tell them during rodeo season. Terpstra said the Cypress/Katy/Klein titleholders will appear at cook-offs, parades and other events of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

"We are one scholarship program helping another scholarship program is how we see it," said Terpstra.

For more information about Miss Teen Texas pageants, visit www.misstexas.org.