For Miss Illinois, ‘Character Counts’

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Miss Illinois Hannah Smith leads a Character Counts assembly for students at Bannes School in Tinley Park . Sept. 2, 2011. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: May 9, 2012 9:47AM

Miss Illinois recently visited two Tinley Park elementary schools to talk to students about character issues.

Huntley native Hannah Smith made stops at Helen Keller Elementary School, 7846 W. 163rd St., and Bannes Elementary School, 16835 S. Odell Ave., to discuss the character education program at both schools.

The event, sponsored by Kirby School District 140, educated the grade-schoolers on Character Counts, a year-round program that teaches schoolchildren six themes, dubbed character pillars: respect, caring, responsibility, trustworthiness, citizenship and fairness.

Using stories and a color-coded breakdown for each character trait, Smith taught students the importance of respect, told them to set an example for others and advised them to obey their parents and teachers.

“The golden rule is treating others the way you want to be treated,” she said during her speech.

About 350 students in kindergarten through fifth grade caught the pageant winner’s morning speeches at Keller before she traveled to Bannes to speak to about 450 elementary pupils about character building.

Smith, who was crowned Miss Illinois on July 2, is scheduled to make more than 300 appearances across the state throughout the next year to promote the Character Counts program as well as a State Farm initiative to raise awareness on distracted driving.

Smith, a ballet dancer, just finished her second year at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake and had plans to transfer to Northern Illinois University this fall to study dance performance and business. But her duties as face of the state’s beauty have forced her to put those plans on hold.

Smith, a 20-year-old Rockford resident, was crowned Miss Windy City in March and will head west to Las Vegas in January, looking to become Illinois’ sixth Miss America winner. So far, she has raised more than $2,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network and has a goal of raising $10,000 by the time she hits the stage at Miss America.

“I thought it was beautiful,” Kirby School Board president Chuck Augustyniak said. “It teaches kids practical application from someone young enough that they can relate to who has achieved a level of accomplishment and incorporated the Character Counts (lessons) into her own life. So they see it’s not just for kids; you can actually carry it with you your whole life.”

Smith addressed the crowd in a pink dress, adorned in her pageant sash and crown. Several students waved at the Miss Illinois winner on their way into the assembly and asked how she kept her crown from tipping of her head. Smith let the students in on her secret of how she pins the crown to her hair.

“I think she was really pretty,” said Jenna Triezenberg, a fifth-grader at Bannes. “I like that it was all about citizenship and caring.”

Other students were excited to see such a high profile guest visit their school.

“I like that it told us about respect,” Bannes third-grader Kellen Gallagher said. “It was pretty cool. We usually don’t have anything like that here.”

The Character Counts program is in its fourth year at Keller and Bannes. School officials said Miss Illinois has visited the schools at least once before to speak about character.

“I think it keeps everybody on an equal playing field,” Augustyniak said. “As kids grow, they become more conscious of appearance and what’s cool and what isn’t cool. But they learn that everybody’s cool, but sometimes in different ways. That’s part of the thing with character, respect and trust.”