Keeping priorities straight

COLUMBUS - Mrs. Nebraska Sharon Soltero of Columbus has just about completed her yearlong reign, but she's still going strong on her priority issues.

Besides promoting healthy family lifestyles, Soltero is encouraging adults to become mentors in the TeamMates program.

She also has taken up one of the Mrs. America priorities - the National Anthem Project.

About 60 percent of Americans don't know the words to the “Star Spangled Banner,” and Soltero is part of the initiative striving to change the statistic. She has been talking in schools and to community groups about the importance of the song.

Soltero was guest speaker at a mother-daughter tea at Beverly Healthcare in Columbus on Monday afternoon.

After the seniors and their daughters were serenaded by Columbus High School's New World Singers, Soltero shared some of her experiences since becoming Mrs. Nebraska in June 2005.

One of her beliefs, reinforced during competition at the Mrs. America Pageant in September, was the importance of volunteering. She said many of the contestants were volunteers in their hometowns and making a difference in other people's lives.

Soltero has been working with the local TeamMates program for about five years.

The National Anthem Project was launched to raise awareness about the importance of supporting and funding school music programs. Project officials said budget cuts to school music programs in recent years have led to a decreasing number of students learning an important part of their cultural heritage - patriotic music.

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