Rotary Program: 5/26/04

Program Chairperson: Mike Burke

Speaker: Jasmine Osborne, Miss East Kentucky Teen

Jasmine Ann Osborne is the daughter of Joey and Beverly Jo Osborne and the grand-daughter of Virgil and Ann Osborne and Billy Joe and Shirley Justice. She is sixteen years old and just completed her sophomore year at Pikeville High School where she has been an honor student since the seventh grade. She was selected as a Booth Scholar in 2001, to the National Honor Roll in 2003, and a member of the Pikeville High School Governor’s Cup Academic Team in 2001-2002. Jasmine was a Congressional Student Leader of America this year, a Lexington Herald Team Board Member and a member of the All-State Choir. She is a student and teacher of ballet at the Ridenour Dance Studio and a nursery care-giver of the First Baptist Church. She also sings in the Choir at First Baptist Church as well as a performer and volunteer at the Jenny Wiley Theater and the Mountain Arts Center. She says she would like to become an entertainer someday and a teacher of the Arts.

Jasmine chose to speak to us today about Juvenile Diabetes, which is not only her platform as Miss East Kentucky Teen, but one that she knows about personally. She was diagnosed with the condition at the age of six years old, and is today one of 27,000 in Kentucky under the age of 18 that has diabetes. Through education and management of the disease, Jasmine was able to overcome some of the early fears and says that she wants to spread the word to others like her so that they can overcome their fears as well. At first, other children, seeing her pricking her finger to check blood sugar levels and taking her injections each day, made them fear that what she had was contagious. For this reason, she has spent a great deal of her time educating children about juvenile diabetes by speaking to students in school assemblies in Pike and Martin County. With the help of Senator Ray Jones, she has also spoken to the General Assembly in support of several bills that advocate good health initiatives in schools. HB 207 and HB 158 promote the idea of providing healthy snacks in vending machines instead of sugary snacks and balanced meals in school lunch programs. Another bill advocates at least 30 minutes of exercise for every student in the school in an effort to curb childhood obesity and encourage healthy habits. She says she was also able to speak for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Lousiville, Kentucky, which was a fund-raising event that raised over $ 50,000.00 that night. Still, her favorite place to speak about this subject, remains at schools. Here, she can better educate children and be the voice of children who have diabetes but are not able to tell others how they feel and how the disease has affected their lives. Hopefully, as other students and teachers understand the disease better, children with juvenile diabetes can feel better about themselves as well. Thank you, Jasmine for sharing your story with us today and we wish you well in the upcoming Miss Kentucky Teen competition. - J. Morgan Chapman