Melissa received the great honor of being crowned
Mrs. Universe International in Rome, Italy. She has held many
Titles in Regional, State, National and International Beauty
Pageants, and this is Melissa’s second International Title. It
does seem quite fitting, as she and Thomas have lived in 11
different countries and traveled to 65 so far. At the moment,
they are living in Europe moving from one country to another for
Thomas’s career. If you’d like to follow their adventures, it’s
#MyNorwegianLife, #MyDutchLife, #IAmaTraveller and
#MyItalianLifePart2 #MyDutchGermanLife.

As an accomplished Actress, Dancer, and Singer,
Melissa has performed in numerous Broadway-Style shows in
Theatres around the world including Monte Carlo, Monaco,
Hollywood, California, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, Korea, Mexico City
and, of course, Las Vegas. Vegas was an incredible base, because
it provided various modeling gigs, movie contracts (where she
earned her Screen Actors Guild union card), music videos, TV
shows, and nightly “gigs” singing in her band. During her career
in Musical Theater, Melissa has shared the stage with “Greats”
like Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Tony Bennett, Rich Little,
Harry Connick Jr, and many more Celebrities of stage and screen
from around the globe.

On a fun note, Melissa lived in Hollywood, working as
an Actress and doing post production work at Paramount Pictures.
She was also a game show Contestant and Winner on such TV shows
as The Dating Game, Hollywood Squares, The Price Is Right, Make
Me Laugh, Love Connection, and several others. She was blessed
with winning cars and “showcases” full of cash and prizes.

While working in Monte Carlo, after the show, on several
occasions Prince Albert of Monaco would join the cast backstage
for parties and other celebrations. The Prince was most gracious
and invited Melissa and friends out on his yacht for cruises
along the French Riviera in the summer. During one cruise the
paparazzi were staked out on shore near Cannes and, of course,
Melissa and Prince Albert ended up in ‘People’ and some European
magazines – in the headlines!

Speaking of Royalty, Melissa created a very successful
Beauty Pageant Coaching business while living in the United
Kingdom, near London. Pageant clients traveled from all over
Europe to see her for intensive training courses and competition
preparation. Several of her clients won National and
International Titles and she likes to credit Bill Hall, as she
shared his famous ‘Pageant Help’ materials with them. Clients
also tell of ‘winning’ the job of their dreams, applying
Melissa’s powerful interview techniques. She delights in
encouraging young women “to have faith, individual worth,
integrity, and virtue.”

Her continued Pageant involvement also provides
platforms for Melissa to generate awareness of and support for
military families and Veterans. During her reigns she advocates
for soldiers wounded in combat. Together, Melissa and Thomas also
support the Fisher House Foundation which provides comfort homes
for military families while their loved ones receive medical
care.
One thing that the military teaches is respect. Many
people do not realize that their respect includes those on the
opposite side. In Viet Nam, She was able to visit many places
that were shrines to the conflict between them and the United
States. They treated all with respect but had a special
admiration for US Veterans who had made the long trip for the
closure of many emotional wounds. Perhaps were can all learn
tolerance and forgiveness from these two former enemies.

Note- Melissa spent the entire covid period in Europe where there
were pretty stringent restrictions. In her neighborhood she was
only allowed out of her house to shop during certain time periods
of the day. She made the most of it with phone and zoom calls.