Bowling Against Bullying

Today, I attended my most fun appearance to date.  I joined hundreds more to bowl against bullying...I know what many of you are thinking that know me, I know I'm not a extraordinary bowler but I did get a strike or two in there!  I'm proud to say that I was beaten by Kaitlin Monte, Miss New York 2011...so it's perfectly okay with me and we can now say that 2nd runner-up to Miss America is a pretty good bowler!!

This was Anthony Gargiula and the AG Dance Crew's 2nd Annual Bowling Against Bullying event and I have to say it was a remarkable event with a great turn out.  Event proceeds benefit the Kids Empowerment Programs and will be used to bring anti bullying education and programming to the Capital Region.

Anthony is a 12 year old 7th grader and is a remarkable singer, just a few of his appearances to give you an idea of how amazing this young man is, he's been on the Ellen Degeneres show 3 times, sung the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks 4 times and he is also the youngest singer to perform on the main stage at Carnegie Hall!  Just....WOW!  It was such an honor to meet Anthony as well as his family, his mother is actually a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant like myself and it was such an inspiration to meet her.  

I also had the pleaser of meeting Jaleel Williams from Jamz 96.3, otherwise known as the host of the J Will Jamboree!  Turns out we have a lot in common, because I am a communications major, so I will be looking forward to that internship in the future!!

And what would this event be without a performance by the one and only Anthony Gargiula and his dance crew!?  I was so impressed with his performance, he's one talented young man and his dance crew is just as talented...I enjoyed every bit of it!

 Anthony was also joined by some amazing talent.... who better than Miss New York herself.  They sung a duo and it was pretty amazing given the fact they had about 5 minutes to decide what song they were going to do!

Thank you Anthony Gargiula and the AG Dance Crew for having me at your event, I had a blast!    

Dine-to-Donate

This evening, I had the privilege of being a special guest at the Recovery Sports Grill for AFSP's Dine to  Donate.  The event was coordinated by Marianne Reid, who is such an extraordinary person inside and out and has one of the biggest hearts that just keeps on giving.

Dine to Donate helped Marianne raise money for her to participate in the Out of The Darkness OVERNIGHT Walk in San Francisco.  Yep, that's right, it's an overnight 16-18 mile walk from dusk to dawn, net proceeds from the walk benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.





It was so simple to donate too ... literally, you just had to stuff your face with food, which I had no problem doing!  15% of your table's check would be donated to Marianne's overnight fund.








It was so nice to see all the families get together for a night out, enjoy a nice dinner and meet new people.  I know that in this busy lifestyle that a majority of us live, eating at the dinner table is almost impossible.  I admit my family is guilty of being so busy, we don't even have the time to eat dinner together, so I loved being able to enjoy a nice dinner with my parents and catch up on things and just relax and I know a lot of families that were there felt the same way.

What made me even more happier was that we all raised nearly $340!!!  Congratulations to Marianne for a spectacular event and good luck to her as she walks overnight for her 3rd year!!!

The Out of The Darkness Overnight Walk will be held on June 9th, so if you weren't able to make the event and would like to help Marianne in her efforts of reaching her goal of $1000, you can visit her personal overnight page and donate!

Say Yes to the Dress

I have some very exciting news to share with everybody...

Yesterday, my mother and I took a trip downstate to do some shopping for my Miss New York wardrobe.  It was a lot of fun, despite the rain...those little shops that were selling oodles of umbrellas really came in handy, because we had forgotten ours!  In honor of Earth Day, we ate at this fabulous organic restaurant, GustOrganics and I am determined to get one up here in upstate New York...so delicious and everything they had on their menu was 100% organic, they even had some gluten free meals!  On an unhealthier note, I found a meatball station!  YES, that's right they served meatballs in a cup and for many of you that know me and how much I love to eat, know that meatballs are my favorite...unfortunately because Miss New York is quickly approaching, I made the decision to not get a meatball in a cup (insert sad face here).  

So, without further ado... I'm excited to announce that I bought my evening gown for Miss New York 2012!  And yes, I said 'yes' to the dress, literally I said "I'm saying YES to the dress"!  I can't wait to wear it on the Miss New York stage, June 16th can't come soon enough.  As for me describing or posting a picture of my gown, I guess you're just going to have to come to Miss New York on June 16 at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island at 7:30pm to see!

Tickets will be going on sale in just a few weeks, 

so keep checking the Miss New York Website for updates!

The Search Is On!

Are you the next Mr. New York?!

That's right! 

I'm searching for a man between the ages of 18-35 (or look like it) to compete for the title of 

Mr. New York

The competition will be held on June 11th at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island and includes three phases of competition: swimwear, talent and eveningwear.  The lucky man to take home the title of 

Mr. New York will also receive a $1,000 scholarship to Actor's Connection!

Here it is, the official flyer for Mr. New York!!

Interested?  If you or someone you know is interested in competing for the title of Mr. New York, 

email me at MissER12@ymail.com !

Miss New York Workshop

Where do I start?!  WOW.  Just wow.  Yesterday was amazing and just so surreal, I had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming... I was really at the workshop for Miss New York 2012!  It was a long day, but I can honestly say that I loved being constantly busy and the Miss New York Organization definitely keeps you busy.  There was so much going on the entire day, I loved getting to meet the few girls that I didn't get a chance to meet before and I got to know the other girls that I had met a little more.  Each and every one of them are so amazing, talented, well-spoken and determined.  I can pretty much say the entire St. George Theatre was full of dreams.

Throughout the day each girl got fitted for our Kandice Pelletier swimsuit individually, we had the opportunity to meet with Miss New York 2010, Claire Buffie for an amazing video shoot that will be used before the announcement of the Top 10 at the pageant, of course there was discussion about CMNH and a very touching story told by Ken Nelson and Miss New York 2011, Kaitlin Monte, we had the opportunity to practice our talents for critiques and comments to help us prepare for the pageant, we also got a chance to meet with Project Empower and discuss with them our platform and what we plan to do to take our platform to the next level and we had an exciting guest, Justin Popovics, who gave us some amazing tips and advice for fitness and nutrition!  Although, my favorite part of the day was getting a chance to listen and talk to Kaitlin on a personal level, hearing her story and hear what advice she had for all of us.

It's hard to believe that in just 8 weeks I will be back in the theatre competing for my dream.  In just 8 weeks there will be a new Miss New York.  In just 8 weeks one lucky girl will be given the opportunity to compete on the Miss America stage.  In just 8 weeks, one girls dream is about to come true.

OH!  I almost forgot to mention, I will be competing as contestant number 4!  My interview will be on the morning of June 14th, the same day I will be competing in evening wear and lifestyle & fitness.  On June 15th I will be performing my talent and compete in onstage question.  I cannot wait for what's ahead!

Please take the time to follow on twitter, the official Miss New York Org

@MissNewYorkMAO

You can also 'Like' the Miss New York Org official Facebook page

Miss New York Organization

Senator Hugh Farley's Wellness Day

Today, I was excited to take part in Senator Hugh Farley's Wellness Day in Amsterdam.  I had the opportunity to host a table as a board director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and as Miss Empire Rose.  Being able to relate to people on a personal level was and continues to be one of my goals as Miss Empire Rose and I can say that I have achieved that goal and will continue to exceed it.  

At the AFSP table I providing a vast amount of materials that covered a variety of things dealing with suicide.  I had a numerous amount of people come up to me and tell me their story and to know that they trust me with their feelings means more to me than they will ever know.  

Unfortunately, Senator Farley was unable to make it to his wellness day, but I am so honored to have been asked to participate.  I remember going to his wellness day as a little girl and to know that he has made an effort to continue this tradition shows how incredibly devoted he is to his communities.  I also made sure I didn't pass up another photo opportunity with him!

Speaking of photo opportunities, it was a joy to meet Peter Capobianco, the Interim President of Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce!  He was full of energy and enthusiasm and made it a point to visit each and every table that volunteered their time to come.  He was just as excited as I was to get a picture together, although it shocked me when he said "how do I look, should we take another one just in case?!"  I always thought that was my line, but I finally met someone that asks first!

Thank you so much Senator Hugh T. Farley for inviting me to take part in such an extraordinary event!

Happy Easter!

Yesterday, I attended the Gloversville Easter Egg Hunt, put on by the Mayor of Gloversville, Dayton King's wife Chanda King.  This was the first easter egg hunt of what will hopefully turn into an annual tradition.  There was such a great turnout and it was so nice to see families spending time outdoors having fun.  I was able to meet a lot of new faces and see some familiar ones. 

It really made my day when I spotted out several girls I used to teach dance to and it put a huge smile on my face when they remembered me, calling me a princess.  I loved hearing about how their still dancing and I told them to say hi to their dance teacher for me!

I had the opportunity to talk with a young woman that impressed me greatly.  She told me how much fun she was having and how much she loved Easter and spending the day with her mom.  We talked about how much she loved princesses and how she really looks up to me as her role model.  I found out that she takes part in so many events to help out her community, she was part of a group that helped fill over 1,000 eggs with candy for the event!  It was such a pleasure to meeting someone with such a huge heart for her community!

A huge thank you to Chanda King for coordinating this wonderful event and Mayor Dayton King for inviting me to participate.  I met Mayor Dayton King when I was competing in the Miss Fulton County pageant in February, he was one of the mock interview judges at the workshop.  I love how we've kept in contact ever since meeting, it meant a lot to me that he reached out to invite me and it was a pleasure to attend such a wonderful community event, I can't wait until next year!

A special shout out to Dayton and Chanda's daughter, Isabelle, such a beautiful and talented young girl.  I heard that she couldn't wait to meet me and I loved meeting her, such a sweetheart and heard she's a fantastic horseback rider!  Also to their son, Cayden, we got to talk a little bit and I have high hopes for this young boy, he wants to grow up to be a lawyer!  I wish them both the very best in their futures and I hope to be seeing more of them soon!

AFSP - Capital Region

It brings me great joy to announce that I have accepted the position of Co-Chair on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - Capital Region Community Education Committee!

AFSP is the leading national non-profit organization dedicated to understand and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy.  It's such an honor to be part of an organization that continues to make great strides towards suicide prevention and awareness.  The Community Education Committee takes part in using presentations, booth opportunities and individual meetings.  We help promote the work of AFSP, increase knowledge of suicide and reduce the stigma of suicide.  I'm so excited to take on this task and look forward to a great year and many more.  

I can't thank all of you enough for all that you do, truly amazing.

To find out more information about AFSP - Capital Region

Miss Greater Rochester/Upstate New York

It was another road trip for me today as I traveled to Rochester to support some amazing young women as they competed for the title of Miss Greater Rochester and Miss Upstate New York!

I competed in the Miss Greater Rochester pageant last  year, so it was nice to be able to sit in the audience and enjoy the wonderful show that the organization puts on every year.  I was even lucky enough to catch a seat right behind the judges, and was able to see exactly what the judges were seeing and I give them props because I don't know how they do it!  It was also pretty fun to know a couple of the judges who just happen to be former Miss Empire Rose's and a former Miss New York, Elisabeth Cavanaugh (Baldanza) and Theresa Tokarowski Guirola!  Both of whom were amazing representatives of the community, state and organization, so I know they knew exactly what to look for.  

All of the contestants did such an amazing job, all of them were so deserving.  I had a hard time trying to guess who the two lucky women might be...

Congratulations to Nina Davuluri, Miss Greater Rochester 2012 and

Rayna Reid, Miss Upstate New York 2012

I look forward to seeing both of you in just two weeks for the Miss New York workshop and getting to know both of you on this journey to Miss New York 2012!