Miss New York And Miss Teen NY USA pageants

My first official appearance as Mrs. New York 2008 was at the Miss New York USA and Miss Teen New York Pageants. http://www.missnewyorkusa.com/I was attending as a sponsor, a coach and as Mrs. NY US 2008. Meemie's Jewelry which I am the owner of and designer for is a sponsor of both the Miss and Teen NY USA pageants as well as the Miss and Teen NH USA pageants. http://www.meemiesjewelrydesigns.com/

I made the 4 hour drive with my good friend Amy who was Mrs. NY US 2001 and the owner of Les Belles pageants. http://www.lesbellespageants.com/ Also joining in on the fun was Maureen and one of Amy's beautiful winners Heather Knowles. We had a blast in the car ride and took the map quest route there. It was quite an interesting ride as map quest sent us down a road we affectionately named the "Road of Death" I am not sure I have ever traveled a road with so many drastic hills and twists and turns. We were lucky the weather was good and it was not dark out.

We arrived in time for the Miss New York USA finals show and were met in the Lobby by our girl Theresa Hallatt. I coached Miss Theresa for the interview competition and Amy took care of the runway and wardrobe. Theresa was really excited as she had won the pageant's "Style Award" the night before. She looked beautiful in her evening gown and was ready for the show to start. I learned a valuable lesson at this appearance. That you need to re-apply your make up when you get to an event if you have driven in a car for over 5 hours. LOL


We were able to grab a quick bite to eat before the show with Lori, Mrs. New York United States 2007 and her handsome Mr. New York hubby, Don. It was a real treat for me to get to see Lori again so soon after the pageant. Normally I only get a chance to talk to her via email because of the distance between us.

Lori is now the director of the Miss Long Island and Miss Long Island Teen pageants. http://www.lipageants.com/ Her winners will then compete at Miss and Teen NY USA. I think it is going to be wonderful for them as I am sure that Lori will make sure they are totally prepared for the tough competition that is seen each year at the state USA pageant.

I was blessed to be able to have VIP seating during the show and was able to watch Theresa up close. She was competing against 130 other women who's ages ranged from 18-26. We were all excited and proud when her name was included in the top 20 who then went on to compete in the swimsuit competition. I wish my photo's were clearer but she looked amazing in her swimsuit!

I was also honored to be announced to the audience for the very first time as Mrs. New York United States 2008. Lori was announced as Mrs. New York US 2007 as well. After the top 20 it was time to narrow the field to 15 women. We were excited once again as we heard Theresa's name called in the first group of women. She now was able to compete for the top 5 spots in the evening gown competition.

When the top 5 were called we were all disappointed (only a little bit) that Theresa was not among them. She did an amazing job and we all are very proud of her. It is a real accomplishment in my opinion to make the top 15 out of 130 women your first time competing in that system and only being 18 years old. I am confident in a few more years we all are going to see that crown placed on her head!

After the show we took a few more pictures and quickly headed out as we had a long trip back. (longer for me since it is another hour to my house after I picked up my car at Ames. LOL) We avoided the road of death this time and took the express way all the way back. I can't wait to go back again next year!

My Adventure Begins!

Wow, I still am in shock that I was chosen to be the next Mrs. New York United States 2008. I was blessed to win this amazing title out of a group of 16 amazing contestants. My first duty as Mrs. New York was to attend the Awards breakfast that always takes place after the pageant each year. It was my job to help pass out the awards along with Lori who was the outgoing queen.

Much to my surprise I was also blessed to be given the highest score in interview, swimsuit and the evening gown competitions. I guess the judges missed my knees and how badly they were shaking. lol

The very beautiful and articulate Jackie Wilder was the 1st Alternative in Interview.

Casie Runner and Lisa Wickman tied for 1st Alternative in Swimsuit. They both looked smoking in their swimsuits!

Casie Runner and Segal Magori – Goldstien tied for 1st Alternative in Evening gown. Casie looked amazing in her yellow gown. I loved Segal's gown it looked very regal and she looked like a queen in it.

Judith Berman won both the Community Spirit & Civic Award. Judith was really thoughtful as she brought each contestant a folder full of beautiful, inspirational readings. Thank you!

Melissa Sheehan won the 1st Alt Civic Award. She and her hubby have the most beautiful baby girl. She takes after her mommy!

Angelia Bryce-Thurton won the Hostess Award which I thought was very fitting. She is the epitome of what a good hostess should be! Warm, Kind, Intelligent and Beautiful both inside and out!

Sheila McKinney was awarded the Directors Award. She was very touched and became a bit teary eyed as she hugged Sheila. It was easy to see why Sheila won this award! I just love the pink suit she is wearing.

Everyone that attended the breakfast was treated to a great meal. I loved all the fresh fruit and the pastries. Now that the pageant was over I was able to have one.. Ok well really 5 but nationals is quite awhile away.


I really liked the awards breakfast the next day after the pageant. Usually after the pageant ends you rush around packing up and going home. If you are lucky you see a few of the women you made friends with over the weekend as you left. The breakfast was nice because everyone was able to get together, take pictures, trade info and see each other one last time before we all had to go back to our lives.


Even the judges were invited to attend. Bruce Danley was the head judge and he was just a delight to converse with. His smile and enthusiasm really put me at ease during my personal interview. All the the judges were amazing in their own right.

One of my favorite prizes (aside from the crown, sash and the amazing honor I had been given as that in itself is prize enough) was the pink basket. I LOVE pink!! So this was perfect for me. The funniest part was going through all my prizes after the pageant. My youngest son was getting upset with all the "girly" stuff that he just gave up and started asking for anything he liked. He walked away with my very pink back massager as well as a very large and very pink bar of pomegranate soap.

Photos taken after the pageant!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from after the pageant.

With our distinguished panel of judges.

The pageant was blessed to have the national titleholder Mrs. United States, Stephanie Hunt in attendance at the pageant! Mrs IL Amy Gregorio came as well to watch her good friend Lori give up her title.

With my new Director, Sheila Strassburg.

I was really blessed as my best friend Mrs. Lisa Mulvey who is also the reigning MA 30's Beauties of America 2008 came up to support me at the pageant. This one of the few times I saw her out of her PJ's the whole weekend.LOL Love you sweets!

With my Daddy.

With Maureen.

With my hubby and now Mr. New York.

I have to say a special "Thank You" to my Aunt Ann. She not only watched my boys all weekend but she made sure they were dressed so nicely as well.

With Mrs. NY US 2007 and Mrs. NY US 2001.

With the very Beautiful 1st runner up Casie.

With My Girls!

The top 6.

A hug from Lori.

Queens with Kristin who did amazing and was the 2nd runner up.

Oh the "PAIN"! I love these pics as they perfectly show how my feet felt as I took my 4 inch heels off after the pageant.

These are my most favorite photos from after the pageant. It was really special having both my boys in the audience while I was crowned. They both were really excited and I got this very special hug from my oldest son Matthew. His brother Stephen was already asking "How are the pools in Vegas?" LOL

Mrs. New York United States 2008 Pageant

Wow the final show went by like a blur...

The opening number was challenging as the contestants and I missed a few marks but over all it came out nicely. I did feel a bit guilty we did not do it perfectly for Lori since she worked so hard on it. I think we all look beautiful in our red dresses.

Next was swimwear and I have to say I was shaking as I walked down the stage. Not sure if it was just me or the shoes but lets just say it was a miracle I did not fall on my face. LOL

I felt so much more relaxed by the time I took the stage in the evening gown competition. Part of it was that I wanted to show off the beautiful earrings that I made for my gown. I felt really blessed to have 3 other of the contestants wearing my designs as well.
We all came back on stage after evening gown and were given a very special State Finalist Medal from the reigning queen Lori.

We took a break for intermission and I was able to spend a few moments with my family. My youngest son took me around and showed me all of the "Gift of Love" baskets he had put his tickets in. I also was able to get to spend a moment with all my friends that came out to support me as well. Some came as far as Rochester, Long Island and Norwich NY. A special thanks to all of them!!

It was then time to narrow the field to the top 8. Sheila announced the names: Lisa Christie-Betha, Segal Magori – Goldstien, Flor DeMaria-Hernandez, Kristen Hutchinson, Casie Runner, Melissa Ognibene, Jaqueline Wilder and Lisa Wickman. We all took turns answering a question out of the crystal bowl. Mine was "What is your life time goal and how are you working to accomplish it? I spoke about my personal struggle with depression and how I have made it one of my lifetime goals to help erase the negative stigma attached to this disease in the hopes that no one will ever have to suffer needlessly as I did.

After we all answered our questions Sheila brought our husbands on stage for a little game. She tried to match each husband with their wife. She did a great job and almost had everyone matched correctly. She switched Jackie's and Casie's husband. It was really nice to have Steve on stage with me. Just getting to squeeze his hand made me so much less nervous.

Sheila Strassburg the pageant's director also did a wonderful job MC'ing the pageant and told the audience it was time to give out the speciality awards. Lisa Betha won Mrs. Congeniality.
Segal Magori – Goldstien was awarded the photogenic award.
Robin Sherman won the Audience Choice Award and over $500 was raised for Lori's charity "Safe at Home".
Then it was time to say goodbye to one of the best queen's NY has ever seen. Lori took her final walk as Mrs. New York 2007 and was given flowers from her family and her good friend and former Mrs. NY US 2001 Amy Bell.

Now it was time to see who the next Mrs. NY US would be. Lisa Christie-Betha was the 7th Runner-up.

Segal Magori – Goldstien was the 6th Runner-up.

Lisa Wickman was the 5th Runner-up.

Flor DeMaria-Hernandez was the 4th Runner-up.

Jaqueline Wilder was the 3rd Runner-up.

Kristen Hutchinson was the 2nd Runner-up.

Which much to my surprise left me standing next to the very beautiful and kind Casie Runner. I was really honored to be standing next to her as I knew if I was not blessed to win that she would make an amazing Mrs. NY United States.

Sheila then announced that Casie was the 1st runner up!

Which meant that I just won Mrs. New York United States 2008! I was so excited to
be given such an honor and an amazing opportunity!

Thank you to everyone who helped me make my dream of becoming Mrs. New York United States 2008 a reality! I love you all!!