April 2008
The last round of the Local Preliminaries took place this month, including all of the Regional Pageants. I had the opportunity to attend the Western Regional and help the girls “backstage” at the Y M C A! (Take note, the spaces are there, because I was signing for all of you. Also, if you were here, you’d all know why I twirl for my talent, and I’ll keep my singing to myself in the shower and while driving in my car!) At the end of the pageant, Kelsey Pitini was announced as the new Miss Steel Valley, and Melissa Pierce was announced as the new Miss Jewel of the West. Congratulations to all of the girls competing as they all did a wonderful job! The following day, the Eastern and Northwest Regional took place, but I was unable to attend these as I was at the Pennsylvania State Twirling Championships. As my competition days are over, I wasn’t twirling, but I was assisting with the judging process throughout the day. Even though I did not attend the Eastern and Northwest Regional Pageants, I would like to say congratulations all of the new titleholders including Miss Keystone, Lexie-Olivia Grant, Miss Lehigh Area, Amy Anderson, Miss Northeast, Andrea Helfrich, Miss Northwest, Ashley Duespohl, Miss Mountain Laurel Outstanding Teen, Cassandra Trent, Miss Northwest Outstanding Teen, Calsie Boyd, and Miss Pymatuning Outstanding Teen, Carly Rice.
The next weekend, my family headed to Butler for the Chocolate and Beyond Benefit, for the Miss Butler County Scholarship Pageants. It was nice to see all my extended family in Butler, including Judy Hughes, Lucy Mudrick and Lee Garrard, Directors of the Miss Butler County Pageants and Flo Stakor, Miss Butler County Board Member, enjoy the Fashion Show featuring Alpaca Fashions and beautiful gowns from the Bridal Suite of Johnstown, and of course, pick up some pretty extravagant prizes, as a result of the Chinese Auction Baskets and the Live Auction, held by Paul Weaver, Director of the Miss Cambria County Scholarship Pageants.
Alongside Pittsburgh Cares, we had another Big for a Day at Carnegie Mellon University. This month’s program featured Carnegie Mellon’s Spring Carnival, wherein the matches were provided tickets to take part in the rides and play games. Thank you to Carnegie Mellon University for inviting us to participate in the Carnival. A fun time was had by all, and luckily, we had a great turnout with the weather.
My family and I attended a concert held by Candace Otto, Miss Pennsylvania 2003-2004, at Shadyside Academy benefiting the Make a Wish Foundation. As always, Candace delivered a magnificent performance and it wonderful to briefly catch up with her, as she has now relocated to the San Francisco Area.
Kites for Kids, sponsored by KidsVoice, was held at the Carnegie Science Center the last weekend of the month. KidsVoice provides a voice of hope, a voice for rights and a voice of experience for children who can not otherwise speak for themselves and protects the rights of children to guide each child through the court process and ensure that every agency involved meets the full range of the child’s needs. The goal of the event was to have over 5,000 kites “soaring” throughout the Science Center during the weekend, as the kites represented a message of hope and advocacy and to familiarize people with KidsVoice’s role in protecting our most precious resource, our children. The kites symbolize hope, a happy childhood, and a chance to soar, which unfortunately many local children do not experience, and the goal of 5,000 kites was met! During the event, I had the opportunity to perform, and I think by the end of the weekend, everyone there had caught a “fever” after all of my performances at the top of each hour on the Science Center Stage, as I twirled to “Fever” as performed by Paris Bennett on American Idol. There was a great turnout from the community at the event and it was wonderful to see so many families circulating throughout the Science Center this weekend.
As they say, “time flies when you are having fun”, it proves to be true, as it is hard to believe that another month has already passed, it’s been 6 months since I was crowned Miss Three Rivers, and the Miss Pennsylvania Pageant is only roughly two months away! Stay tuned for next month’s update, as I continue to share my experiences throughout my year of service!
Warmly,
Jessica Megliss
Miss Three Rivers 2007-2008