Victoria Ballestero: Adirondack
Delesia Watson: Bronx
Stephanie Accardo: Brooklyn
Kira Kazantsev: Cosmopolitan
Desiree Wiley: Empire Rose
Mary O’Connell: Empire Star
Camille Sims: Finger Lakes
Teresa Lii: Five Boroughs
Katelynn Smith: Fulton County
Katie Berry: Greater Gotham
Jamie Lynn Macchia: Greater New York
Christina Moore: Kings County
Nora Ali: Liberty NYC
Amanda Mason: Manhattan
Melissa Phillips: Metropolitan
Amanda Abdagic: Mohawk Valley
Acacia Courtney: New York City
Hallie Hugues: North Country
Alyssa DePaolis: Richmond County
Madison Embrey: Southern New York
Amanda Lee Alicea: Staten Island
Nina Davuluri: Syracuse
Lonna McCary: Thousand Islands
Alexandra Curtis: Upstate New York
On April 14th, our Miss New York Class of 2013 was completed at the Miss Brooklyn Pageant! A few of the current titleholders were in the audience to support the girls competing at the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse. Thanks to a donor, who chose to remain anonymous, the organization was able to not only crown a Miss Brooklyn, but a Miss Five Boroughs and Miss Greater Gotham, as well! Three very special girls took the titles: Stephanie Accardo (Miss Brooklyn), Teresa Lii (Miss Five Boroughs), & Katie Berry (Miss Greater Gotham). I can't wait until Miss New York Week in July. I know that we have 24 intelligent, talented, philanthropic young women and anyone can be Miss New York 2013! We are going to have an amazing time together. Congratulations to the Class of 2013:
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On April 6th, I made my first official appearance as Miss Greater New York! It was for Where To Turn's Prom Expo at New Dorp High School. Where To Turn is an organization that "provides crisis relief services for victims of any kind of tragedy by aiding them in obtaining the help they need during the recovery process." The Prom Expo was for victims of Hurricane Sandy who needed dresses for a special occasion such as weddings, a sweet 16, or proms. Since I didn't have my sash yet (it needed to be made after the pageant) I created a name-tag for myself. I didn't want to have to wait to begin making appearances and helping others! When I entered New Dorp, I was led to a table to check in. They welcomed me and I was directed to the room where all of the dresses, shoes, and accessories were being kept. I was shocked when I saw them all! I couldn't believe how many dresses where donated to help these students! All styles and sizes were available. Once the guests began to enter, I met my first "client" at the front door. To my surprise, I got sisters! My job was to act as their personal stylist and find the perfect outfits for them. My mom was there volunteering, as well, so she worked with the younger sister while I looked for a prom gown with the older sister. We went thru many gowns, but I knew I had picked a winner when I found a gorgeous, yet simple, purple floor-length chiffon dress. After she tried it on, she knew it, too. Shoes and accessories completed the look. The joy that radiated from these sisters and their mom was so rewarding. If it wasn't for this event, they may not have even had the opportunity to find anything to wear to their events. And, of course, I had so much fun browsing the dress racks! I had another young girl after them, as well, who needed a sweet 16 dress. After a bit of searching, she, too, found the perfect dress. I was so excited to see NY1 and Fox5 News at the event. They approached me and asked for an interview, to which I happily agreed. That night, I saw myself on the news, talking about how amazing the Where To Turn organization is and how inspirational what they did with this event was. It was awesome! I loved having this as my first Miss Greater New York experience. I spent time with old friends and made new connections, too. I am looking forward to this year and traveling throughout the 5 boroughs & Long Island!
Okay - it took a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I am ready to write my first blog about the Triple Crown Pageant! On March 30th, I entered the Triple Crown Pageant with no real expectations but high hopes. Last year, I was Miss Staten Island, and prior to this pageant I had also competed in the Miss Manhattan Pageant. However, with so many amazing, intelligent, and beautiful women competing, I knew this could have been anyone's crown to win. The Triple Crown Pageant is run by the Miss New York Board. They award three young women titles (whose names are determined based on region of residence) and give them a chance to compete at the state level. My interview in the afternoon was fantastic, which is unusual for me to say since I'm my biggest critic. I really felt comfortable speaking with the judges about many topics; from my platform, to current events, to fun facts about Disney! I was challenged to show my intelligence, but was also able to show them personality. That is what I think makes the perfect interview. It was fun and casual, while still being professional. As we prepared for the show, I was feeling confident, but I still knew I would have to give it my all to win one of the titles. Backstage, all of the girls were getting ready together and taking some photos along the way. Making fabulous new friends is one of the great things about the Miss America System. Then, it was about to begin -- SHOWTIME! I was as ready as I could've been. I had practiced and trained for weeks and it was time to show what I had been working toward. Category after category completed and I couldn't believe how fast it was all flying by. Before I knew it, it was crowning time! They began with announcing overall category winners. To my surprise and delight I was called as the overall talent winner! I couldn't believe it! My talent piece has a lot of emotion behind it and is close to my heart, so this win meant the world to me. Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Who would be crowned the three Triple Crown titleholders? They began with the two runners-up: Stephanie Accardo and Katie Berry. Next came the first titleholder, Nina Davuluri! She picked the title Miss Syracuse 2013. With only two crowns left, a good friend, Christina Moore, was announced! Miss Kings County 2013 was a perfect fit for this Brooklynite. At this point, I was getting butterflies in my stomach and I knew that my entire family was praying for me in the audience. "And our last winner of the evening is......Contestant #20, Jamie Lynn Macchia!" I was in such shock that I don't even remember how I reacted! I'm pretty sure I walked to the center of the stage with my hands over my face. I already knew the title I wanted, too: Miss Greater New York 2013. Grateful is not even the word to describe how I feel. There were 20 fantastic contestants and I am honored to have been chosen as one of 3 to move on to the Miss New York competition in July! I look forward to making my reign as Miss Greater New York 2013 just as special as my Miss Staten Island 2012 year. I hope to reach even higher with my goals and work toward things I never imagined possible. I plan on traveling around the 5 boroughs and Long Island to promote my platform and the Miss New York Organization. Here we go! Don't forget to follow me on my social media sites. |