ANOTHER PAGEANT ... ANOTHER QUEEN!

As title of this article matches the lyrics of a great song, "Another Op'ning of Another Show", so went the MS NEW YORK SENIOR AMERICA PAGEANT 2018.  Ten NEW JERSEY CAMEO CLUB "Sisters" attended the event, which was held at Molloy College, Madison Theater, in Rockville Center, New York, on Sunday, July 29th.

 photos, courtesy Terry Meade

Prior to the Pageant, the ladies met in the lobby of the Best Western Hotel, to celebrate Jo Ann Gordon's birthday, with a champagne toast.  From left to right are: Terry Meade/MSNJSA STATE PAGEANT DIRECTOR; Denise Mechan/NJCC SHOWCASE COORDINATOR; Rebecca Orsatti/MSNJSA'10; Suzie Neustadter/MSNJSA'18; Jo Ann Gordon/MSNJSA'08; Carole Lelli/President, NEW JERSEY CAMEO CLUB; Johanne Santori/MSNJSA'06 & MSNJSA ADMINISTRATOR;  Leah Whelan/MSNJSA'11; and Josephine Araniti/MSNJSA'07.
 
Emcees for the afternoon show were Pageant Director, Marlene Schuss and her daughter.  The 10 contestants were lovely and their talents ranged from singing, dancing, visual and comedy.  Their resident dance group, The Seasoned Steppers, and Carolyn Slade Harden, MS SENIOR AMERICA 2017, and MSNJSA 2017, provided the entertainment.  The Finale included the crowning of their new QUEEN, Maureen Griffin-Damone, MS NEW YORK SENIOR AMERICA 2018.

Following the Pageant, family and friends gathered at the Rockville Links Club for the Coronation Ball, for and evening of great food and fun.

QUEEN Carolyn Slade Harden, was among the honored guests at the Coronation Ball, who recieved a gift as a token of gratitude from the MS New York Senior America Pageant.

Suzie Neustadter, MS NEW JERSEY SENIOR AMERICA 2018, presented Maureen Griffin-Damone, MS NEW YORK SENIOR AMERICA 2018, with a crown pin, which was a gift from from the NEW JERSEY CAMEO CLUB.

For thier first photo, the girls were asked to pose as though they were singing one of their favorite medleys.  Can you guess which one?

This next one revealed all the grace, dignity and beauty of these fabulous "Sisters".

Everyone danced the night away.  In this dance, the ladies followed the directions in the DJ's song.  At this point, some could bend down lower than others - or not!

In this photo, the ladies formed a circle, each waiting for the chance to go into the middle to do her favorite "bump and grind" move.  You can just imagine what that looked like!

The ladies of NEW YORK CAMEO CLUB are true "Sisters" and were such fun to be with.  All evening long, they came over to our table to thank us for coming.  At evenings end, they returned to say goodbye, with hugs and kisses. 

Kudos to Marlene Schuss for putting on a great Pageant.  Good luck to her QUEEN, and to ours, Suzie Neustadter, as they prepare for the National Pageant. 

FYI:  Plans for the MS SENIOR AMERICA PAGEANT 2018, are now underway, and all the details have been posted on their website: www.senioramerica.org.  Pageant week is: Sunday, October 14th through Thursday, October 18th.  There are several activities during the week that the public is invited to attend, as well as the 2 Preliminaries and Final Pageant, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.