The search has ended for that special woman who possesses the most dignity, maturity and inner beauty, on Thursday, October 24th at Resorts in Atlantic City. Esmeralda Ybarra Hetrick, MS Pensylvania, was crowned MS SENIOR AMERICA 2019. QUEEN Hetrick begins her year long journey of traveling across the country promoting the positive aspects of aging.
Closer to home however, Jerseyans are rejoicing also, because Dr. Debra Canale, MS NEW JERSEY SENIOR AMERICA 2019 was a finalist and made the Top 10. Here are some highlights of this State QUEEN'S journey during National Pageant week.
There were 41 contestants this year. The above photo shows half of the QUEENS, and Dr. Debra is standing third one in on the left. Esmeralda is standing second one in on the right, wearing a red stole over her gown.
The show begins with all the QUEENS onstage, listening to the lovely song, "The Little Girl Inside", written and sung by Lou Parisi.
Each State QUEEN is escorted to the microphone where they announce their name and State.
This is the gown Debra wore for her introduction at the 2nd Preliminary on Wednesday. The sequins sparkled in the bright lights onstage as she move from point to point. Her accessories, although dramatic, were tasteful and did not diminish the importance of her crown and State banner.
For the Talent Portion, Debra combined gymnastics, pole sport and dance.
She portrayed Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway Show classic,
My Fair Lady. In this scene, she was returning home from the party, where she made her debut among the upper class British society.
Debra took poetic license a little bit, by placing the scene outside, instead of in her bedroom for obvious reasons, as she moved to the iconic song, "I Could Have Danced All Night". In this photo, it is the climax of the song, where she climbed to the top of the pole, and slid down to the floor in a perfect split. The audience gasped, cheered and rewarded her with thunderous applause.
With the two days of Preliminaries over, the day of the Finals came on Thursday. All of the contestants returned to the stage, the Top 10 were called and Debra made it. The scores were cleared, they competed once again. In the photo above, is another familiar "Jersey Girl" and NEW JERSEY CAMEO CLUB "Sister", Sherri McGhie, standing next to QUEEN Esmeralda. She represented the State of West Virginia and came in 1st runner up. Congratulations!
While the contestants change, the audience was entertained by a variety of acts. The New Jersey Star Dancers were one of several groups who spiced up the afternoon with a Latin routine, choreographed by Terry Meade/MSNJSA EXECUTIVE STATE PAGEANT DIRECTOR, and Jo Ann Gordon/MSNJSA2008.
The NSAA QUEENS CHOIR, under the direction of Josephine Araniti/MSNJSA2007, another "Jersey Girl", delighted the audience with, a medley of songs from the hit Broadway musical, "Mamma Mia!".
"Waterloo" was the last song of the medley, and Josephine invited the audience to participate. Everyone got up and started rockin' away - even the judges!
The traditional Cameo Ball was held on Wednesday, the night before the Final Pageant. Everyone was dressed to the nines, and there was great music for dancing all night long. No - your eyes are not seeing double - there's Debra's twin sister, Natalie, rockin' the night away also.
It was Debra's "time", and to help support her and to cheer her on, many NEW JERSEY CAMEO CLUB "Sisters" attended the Pageant, and the Cameo Ball. In the center, are 2 special ladies who deserve special kudos for making the MS NEW JERSEY SENIOR AMERICA PAGEANT the best in the country - Terry Meade, MSNJSA EXECUTIVE STATE PAGEANT DIRECTOR, and Johanne Santori/MSNJSA2006 and MSNJSA STATE PAGEANT ADMINISTRATOR.
Lastly, kudos to Dr. Debra Canale, MS NEW JERSEY SENIOR AMERICA 2019, who did a fabulous job representing the Garden State. Although, the National Pageant is over, the year of her reign has just begun. May you continue in the excellent tradition of the New Jersey QUEENS who have gone before you, and touch the hearts of those you meet and make their lives better!
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