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October 2005 Edition Of Excellence
Raquel's Reality By Raquel Chevallier (MGA
2005)
Well, it’s that time. People have told me that time would pass by so quickly
during the year. Actually, it seems like a long time ago that I was crowned.
I’ve done so much, traveled so many places and made so many new friends, that
I’ve really made the most of my year as Miss Gay America. The only way I could
have done more is if there were more days in each month!
Just as soon as we were ready to start putting our lives back together after
Hurricane Katrina, go figure, here comes Hurricane Rita. It’s been pretty
difficult, but we are much more fortunate than others. Being such an organized
person, it’s been pretty frustrating having to wait to the last minute to get
things done for this year’s Miss Gay America pageant. But, I’m very much looking
forward to it. I keep thinking how cool it will be to be at MGA and know all the
contestants, because I was there at each of your pageants and was so happy to be
part of your journey.
This year proves to be especially amazing with 20 former MGA’s being there for
final night! A handful of them I’ve never even met before. It will be a
wonderful family reunion.
Let me fill you in on my last month as the reigning Miss Gay America. After the
first hurricane hit, I still had five more prelims to attend! I didn’t let
natural disasters stop me from doing my job as MGA and making my prelims. Once
again, Pennsylvania welcomed me as I made my way up there for Miss Gay
Mid-Atlantic. I was able to share this event with Maya Montana, as head judge.
It was so great to be around Coti Collins, as she relinquished her title. She is
someone that always makes you see the brighter side of life! I am so pleased to
see Celebrity Starr, from Arizona, make her way back into the system as she was
crowned Mid-Atlantic, with Lady Marissa, from New Jersey, coming in as first
alternate. Congratulations to them both!
My next stop was the legendary Miss Gay Texas pageant. New promoter, Manny
Anzaldua, geared up for a non stop, three day pageant that was held at the new
Station 4 in Dallas, TX. Alyssa Edwards was beautiful as ever as she
relinquished her title in the fabulous, huge new Rose Room. It was so wonderful
working with former MGTA’s Claudia Foster, Ashley Cole, Whitney Paige, Celeste
Martinez, Sweet Savage, Valerie Lohr, Laken Edwards and Tara Dion. Former MGA’s
Lauren Taylor and Patti Le Plae Safe were also there as judges. Wow, what a
great group! It was truly a special event and I am so thankful to them for
welcoming me with open arms. I’ve previously worked with each of them before, so
it was a great reunion!
Final night welcomed Layla Larue as the new Miss Gay Texas and Onyx as first
alternate. I’m so glad to see Onyx return to the MGA system. This was my first
time to meet Layla and she’s such a sweet person. Congratulations to both of
you. You’ve made Texas very proud! Wrapping up a great week in Texas, I had the
pleasure of performing with the cast of the Rose Room. Thanks so much girls for
a great time!
After just a few days rest, it was off to Wilmington, DE to welcome Miss Gay
Delaware, as a regional, back to the MGA family. Very excited and hospitable
promoters, Rick Church, Deja Alvarez, William Coxe, and Jamie Parks had four
contestants that competed. Congratulations to DIVA from Ft. Lauderdale, FL for
being crowned Miss Gay DE Regional, with Victoria James as first alternate.
While I was up in the area, I was so honored to be able to participate in a Red
Cross Hurricane Katrina benefit, which was held at Deer Park in Hagerstown, MD.
This was my fifth time this year to visit Deer Park and I’ve really made some
great friends up there and they’ve made me feel like part of the family. The
event was a huge success. We raised around $7,000. Thank you so much to Ashley
Bankks and Nicole James for opening their beautiful home to me and to Stephanie
Michaels for carting me around. I had a wonderful time getting to know you all
better!
My final prelim took me back to the great state of Missouri, welcoming yet
another prelim to our MGA family, Miss Gay Heartland. Congratulations to Ashlyn
Tyler on being crowned Miss Gay Heartland, and first alternate, Stephanie Ann
Rose. It was so special to have Vickie Vincent as head judge and to be able to
share my final prelim experience with someone who has always been so wonderful
this system.
With just a very short time, we head into the home stretch to this year’s Miss
Gay America pageant. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me. I have
made so many special friends this year and it was wonderful to get to see old
friends from long ago. I look forward to one day our paths crossing again.
This time next month one of you will be writing your first edition in MGA’s
Excellence. I wish you all the best of luck as you make your final preparations
on your pageant packages.
Finally, it’s in “Raquel’s Reality” that I reflect on the history that Norma
Kristie built and the growing history that Larry and Terry eagerly strengthen
within the most prestigious female impersonation pageant system, Miss Gay
America.
All my love,
Raquel Chevallier
From the desk of Larry & Terry
A new page in the history of Miss Gay America…….
We must first say that we
are deeply honored at the volume of compliments that we have received concerning
the week of competition of Miss Gay America 2006. Having such quality
contestants and promoters, has certainly attributed to the success that we all
seem to be enjoying at this time. We invested many hours of hard work, dollars
and emotions in order to provide to this country with the finest venue for
female impersonation pageantry and it is great to see such hype over the success
of the Miss Gay America 2006 pageant season. There were several that was so
close to making Top 10, that did not make it and for that we were heartbroken.
This was an extremely tight competition, which the scores validate, and as we
said many times before, just to make the Top 10, was a tremendous
accomplishment. We have been told by many, that this was the “tightest”
competition in Miss Gay America history and we certainly agree. Consistency won
the contest for Nicole DuBois. For those who did not win, we sincerely hope that
you choose to return to compete at Miss Gay America 2007. Regardless of if you
win the crown or not, you will definitely become a better entertainer for
sharing in this national competition as we have yet to speak with anyone who did
not learn something during their week in Memphis. If you missed the Miss Gay
America review show, you missed a very moving experience. To see Rachael Wells,
Hot Chocolate, Vicki Vincent and the many other formers was phenomenal. Memphis
was amazed at the revue show and we were glad to expose the City of Memphis to
excellence, Miss Gay America style. Kudos to Backstreet Coliseum for their hard
work to ensure an incredible venue for preliminaries and the revue show.
Our advice now, is for you, the contestants, to rest, then set a timeline for
you to select which preliminary you want to enter for next year (also select an
alternate preliminary just in case your first choice is not available), then
review your competition package for enhancements that will make you a better
competitor. By now, you should have received your scores, if not, please contact
your promoters or this national office. You should review your scores and if you
need further critique from the judges, please let us know and we will be happy
to provide you with their contact information as each of our judges have made
themselves available for further critique sessions. There is always room for
improvement and we want to assist in any way possible.
As we turn the page in history of the Miss Gay America pageant, we welcome,
Nicole DuBois to the Miss Gay America family. He has now realized the goal of
thousands, which is to become a Miss Gay America. We look forward to working
with Nicole DuBois and expect this to be another exciting year of revitalization
for the Miss Gay America system. So many former Miss Gay America titleholders
have left their mark of excellence in this pageant system, and we expect the
same of Nicole. Nicole DuBois-Miss Gay America 2006 is committed to enhancement
of the Miss Gay America system and will be available to you, whether you are a
contestant, promoter or spectator. We appreciate all the kind words regarding
Miss Gay America 2006 and now we look forward to another incredible Miss Gay
America pageant season and appreciate your support as we embark on yet another
chapter in the “search for the next Miss Gay America”.
Until next time…
A Note From The Editor
The Excellence strives to be an informative newsletter delivered to the promoters of the Miss Gay America Pageant System throughout the year. Should there be any issue or topic of discussion a promoter would like to see addressed (or to write an article to be published) in a future newsletter, please contact the editor via
Email.
Please note, any article, comments, or opinions faxed, mailed, (postal or electronics),
or otherwise sent to any of our "addresses" become our property and carry an implied consent of publication should we choose to do so. No articles will be published in which one or more of the following occurs:
- complete identity of the author is not known
- plagiarism
- defamation of an individual or company
- false or misleading information (as we are able to determine)
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