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July 2009 Edition Of
"The Excellence"
Victoria's Voice
“A
feeling, deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements…
The achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities
or possessions that are widely admired.” These statements are known as Pride!
I have found thru my experiences in life that unless you are proud of yourself
in every way, there is no reward. One must pick themselves from fallen dreams
and still be proud that they attempted to jump. This past month we celebrated
Pride! Pride means so many things to so many people. One may be proud to be who
they are and one may be proud to call someone a friend. With this said, to be
proud is to not have prejudices… it is to welcome all, regardless of
differences. This past month I found myself questioning things that I have to be
proud of… only because of the unfamiliar territory that I was in. With this
being said, I put the experience in my bag of knowledge and have used it to
better myself as a proud individual.
This year has been one of the busiest and exhilarating years of my life.
I find my self in a different place every week and a different situation too…
Trying to make it the best year ever and I know that I could not get thru it
without being humble! This is the one thing that I have learned about myself
this year as Miss Gay America. In so many places there are so many people who
are great at what they do. This is the fire that makes me want to meet new
people (pick their brains) and let them know that yes I am Miss Gay America but
also, I am a person (with or with out a crown). I treat people as I would like
to be treated... Although I just didn’t learn life lessons this past year, I
also find myself putting them into play more than ever because you can't ever
demand respect… you have to earn it, and for this I am proud to be your Miss
Gay America and strive to daily, earn your respect!
Celebrating Pride, I was on my way to
Orlando
for
Florida
's own Gay Day's. I was so excited to spend a long weekend in the beautiful
state to celebrate the diversity of the country. I was the special guest
performer at the annual Gay Day's pageant! This event was started a few years
ago and is a kick off for the weekends festivities! What made this weekend even
better is that I got to spend it with my good sister Coco Montese and her
husband Alfi! As I arrived at the hotel we were in typhoon rains only to find
out that the hotel had been out of electricity since the morning. OMG, I have
never seen so many wet gays in my life, waiting outside because the fire
marshall
would not allow anyone inside until the power was restored. Mind you that
myself and Miss Webster got right in… LOL.
Coco
was giving up the title of Miss Gay Days and had me there as her guest! The
experience was unforgettable and so memorable too. We then were booked at club
Naugico and had a fabulous time performing with the beautiful Esme Russel, Iman
and Alicia Markstone. The girls were so sweet. Thank you to all for making me
feel so welcomed… I truly had a great time and I hope I can join you again.
Back on the plane to Kansas City only to find myself leaving again in a day for
the fabulous state of Oklahoma for the Miss Gay Oklahoma America pageant and the
Miss Southern Elegance America pageant. I was so excited for this trip because
my sisters live there. I have been blessed with so many friends that live in the
state of OK. Also, a little nervous because I was staying at the Habanna
Inn..... Wow what an experience… and I'll never forget it! LOL. The first
night of the festivities was the review show and I sat out to watch and hang
out. It was so fun watching, for the first time, Aunt Tillie dress and perform.
For those of you that don’t know who I’m talking about, please ask for her
at Miss Gay America this year… She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to
the system and I might add, so fun too! The promoters of the Miss Gay
Oklahoma
America
pageant are Catia Lee Love, Stephen (Pure Chocolate), Tabitha Taylor and
Tillie Lane
. Do
they ever have their stuff together! It was a complete joy to be with the group
all weekend long. Mind you, that the contestants were a treat also… Hilary
Stewart, Vicki Dillard, Ally Lenee, Chantel Sterling, Alanna Paige, Kyra,
Shantel Mandalay, Anita Ryder, Biancia LeBlanc, Samantha West, Tamia, Loleai
Paige, Unique Paige and
Alysha
Brooks
all did a beautiful job. Adrienne Fischer was giving up the title and her
opening number was exquisite, ending with us both paying tribute to Wicked!
Thanks gal for including me… it was a honor to share the stage with you all!
Congratulations to Shantel Mandalay, as after eight years for competing, she
captured her dream and was crowned as Miss Gay Oklahoma America 2009, and her
first alternate Samantha West!
Thank you to Phillip and the staff of Angles, Adrianna, Sarah Lewis,
Tessa Traxler, Mikki, Sarah Molina, James and the Todds. A Special thank you to
John Bebee for the outstanding painting of Andy Worhals Wicked Witch! It its
hung with great pride that I have a friend like you! Thank you to all for making
great memories!
Well
one more stop before going home again for just one day… My next prelim was
Miss Gay Southern Elegance America and it was also held in OKC at the beautiful
Show Lounge Boom. Mark and Jamie are the new promoters of the pageant. We could
not ask for sweeter gentleman! The pageant was graced with three wonderful
contestants. Adrienne Fischer, Bianca LeBlanc and Sally Sparkles... and they
were not playing games. The pageant was very entertaining… there may have only
been three contestants but they all brought their “A” game. It was wonderful
to get to work with Victoria Weston, Zia, Tatianna Voche', Sue Nami and the
newest former Lala LaRue. Congratulations To Sally Sparkles, the newly crowned
Miss Southern Elegance
America
and first alternate Adrienne Fischer, both on their way to MGA!! Thanks to
Brett (Kitty Bob Aimes) for allowing us to use your beautiful showroom.
So
I'm back home to squeeze two weeks of hair clients into one day! LORD, am I
crazy! My
next venture is to the hot hot city of
Phoenix
for the Miss Gay Arizona America pageant. I got to see people that I have not
seen in years and it was a great trip down memory lane… the people couldn't be
any nicer! The pageant was wrapped up into two days, It went by so quickly.
Daniel, Paul and Warren did a fantastic job putting on the event. The
contestants were Naomi St. James, Afeelya Bunz, Candi Colee, Vivika D'Angelo,
Diva, TC Taylor, Patricia Mason, Ebonae Shane, Kiki
Vermont
and Celebrity Starr. The promoters whipped the pageant right into place. Tori
Steele, Angela Dodd, Amanda Bury, Mikaila Kay, Bunny Fufu, Phaedra, Barbara
Seville, Mya McKenzie and Sache Van Cartier’ were some of the formers, in
attendance, supporting the pageant. It was great to work with you all.
Congratulations to TC Taylor, the new Miss Gay Arizona
America
and first alternate Celebrity Starr, for receiving your ticket to MGA! Thanks
to the people of AZ for welcoming me with open arms!!
I want to take a little time to thank the people who have been so great to work
with this month. These individuals are the ones that have been selected to find
our next symbols on the preliminary level. They are also under the influence of
me, being Miss Gay America and are an extension of what I bring to this system.
A special thank you to Charity Case, Spencer May, Roger Dimick, Travis Vaughn,
Jonathan Kinder, Nichole Dubois, Tillie Lane, Victor Clay, Shane Broce, Kenneth
Blake, Mikaila Kay, Alison Vincent, Kat Hartmann and Tajma Hall for all of your
time and efforts in helping select such a wonderful group of competitors!
Wrapping up the month already does not seem to be possible. I have been so many
places in such a short amount of time that I am losing track of all time. One
thing that is so funny to me is that I have made friends with the workers at the
airport (go figure) but it makes it easy when they already know what’s in the
bag… LOL I have one more trip before this month ends and it is to
St. Louis
pride! I am so excited that I get to attend the festival in the city that I won
the title of Miss Gay America. I am looking forward to spending time with
L&T and my
St. Louis
sisters. As I stated early on in this letter, no matter where you are in life's
journey we always have something to be proud of!
Until next time!
Victoria DePaula, Miss Gay America 2009
 From the desk of Larry & Terry
An
Overwhelming Sense of Pride…
It
seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating Pride 2008… how quickly
times passes but we hope that each of you have taken a moment to be proud of who
you are! Each of us are very unique individuals and it takes a blend of all
people to create diversity, so we encourage all to embrace our differences, live
life to the fullest and be happy! Pride month is not an “in your face”
statement but rather, simply a celebration of our diversity and
recognition/appreciation of Stonewall… please take time to enjoy!
This year we celebrated our local pride in
Memphis
,
Tennessee
. While the Memphis Pride Fest does not equal the efforts of much larger cities,
we seem to notice a growing trend in support, within our community and beyond.
Congrats to Memphis Pride for their efforts in producing another successful
event! And as if the Memphis Pride Fest was not enough, we then, traveled to
St. Louis
,
Missouri
to celebrate their exceptional Pride Festivities. Our goal for the weekend was
to attend the St. Louis Pride Celebration, have a great time and market the Miss
Gay America pageant system to the thousands of festival attendees, since for the
second time in as many years, the national competition will be in St. Louis,
Missouri
. We can say that our mission was accomplished…
On Saturday, we attended the festival with Carl a/k/a Miss Gay America 2009
Victoria DePaula…just relaxing enjoying the Main Stage
Entertainment, shopping through the many vendor booths and surviving the
heat as best we could… Then, on Sunday, a much needed cold front passed
through the city, and left behind very sunny skies with a temperature of 80…
perfect weather for a parade... After getting stuck in traffic and arriving a
little tardy for the parade line-up/check point (BTW, thanks to Pride St. Louis
Committee and Madison for being so understanding…) we arrived at the parade
line-up, with our white convertible, banners and this time, with Miss Gay
America 2009 Victoria DePaula. This year, just as last, we were amazed at the
number of spectators who lined the streets of the parade route. They were a very
energetic crowd, but for the second time in as many years, we were simply
overwhelmed and extremely humbled at the reaction of the crowd as they realized
that the reigning Miss Gay America was in attendance at their Pride Celebration.
As we (L & T and Syreeta Bruster) walked before the vehicle (driven by
Carmelia Henderson), we could hear the remarks from the crowd as they noticed
that Miss Gay America 2009 was in their presence. Our words cannot express the
humility we felt to such remarks as “Oh My God, that is Miss Gay America” or
“Wow, that is Miss Gay America” or “She is so beautiful”… It is
amazing how something that obviously we take for granted, as we are daily
connected to it, is something that much of the country has a very deep respect
and tremendous appreciation for. It goes much deeper than the “celebrity
status” but it is an admiration and the highest form of respect… To many in
the gay community, Miss Gay America is an icon status the EVERY female
impersonator, at one time or another, would have given most anything, to become.
It is a level that many aspire to become part of, but only few will ever be a
part of. It is about being the very Symbol of Excellence, that the country
expects. All these things are just a few reasons why we are reminded, every once
in a while, that all of the head-ache, heart-ache and stress, that we go
through, year after year, is worthwhile and is our efforts to keep alive, a
legacy that no other diverse organization can compare to… Our “day-jobs”
have been extremely challenging for us for the most recent year and we struggle
daily, to maintain, the energy to manage this national contest, but when we hear
such great comments and compliments, of this pageant system and the reigning
Miss Gay America, and to see the respect and admiration of the community and
country, once more, we become very proud of this excellence in entertainment,
that the country continues to love. And as we are approaching the 38d th
annual Miss Gay America pageant, it is with great pride and tradition that we
work very hard to continue to be the “glue” that binds this great system
together. So this year, while we celebrate our diversity in society and realize
that we are very proud of who we are, we are reminded that we should also be
very proud of what we continue to present to the country, which is the original
and most unique form of pageantry through the illusion of female impersonation,
also know by most as the “pinnacle in the art of female impersonation”.
We wish each of you a very happy pride and thank you for your continued love and
support of this pageant system. Kudos to St. Louis Pride (sponsors of the Miss
Gay America 2009 pageant) for another job well done and a special thank you for
Carmelia and Syreeta for your seemingly endless energy to help L & T in any
capacity, in support of this pageant system… And lastly, thank you, Miss Gay
America 2009 Victoria DePaula for being what the country demands, from Miss Gay
America, and that is “excellence”… we hope that the remainder of your
reign is as successful and meaningful as the first 8 months…
Until
Next Time!
Larry and
Terry
A Note From The Editor
The Excellence strives to be an informative newsletter delivered to the promoters,
contestants, audience and other supporters 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:
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