|
| |
February 2010 Edition Of
"The Excellence"
Coco's Corner
 Wow
is all I can say as I write my very first letter to all of you. I’ve dreamed
of this moment for little over 3 years now. I even had many rough drafts
written, planning for the time that my dream would become reality. I can truly
say that no rough draft and no pre-preparation can ever prepare you for this
moment. I chose to call my letter Coco’s
Corner because I believe that in this world we all have our own little space
where we share our thoughts or experiences, hopes and dreams.
All of these corners put together, make up our world and that is what
makes our world different in many parts of the globe. I wish I could take all of
you with me on my journey this year. But since that’s not possible I will use
this letter every month to recreate all I experience in my travels this year. As
you all know this is a life altering experience and will have many challenges
along the way. As a contestant for many years, you knew when this dream was
accomplished, that is when the real work will begin. Many of the Miss Gay
America preliminary promoters and supporters put in a lot of time, effort and
money into their City, State and Regional Pageants. For this reason, I feel as
the title holder, I must equally devote my time and effort into furthering the
success of the system. As for many things in life, you get out what you put in.
I look at my life as Miss Gay America as a relationship and in a healthy
relationship, you learn and grow together and that requires a lot of attention.
I know that through all I experience, it will be an adventure like no other and
that’s what makes it all exciting and worthwhile.
As
the days go by, I plan diligently for my coronation which will take place at the
end of February in
St. Louis
MO.
The pageant season that starts shortly thereafter, I can truly say everything
happens for a reason. I’ve receive many encouraging words of support from many
former Miss Gay America’s, friends, promoters within the Miss Gay America
family and other well-wishers from others systems as well. My first public
appearance was at Miss Florida USofA in
Tampa
Florida
where I was a judge and entertainer. They welcomed me with opened arms and a
standing ovation as the new Miss Gay America representative and with
Florida
being my home it really got me off to a great start.
A
personal thanks to my Miss Gay Heart of
America
family, Cocktail Entertainment my Daddy and Mommy-Mike and Rodney (Anita
Cocktail Miss Tennessee America 2009), for your hard work and dedication to me. I
hope it paid off for you. Making you proud was a priority to me. I know that in
your hearts when it was time to pass me off to another family you both prayed
that it would be into the arms of Larry and Terry. I think your prayers have
been answered; maybe they will let you have joint custody of me. My
Memphis
support team, Raven and the crew who stuck by me at Miss Gay America this year,
I am so grateful.
Many
of my Miss Gay America friends from across the country are trying to make
arrangements to attend the coronation in
St. Louis
and for all their efforts I am grateful. As the traveling begins and the
adventures start to surface, I’m sure I’ll have much more to share with you
in the near future. It’s very important to me that the public is able to
embark upon this journey with me because I am only a representation of you. As
Miss Gay America 2010 I know that this job requires and deserves my undivided
attention. I say to all promoters and supporters, I know the task at hand and I
will honor, respect and protect your investment as well as my own investment in
the Miss Gay America System.
I
am looking forward to a great year of pageantry, filled with new friends and
adventures.
We Go On,
Coco
Montrese
Miss Gay America 2010 Representative
 From the desk of Larry & Terry
We Go On…
Wow, what a month! Seems like those that
feed off the drama have had plenty to eat this month huh? But not to worry.
because the drama meal from this pageant season is over and the naysayers can
move… We have been around long enough to know that if one feeds into the
negativity, the negativity will grow and live longer. However, when one makes a
decision, addresses the decision directly, with those who need to know, then
makes effort to move forward and to focus on the positive, then the negativity
will diminish. Regardless of those who want to boycott or withdraw support of
this pageant system, this system will go on and those who remain, will unify,
become stronger and have a greater loyalty to the product, for which they so
strongly believe. Usually, during this part of the month, we begin to ponder
about the topic of the upcoming newsletter.
Still not knowing what we were going to compose, we received the
beautifully written and heartfelt article from soon to be Miss Gay America 2010
Coco
Montrese… and then when we read to the closing of the article, and it was
apparent what we should entitle this article…. “We Go On”…
We, like many others, including promoters and contestants have invested many
dollars, hours of time and energy into this pageant system. We will protect our
investment and assure all that every decision made, is made with the thought of
what we think to be in the best interest of this pageant system. Will everyone
agree with our decision? No. But that is the beautiful thing about living in
this country, and that is that we are free to choose whom and what we support.
And to those who cannot support our decisions, they are free to move their
support elsewhere, where they can support the decisions. It is not easy managing
this national competition, and as this last month has proven, there are
sometimes very difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions to make, but part of
management is to make the decisions with the best interest of the organization
in mind. And sometimes, while the decisions may not seem (to some) to be the
best choice at the time, most will look back, after a while, and realize the
position of not only management, but also the position of the organization, and
how decisions made, best serve the organization. No one wants the drama
associated with certain decisions, however, effective business management, is
thinking about issues that could negatively effect the organization and then,
taking prudent steps ensure that the best interest of the majority of the
investors are realized. We have and
will continue to think of the best interest of this organization and refuse to
sacrifice the integrity of this pageant system. We will not waiver on making
stand for the regulations of this organization, regardless of the players
involved and their supporters. After all, we are continuing a legacy and
tradition that is second to none. Our standards are high but more importantly,
the standards of our investors (including promoters and contestants) are high
and those who invest, do so because of these standards, thus holding us (L &
T) accountable for enforcing the regulations. All this to say, we move on!
We are now focused on the positive, which is the coronation of Coco Montrese as
Miss Gay America 2010…and then in just a few weeks following, the Miss Gay
America 2011 pageant season begins, starting with Miss Mid America on March 12,
2010 in
Memphis
. For those who know little about Coco Montrese, we have witnessed first hand,
that her ego is much less than his respect for the crown, which will soon be
placed on his head. He has already personified excellence throughout the country
and we are anxious to watch, as he grows and shows the country that he is worthy
of being call, Miss Gay America.
For those who can make the trip to St. Louis, Missouri on February 27, 2010, at
the Grey Fox (reception, 6:15p.m. Coronation Ceremony, 7:15p.m. former Miss Gay
America Revue Show), we encourage you to partake of this “history in the
making” event. Among many things, EXCELLENCE is about rising above, growing
from and moving on, from adversity. Each of us face challenges every day. Growth
comes from learning and applying the lessons learned to every day life moving
forward. This system is stronger than before and our supporters have only
validated why they support this system. The
amount of support we have witnessed over recent days has been quite humbling. We
are excited about the future of this organization and are thankful that we are
entering into this partnership with Coco Montrese. She will surely give you good
reason to call her “The Symbol of Excellence” as she is already giving focus
on what she can and should do in order to make her positive mark on this pageant
system, as Miss Gay America 2010.
So, in conclusion, out with the negative and in with the positive. We move on
and trust in advance that each of our supporters can continue to assist in
extinguishing the negativity, by simply not feeding into it. We assure you that
it will go away… The sun always shines again and we cannot think of a better
group of individuals (i.e. promoters, contestants and audience), for which we
can bask in the sun… We thank each of you for your continued support and we
look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, take care and we wish you, the
contestants and promoters the best of luck, as you move past this month and
continue preparations of your contest.
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:
|
