Laurel Festival Parade and Crowning!

The skies dried up for the annual Laurel Parade and the crowning of the new queen! All of the girls got very creative with thier floats and this year's theme which was, "Going Green". Incorporated into each float was our state flower the Mountain Laurel. At the end of the parade, the City of Winchester turned out to see Courtney Kane become the 74th Laurel Queen!
Congrats to all the ladies that competed! You all are winners!!!!

2008 Laurel Pageant, Ball and Parade

What an honor it was to be asked to judge
one of Connecticut's oldest pageants, The Laural Pageant.
It was a fun filled weekend!!
Saturday, I had the opportunity to actually sit on the"Other" side of the table and interview 28 beautiful high school seniors.Interviews lasted over 6 hours and I was truly astounded by how accomplished these young women were! The pageant itself is not based on beauty but on the delgates academic and community service accomplishments. Not only did I learn about the girls , I learned how difficult it was, as a judge, to narrow it down to a top 5!
During the evening, the annual Laural ball commenced, and all the girls were intoduced to the public. This portion of the competition was also judged. The girls were scored on thier poise, the ability to mingle with the public, and how well thier evening gowns accented them. Again, it was a very tough decision, but we had narrowed it down to the top 3!

Pictured: 1)The judges
2)Geisha Ahles
3)Delegates having fun!

My dad passed away on June 5, 2008

My dad passed away at age 87, unexpectedly on Thursday June 5, 2008. He was an amazing dad and an unbelievable grandfather.

Dad was one of my biggest supporters and an inspiration in my life.

I am who I am because of him.

Miss you daddy.

Hospitals need volunteers!!!

What a beautiful breezy day it was for the St. Mary's hospital Auxilary volunteer membership tea party. Our hospitals are in dire need for more volunteers. Over 100 women turned out to listen to keynote speaker WTNH channel 8 anchor woman Ann Nyberg speak about the importance of volunteering within hospital auxilary's.

Ann is the founder of Yale New Haven Hospital Childrens Toy Closet, so she understands the need for a larger auxilary membership.

During the course of the year, I have had the opportunity to work with the auxilary in a "rebranding" marketing effort to help recruit new volunteers, and I think after today, my job was successful!

Pictured From left to right: Beverly Bucari Auxilary President, Ann Nyber, Me!