Workshop Weekend!

PHOTOS (From top to bottom)

1. Kim Thomas (Miss Brooklyn Executive Director), Melanie Gowrie (Miss Brooklyn's Outstanding Teen 2009), Leigh Taylor Smith (Miss Brooklyn 2008/ Miss New York 2008) and myself!

2. BROOKLYN, REPRESENT! Miss Brooklyn '08 (and Miss NY '08) with Miss Brooklyn '09!

3.Myself with the lovely Kim Cantoni (Miss Staten Island), my roommate for Miss NY 2009!

4.Being divalicious with my sisters (Courtney- Miss Fulton County, and Kieren-former Miss Mohawk Valley)

5.With my lovely OT Melanie and a MNY board member!

6.With Albany's Mayor Jennings

7.The Miss NY Class of '09 (Minus Inga!)

This blog will be short (school ends this week and I have A LOT of writing to do!), but I wanted to update everyone on our fantastic weekend in Albany.

I rose at 4:30a on Saturday to shower and finish packing, before leaving at 6:30a to meet Kim Thomas (my ED) and Melanie Gowrie (Miss Brooklyn's Outstanding Teen) at Atlantic Terminal at 7:30a. Things got off to a SLOW start (Thanks, BQE) but after a side trip to Queens, we were finally through Jersey and on the thruway, heading up to Albany. We chatted the whole way up, some pageant talk, some not, and listened to Cosmo radio (surprisingly informative!).

We arrived at the Crown Plaza Hotel just in time to check into our rooms, check in with the Miss NY board, and then begin filming our individual video sessions. This was followed by a series of meetings, and then rehearsal with Kent (YAY!), a swimsuit preview (sigh) and then a choreography session. We had just under an hour to return to our rooms and prepare for a reception that evening with Albany's own Mayor Jennings. (Photos above).

The next day, after breakfast and check out, we returned to the Egg for a talent show of sorts, which was a lot of fun! Talent is definitely one of my favorite phases of competition, and it always makes me wish I was out in the audience so I could watch rather than be stuck backstage. We received lots of helpful critiques (special thanks to the reality panel, plus Claire and Stacie!), and our friends and family got to watch too! We learned a little about a new fundraiser for Miss NY (more info coming soon), spoke with Miss America 1998 (Kate Shindle) about interview, rehearsed a bit more before Kent had to leave, and then sat down with Leigh Taylor for a chat.

We also drew our competition order somewhere in that mix. I'm #19, and my sister, Courtney, is #20! What are the odds of us drawing numbers right next to each other? This puts us in Group B, which means we'll be competing in Swimsuit and Evening Gown on Thursday night and Talent and Onstage question Friday night.

Tickets are available for purchase NOW! Go to www.theegg.org/events to purchase tickets!

I promise to write more as soon as this week is over! For now, I'm off to hit the books!

Best,

Keelie

The Headshot

Once again, many thanks to everyone who donated their time and services to make our headshot shoot a success!

David Gardiner Garcia- Photographer- http://www.davidgardinerphoto.com/

Karolina Almanzar- Makeup Artist- http://www.ikandymakeup.com/

Bond Street Studios- Location- http://www.bondstreetstudio.com/

The end (of the semester) is in sight!

PHOTOS (From Top to Bottom)

1) The Headshot Dream Team! L to R: Melanie Gowrie (Miss Brooklyn's OT), Karolina Almanzar (Makeup Artist), David Gardiner Garcia (Photographer) and Me!

2)My girl Melanie (Miss Brooklyn's Outstanding Teen) working it during her photo shoot. David's behind the camera, Kim Thomas (Miss Brooklyn ED) looks focused, and I think Karolina is trying to warn Kim about the photo!

3)Myself and the lovely Karolina in the makeup room

4)Maria (my airbrush tan guru from Pacific Tanning) and I

What an amazing/ hectic month April has been! In addition to my duties as Miss Brooklyn, I also go to school full time, Irish Step Dance, work at a Pilates studio, and work as an actor. Everything seemed to happen at once this month, and luckily, I was/ will soon be wrapping up a few of my more time consuming activities! School finishes up this week, and I'm thrilled to have extra time to dedicate to my Miss Brooklyn 2009 duties and Miss NY prep!

I've been continuing my personal training with the fabulous Ellen Stein, who is determined to give me a "bell-butt" (as in kettlebell) for Miss NY. I thought I was in decent shape before I started working with her, but most anyone would feel wimpy next to a Powerlifting Champion! Though I continue to stay in shape on my own when I'm not working out with Ellen, my sessions with her are always more fun and productive. You can always tell I've had a training session the previous day when I'm super smiley (working out makes you happy) and walking funny (working out also makes you sore)! Check out Ellen's blog for videos and photos of her lifting INSANELY heavy stuff! http://kettlebellen.blogspot.com/

I've also continued using the graciously donated airbrush tanning services of Pacific Tanning on 9th St. and 6th Ave in Brooklyn. Maria keeps my pasties away (as in pale-ness...not the other kind of pasties) with her expert airbrush-gun wielding. http://pacifictanningsalon.com/

This afternoon, I had my photo shoot with the amazing David Gardiner Garcia. He was quick, efficient and such a pleasure to work with! I only got to see a few shots while we scrolled through his camera, and I am absolutely thrilled to see the final photos! David's also a skilled fashion, wedding and event photographer. Check him out at : http://www.davidgardinerphoto.com/ . Makeup was provided by the lovely Karolina Almanzar (http://www.ikandymakeup.com/). Karolina made me look gorgeous but not overdone, and was a true delight to work with. Check out her website for samples of her work and her contact information. We were lucky enough to come into contact with Robert from Bond Street Studios, who graciously allowed us to use his beautiful space on literally a day's notice. Check out their studio at: http://www.bondstreetstudio.com/.

All in all, a great day! This weekend, I head up to Albany for the Miss New York workshop weekend. I'm excited to get to see all of the contestants again(I think there's only one or two that I haven't met!) and learn more about this year's production. Expect the proofs from my headshot session, along with photos from the workshop in my next blog!

Best,

Keelie