Mr. Bucks County To Be Crowned At Newtown Block Party Fundraiser

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Twelve well-known area gentlemen are vying for the title of Mr. Bucks County 2024 during this year’s Light the Night Pink fundraiser for Main St. (formerly Pine to Pink), a Bucks County nonprofit supporting breast cancer patients and the Kin Center in Buckingham.

During the competition, friends and members of the public were encouraged to vote for their favorite “Mister” by making a financial pledge online at MrBucksCounty.com.

The candidate who raised the most money will be crowned 2024’s Mr. Bucks County during a fashion show featuring the contestants and fashions by Giovanni’s Fine Fashions at a Light the Night Pink fundraiser on October 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. on South State Street.

In addition to the Mr. Bucks County awards ceremony and fashion show, the Light the Night Pink public fundraiser will feature raffle items up for grab, plenty of refreshments, live music and information tables from local sponsors. All proceeds from the sale of food, beverage, raffles and calendars will go directly to Main St.

This year’s candidates are Mike Kanoff (Mr. January), Chris Aland (Mr. February), Kevin Donlon (Mr. March), Michael Christou (Mr. April), Eric Chamberlain (Mr. May), Dan Knott (Mr. June), Rich Fekete (Mr. July), Bill Wise (Mr. August), Heath Dumack (Mr. September), Jason Beaver (Mr. October), Joe DeLuca (Mr. November), and Mike Sobcazk (Mr. December). To read their biographies, click here. The list includes a real estate developer, a restaurant owner, a business owner, a sales and marketing expert, a jewelry store owner, volunteer firefighters and others.

The competition is a joint effort created by Opus Elite owner, Mark Gatta, his South State Street business neighbor, Gina-Maria Santoro, owner and operator of Giovanni’s Fine Fashions and business associate Chadd Levine of Superstar Lenders.

One day while chatting on State Street in Newtown Borough they were brainstorming ways to raise money but in a much more fun and creative way. In that moment, the Mr. Bucks County Competition was born.

But stopping there would have been too easy for the entrepreneurs. They decided a secondary revenue stream would be an even better way to double their efforts and so the idea of a Mr. Bucks County calendar was born.

As part of the competition, each gentleman is featured in a 12-month calendar published as part of the fundraiser. Copies of the calendar will be sold during the days leading up to the event, at the Light the Night Pink fundraiser and at MrBucksCounty.com

Each month of the calendar is sponsored by a different business and highlights each gentleman of the month in a humorous scene shot by photographer Joe Dantone of Dantone Creative.

In the inaugural year the Mr. Bucks County Competition raised just over $65,000 for Main St. with the help of the event’s volunteers, contestants and sponsors.

“This year we are setting our goals a bit higher and hope to raise at least $75K but the sky is the limit,” said Gina-Maria Santoro.

Throughout the years, the business owners of Newtown have continually supported local non-profits in their efforts to raise money for organizations and individuals in need. It is the core of who we are as a community to not only support those sick or less fortunate but to create a network of public leaders, residents, and business owners to help in any way that we can.

“The Mr. Bucks County Competition is just another way we have banded together to support the nonprofits of Newtown and the surrounding areas,” said Gina-Maria Santoro.