Miss RI Outstanding Teen Crowns a New Winner

The Miss Rhode Island Outstanding Teen Pageant (MRIOT) was held Saturday, May 10th at Roberts Hall on the campus of Rhode Island College.  The Miss America's Outstanding Teen Program is mirrored after the Miss America Program.  The MRIOT program provides cash and scholarship opportunities for young women ages 13-17.  The program offers so much more to these young women.  The ability to develop talent, cultivate lifelong friendships, and empower these young women could never be measured in terms of dollars and cents.  In all, there were 10 contestants representing their respective hometowns.

I spoke with a volunteer, Rachel DiDino, shortly before the competition started and asked Rachel about the mood of the girls.  "Nerves, excitement, anticipation.  I think they just want the curtain to go up and go out and perform."  As the auditorium filled, the tension and excitement of the moment started to set in with friends and families.  There were cheers and signs lifted and tons of smiles and congratulations among families of the contestants.

Around 7pm, the program commenced with a rousing dance routine performed by the Narragansett Performing Art Dancers as well as the introduction of the 10 contestants.  The Narragansett Performing Art Dancers are the product of Cheryl Cusick, who also serves as the MRIOT executive director.  Cheryl's commitment to the MRIOT is immeasurable.  She has been involved since 2009 and her responsibilities, in her own words,  include no less than "securing a qualified panel of judges, recruiting contestants, coordinate rehearsal schedules, secure the venue and choreograph and produce the event."  Sounds like the work of 20 people but Cheryl is a highly organized and special person to be able to pull it off with such professionalism.  I had the opportunity to interview Cheryl and will be posting a blog with that interview at a later date.

And then came the entrance of the 2013 Miss Rhode Island Outstanding Teen winner, Heather Shen.  Miss Shen will certainly be a tough act to follow.  According to everyone I spoke with at the program,  Miss Shen has represented the Miss RI Outstanding Teen program with incredible class and maturity.  Her civic accomplishments as well as her academic achievements are so impressive and the crowd, throughout the program, continued to shower her with lengthy ovations.  Miss Shen performed for the crowd during several segments of the program, including several beautiful violin pieces, one a solo and one with her older sister, Ivy.  By the way, Miss Shen will be attending Stanford University in the fall after graduating #1 in her class at East Greenwich High School.  Amazing.

Tara Granahan, radio and TV Personality from WPRO, was the emcee of the event.  I thought she did a masterful job of mixing in humor with praise for the contestants, as well as capturing the essence of how talented the girls were.  She was a seasoned pro who entertained the crowd with a personal touch, mentioning Mother's Day as well as the fact that her son was away this year due to military service.  Tara was the perfect emcee for this type of event.

The program moved fluidly from program to program, routine to routine.  There was a panel of 8 judges who evaluated the girls in programs such as physical fitness, evening gown competition, question and answer, as well as individual performances.  The individual performances including a few vocal solos, a beautiful piano solo, dance routines, and acting scenes from Broadway musicals.  One of the contestants displayed and explained her various fashion creations, which I thought was really interesting.  The common themes of the evening's programs were maturity, poise, and talent.  These girls were all so talented and gifted and all have such bright futures.

I spoke briefly with Joe Neri, the executive director/President of the Miss RI Scholarship Program.  I asked Mr. Neri what his impressions were of the evening.  Mr. Neri said "The women of this program just demonstrated what the teen program is all about.  Talent and building friendships.  These 10 ladies all made 10 new friends that this program made possible.  I want to wish all of them the best of luck."

Miss RI 2013 Jessica Marfeo was in attendance and she was gracious enough to send me a quote on her thoughts for the evening.  "Miss RI Outstanding Teen Program begins a journey of scholarship assistance and self-discovery.  As the current Miss Rhode Island 2013 I have truly seen the impact this organization can have in supporting your academic goals as well as your growth in becoming a confident woman in society."

In the end, as with all pageants and competitions, there can be only one participant crowned.  And this year's winner was Grace Romanello, representing Southern RI's Outstanding Teen.  Her platform is: "It takes a team overcoming body image issues and eating disorders."  Congratulations Grace Romanello, the 2014 Miss Rhode Island Outstanding Teen.

For more information on this program, go to Facebook and search Miss Rhode Island Outstanding Teen Program or www.maoteen.org. 

The I.C.E. Agency is a proud contributor to this event and we congratulate all of the families, program participants, and production staff that made this event a huge success.

Photos courtesy of Daniel Gagnon Photography.  You can see Daniel's incredible portfolio of work at www.danielgagnonphoto.com.