submitted by Kathy Willis
Congratulations to Katlyn Willis as she won first place in the talent category for her vocal performance of “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Grobin. Katlyn had two minutes to perform, to show off her vocal abilities and to impress the panel of judges and a live audience at the Hyatt Regency in Rochester, NY, on Sunday, August 23, and she did just that. Job well done.
As the recipient of the first place talent award, Katlyn received a beautiful trophy, a $250 cash prize, and a personal invitation to perform live as a talent contestant in Hollywood California in November to compete for the National Talent award for the NA Miss Pageant.
Katlyn can also be congratulated for being a top ten finalist for the Queen of the New York State National Miss. She also received a plaque for winning first place for the Spirit award, which is a collaborative choice made by all of the pageant choreographers.
Special thanks to Mrs. Jeanne Kirsch who is the music director at Berlin Central School. Mrs. Kirsch made a special overnight trip to Rochester to accompany Katlyn in her Sunday performance. She arrived a day early and spent time with Katlyn on Saturday rehearsing, and on Sunday assisted Katlyn with warming up, encouraging her and accompanying her in the performance that placed Katlyn as the first place talent winner. Katlyn is very thankful and appreciative of Mrs. Kirsch’s dedication to her students and the talent that she brings to the Berlin Central School District.
The pageant judges calculate the participants overall ratings based on their performances in three categories. The on stage formal wear competition, personal interviews and an on stage personal introduction.
Katlyn was escorted on stage for her formal wear competition by her proud grandfather (Papa) Robert Willis of Stephentown. The couple was introduced on stage, and Katlyn was given the opportunity to model her evening wear and was presented with a rose by her grandfather as he escorted her off of the stage.
The personal introduction portion of the competition allowed Katlyn to exhibit her public speaking skills on stage as she presented a small segment about herself. She also participated in a series of short interviews with a team of individual judges where she was asked to answer various, random questions about herself.
Katlyn notes that the experience has proven to be exhilarating and well worth while, and she is making the necessary arrangements to participate in next year’s pageant.