I am so honored to that I was selected as one of the five finalists in the Ms. Sr. America Pageant on Friday, September 24th at Harrah's in Atlantic City, NJ.  As "Ms. Nebraska" was called out and I stepped forward from the row of ten finalists, my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to jump out of my RED gown that I had selected to identify with our "Big Red" image. That was my goal--to bring recognition to Nebraska and Wahoo in particular.

 

 Five of us were selected; however, there were 39 other women on that stage that were just as deserving. The group assembled for the entire week consisted of teachers, realtors, doctors and psychologists  to name a few. The talents included singers, tap dancers, a baton twirler, comedians, pianists, artists, a house designer and builder, an instructor showing how to make stained glass  and the list goes on and on. We put on a fabulous show for the packed theatre. No one would know the ages ranged from 60 to 83 and no one cared--the entertainment was outstanding and had the audience laughing and crying and enjoying every moment. The camaraderie of the contestants was electric as we all were seasoned professionals in life and in our abilities to not only share our talents, but we were a group of women that had all been involved in giving to their communities and families in every way possible.

 

When it was my turn to entertain, I stepped out on the stage in my RED velvet gown, walked over to the seven foot grand that had a dozen RED roses in a crystal vase sitting on top for a "touch of class" and played my Chopin Polonaise. It was my chance to show my talents that had first been nurtured at Wahoo High School and I "brought the house down" as they say. The audience started clapping before I was even finished and the comments flew everywhere--"I had goose bumps all over my body" and even a few men said it was so beautiful," it made them cry.". I can still hear the thunderous applause ringing in my ears. 

 

Thank you Wahoo High School...

---

 

Patricia's description of the final day of the week-long pageant is only a segment of her "journey of a lifetime."

The weather was gorgeous with only one afternoon of rain; the hills in Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia almost wiped her out but she slowly conquered them all. The big scare was fear of losing her life as a garbage truck racing by her down a steep hill almost catapulted her into a ravine. She says she still has nightmares about that episode, but the angel she always wears on her shoulder enabled her to hang on to her foot of space on the white line as the truck rushed by. The biggest challenge every day was finding a place to ride. Bicycles are prohibited on the freeways where there are beautiful, wide shoulders. Instead, you must ride on two lane roads with the white line on the side and many times, nothing beyond that white line. You are also sharing the road with every other vehicle and truck on the road. She persevered and pedaled into Atlantic City with the promised 1,400 miles under her belt!

 

The police escort from Ocean City through three other towns before  approaching Atlantic City will be remembered forever. Four motorcycle police led Tony and Patricia, and also Gabriel and Johanne Santori who joined for the last few miles, down the entire length of the boardwalk with their lights flashing and sirens screeching as needed. Somehow, all the trials and tribulations of the twenty-five days on the road disappeared.

 

The final accolade in Atlantic City was being interviewed by Pinky Kravitz, the unofficial mayor of Atlantic City on a half-hour live TV show on broadcast on Saturday night, the 26th.  Patricia had called in live every day on the road to Pinky's radio show. The TV show included segments about her upbringing in Wahoo, the bicycle ride and scholarship, and the pageant. Pinky had "taken her under his wing" and she is eternally grateful to that wonderful man for his daily promotion of Wahoo and the scholarship fund.

 

Patricia and Gabriel will present the first $500 to a vocal student and $500 to an instrumental student in May of 2009. Their dream to ensure the first ten years of the scholarship can happen with the support now of local friends and businesses. to complete the $10,000 goal.