February 09...Part 1!

February 09 Part I…

WOW This has been a busy month. 14 appearances in 28 days! Some days were filled with two or three, and that’s just how the month started off!

On Thursday, February 5, Vincenza (Carrieri-Russo, Miss DE USA 08) and I were invited to attend the Downtown Newark Partnership’s Volunteer Reception at the Deer Park Tavern on Main Street. I feel so lucky to live in a city with such an active and involved community. Cenz and I volunteered at a number of Newark events this year it was very generous of them to invite us. It was nice to see new Lt. Governor Matt Denn again and as always, Congressman Mike Castle. We also made new friends in City Councilman Ezra Temko (just around our age!) and his boyfriend Drew and had a great time chatting over some good food.

From Newark I headed down to Camden to volunteer at Miss Delaware Vera Bradley Bingo. Laura Moylan did a great job putting this together and it was so much fun to catch up with Galen (gold sash and all!) since she returned from her phenomenal Top 15 performance at Miss America. We had a great time calling winning numbers and mingling with the ladies before receiving a private tour of the new Camden-Wyoming Fire Hall. If you haven’t seen our pictures on Facebook, we had a ton of fun with our favorite princess Sarah Janney, especially in the lounge! LOL

Saturday the 7th was a BUSY day. I sang some love songs at Shop for Heart at Boscov’s Christiana in the morning, which was a store-wide event that benefitted the American Heart Association. They have been a very welcoming destination for me and I thoroughly thank them for all of their support this year, especially Wanda Allison, a near and dear new friend. From there I headed up to New Jersey for two more appearances. I was a special guest performer at the Mrs. New Jersey US Cabaret for a Cause, which was also a benefit for the American Heart Association. I sang my standard “Foggy Day” by Michael Buble and also Clay Aiken’s “This is the Night”. I met some wonderful new friends in NJ and also had the opportunity to catch up with Dr. Ellie (Mrs. DE US 08) and Marci McNair, who is competing for the title on March 15. A HUGE thank you to Michelle Harris Anderson (Miss DE 1995) and Chris Wilshire for inviting me and putting on such a classy event. Congratulations to Mrs. NJ US Evelyn Macleod on an amazing year of service!

Julie was supposed to meet me at the Miss Cumberland County Pageant in NJ that night but was unable to do so because of her injured foot. I made it there just in time to see Ashleigh (Udalovas, Miss NJ’s Sweetheart) tap dance her way to the crown! She was stunning and poised and it was so exciting to reunite with her, her parents, and Claire (Miss IN Sweetheart) who had just returned from Miss America. So it was a long day, but a great day!

Monday evening February 9 presented a very special opportunity. My new favorite Councilman Ezra Temko invited me to the City of Newark council meeting to speak on behalf of four equal rights proposals he was promoting to the council. Several people spoke on behalf of the proposals and only one spoke against. It was amazing to stand up there as a representative of my community and choose not to wear my sash, but to lay it down in front of me and speak as a community resident. Vincenza came to support me and we were all excited that all four proposals passed. The City of Newark will now make some amendments to its personnel policies and work hard to research alternative lifestyles. Ezra’s sister owns Home Grown on Main Street (one of my faves!), so we went there for a celebratory dinner.

On February 15 Julie and I met up with the new Miss Cumberland County (NJ) Ashleigh at the Miss All-State/Liberty Pageant. Congratulations to the two new titleholders. The pageant was held at the gorgeous Broadway Theater in Pitman.

Obviously the first half of February was quite busy! Another update will follow on the second half in the near future. Thanks for reading!

Preparations for the new Mr. pageant on April 11 are in full swing. I’m still finalizing venue choice but the event is sure to be a ton of fun…unlike any other pageant you’ve ever been to! Unless you were there last year…so thanks for that! J Please have any interested contestants or supporters contact me!

All the best always,

Chris Saltalamacchio
Mr. Delaware 2008