Hello! 

I wanted to write and let you all know what my first month as Miss New York has been like.  From the moment I was crowned on July 1, I have been extremely busy preparing paperwork for Miss America, having photo shoots for new headshots, going on appearances, and continuing work with the organizations that I am involved in for my platform.  I hope my appearance entries have kept you up to date on what is going on and I hope you have all enjoyed the photos.  About two weeks ago, we were informed of changes to the Miss America pageant.  September 5-11, I will fly to Los Angeles, California, with the other 51 contestants, where CMT will film for a 2 hour episode which will later be shown so that the viewing audience can vote for Miss Congeniality.  CMT wants to take the contestants out of the high pressure situation of competing so that the viewers can get a better sense of what the contestants are really like as they bond with each other and take part in a series of entertaining events.  In LA, we will have the opportunity to prepare for the Pageant Finals with fashion and beauty experts, stylists, make-up artists, runway coaches and motivational experts. Then in January, we will all compete in the preliminary competitions on January 25, 26, and 27 and finals will be held on Monday, January 29 on CMT.  The place is still TBA in case you are all wondering.  I will let you know where as soon as I hear.  I am thankful for these changes as it gives me more time to prepare and work on my platform before competing in Miss America in January. 

I have received some very nice emails from you all asking how my year is and asking for autographed photos.  I will respond to each of you, just please give me some time to get back to you.  Let me know which picture is your favorite from the photo gallery and I will send you a 5×7 autographed picture.  Please keep sending the emails and feel free to keep writing back as the year goes on. 

To those of you who are competing this year, good luck as the pageant season begins and please know you can email me at any time with questions, concerns, advice etc. 

To those of you who have titles already and are working on your platforms, please keep me informed as to what you are up to and let me know if you have events for your platform as I would love to attend if I am free.  My goal is to start a tradition of NY support for each other and our platforms.  I would love to see all of us attending each other’s walks, fundraisers and awareness events. Let us start a legacy and tradition of TEAM NEW YORK! 

Coming up in August: This month, I will be attending the Apple Valley Pageant Rehearsal on August 4, the AIS/Lewis County Pageant on August 5, the National MAO Teen Pageant in Orlando, the Pirates Parade at Alexandria Bay on August 20, and a few others TBA. 

I hope you all have a great August!  Enjoy the rest of the summer, enjoy the appearance updates and photos, and I will write again in September. 

Much Love,

Bethlene Pancoast

Miss New York 2006

Today, I had my last tap session with the P.I.N.S. (Persons in Need of Supervision) youth at Y.E.S. I am so proud of these girls. They really accomplished great strides as well as learning about themselves in the process. I am really thankful to have had the opportunity to mentor and teach them for 4 weeks. It was a great exchange of stories, knowledge and trust. I wish them a great summer and I am looking forward to working with them again in the fall.

I was very honored to meet all of the 2007 Apple Valley contestants. I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to all of the young ladies who were competing for the title of Miss Apple Valley 2007. When I arrived at 5:00, the young ladies were just getting ready to break for dinner. I was delighted to see Miss Apple Valley 2006, Rebecca Kappler. I had not seen Rebecca since Miss New York and it was so great to be reunited and to flashback on some of the wonderful times we had at Miss New York. Rebecca is doing great and I wish her all the luck in her new endeavors this year! After reuniting with Rebecca, I had the opportunity to sit with the ladies who were competing. They asked me questions from, “What has your year been like so far?” to “How do you deal with getting nervous on stage?” I then got to hear a little about each of them, including their talent and platform. They are each such accomplished young women and I wish them all the best! I also encouraged them all to support one another in our new effort to support each other here in NY! I think we are doing great so far. GO TEAM NY!

A special thank you to the Apple Valley Committee for allowing me to come and speak to their contestants. You were all truly welcoming and warm. You really embraced me and made me feel like part of your family. Thank you so much!

Photo Album

After going to the Apple Valley Rehearsal on Friday, I drove up to Syracuse and stayed over so I could attend the AIS and Lewis County Pageant on Saturday. I had the opportunity to meet all the young ladies backstage before the show began. They all looked fantastic in their swimsuits as they waited for their first phase of competition for the afternoon. I was very excited to see Stacey Walton and Kristen Lettiere. We also had not seen each other since Miss New York. Stacey and Kristen co-hosted the show for the afternoon and did a great job. I also had an opportunity to come up on stage and speak to the audience in regards to the changes to MAO, what my year has been like and my platform. I also encouraged everyone at AIS/Lewis County, including the contestants to be involved in TEAM NY and everyone was very eager to do so!

I also was very honored to be presented with a ribbon “Who I Am Makes a Difference” by Thousand Islands Outstanding Teen, Lauren Lettiere. This is part of Lauren’s platform.

Congratulations to the new Miss AIS 2007, Lindsey Jakiel and Miss Lewis County 2007, Katie Birchenough! Also, a special thank you to the AIS/Lewis County Pageant Committee for having me at their pageant. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on stage and address the audience as well as meet with your contestants. Thank you so much and I wish you all the luck with your new girls, Lindsey and Katie!

Photo Album

After the Miss AIS and Lewis County Pageant, I got right on the road to travel to the Miss Apple Valley Pageant to try and make it for the crowning. I was successful and got there just in time. The Apple Valley Committee allowed me to help out with the awards ceremony. Thank you so much for allowing me to come back! Congratulations to Miss Apple Valley 2007, Gina Vaccarino and Gina Marinelli the 1st Runner-up.

Photo Album

Congratulations to Maria DeSantis, Miss New York’s Outstanding Teen for winning the talent preliminary last night, August 15, in Orlando Florida! New York is so very proud of you! I am very proud of my pageant sister! She did a phenomenal job! Good Luck in tonight’s evening gown competition! We are all rooting for you! Click below to see pictures of Maria, her family and several others who were here to cheer her on.

Photo Album

The following photo album has pictures of Miss America Contestants, Miss NY’s Outstanding Teen and her family and Miss NYOT’s friends. Please enjoy!

Photo Album

Please enjoy the album below with pictures of the Miss America contestants at Disneyworld.

Photo Album

Maria - We are so proud of you!  I know you have a new big sister now, Miss America, but I love you and I am so proud of you and you will always be my pageant sister.  You graced the stage in Orlando with poise, grace, intelligence, talent and beauty.  You make us all proud!  A big thank you to the DeSantis family for making Orlando a blast!  Please stay tuned for pictures of Maria.

The 2007 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT will return to the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Preliminary competitions will be held January 25,26,27 and Finals will be Monday, January 29, 8pm on CMT.

To everyone who wants to go…EMAIL ME ASAP! www.missnewyork2006.com My parents will be getting all the information and we would like to arrange for group rates if at all possible. Let me know when you want to come, what nights, etc and give me a contact phone number in case my family needs to get in touch with you! IT WILL BE A BLAST! ROAD TRIP CLASS OF ‘06!!!!!!