All platforms cross eventually

I came to an an amazing realization yesterday. Each titleholder has their own platform. As a titleholder we invest so much of our heart and soul into these topics that we tend to not have the time to truly understand or appreciate our sister queens platforms.

I live and breath "safe driver awareness." In my first official meeting with Deanna Russo of Crusade Against Impaired Driving, she told me how her sisters death led to saving 10 other lives. You see Deanna's sister, Karen was killed by a drunk driver BUT Deanna explained that through organ and tissue donation they were able to save 10 lives. Karen's life was tragically taken but 10 other lives saved that night.

That's when I realized my true appreciation for Shannon and Jason Devine. I was always so proud of them and the hard work they did/do to truly save lives but when you here that one persons body was able to save 10 lives you realize the significance of Jason and Shannon's Journey. I am so honored to be Shannon's first runner up and I am so proud of what she and her family have done to save lives.

I can't believe how our paths at one point in time will cross. I was in a meeting about a partnership with Crusade Against Impaired Driving. That's when I truly realized we are all on the same mission: TO SAVE LIVES!

Now I have to wonder how in the world VOYBOARDS and the vicious lies/rumors that they start can even be an issue. How & why do grown woman do this? The reality is, we are all on the same mission....to save lives. We should be uniting as one - instead some woman chose to attack others. It just does NOT make sense to me.......hhhhmmmm...

Which leads me to thank all of my sister queens that do not believe any of the vicious rumors or lies that seem to be an on-going burden in my life. You are all amazing woman and I am honored to have each and everyone of you in my life.

God Bless and keep on saving lives!

We are off to NYC

I am so excited to say that I am off to NYC for the very first time EVER! It is for business and it is completely last minute BUT it is the start of an amazing partnership. I am not at liberty to state what that partnership is but it is the beginning of a campaign to save lives with an outstanding company.
Doug can not go with me because it is so last minute. He can not get off of work. As for the troopers, I am so upset that Sgt. Miller can not attend but we will have 6 months with this company. Lastly, I would have loved for Peter DeLacy to join us. He just got back from Florida and would def. have to plan for something like this. Peter is the best sponsor that I could have ever hoped for and he usually attends everything I do. I am very grateful for my family at DeLacy Ford.
Amber and I are off to NYC. We will be driving for about 7 hours. A driver is being sent to the Essex House Hotel to pick us up @ 8:15 am.
I find this opportunity a blessing and feel that I would not be in this position had it not been for the NYS Police and DeLacy Ford.
Gotta Run, Love you all and God Bless,
Jen

March 6th, Remembering Karen Candlelight Vigil

March 6th, 2008:

I joined the Crusade Against Impaired Driving's "Remembering Karen" Candlelight Vigil On the 10th anniversary of Karen Kwiatkowski's death.

Family, friends, classmates, and many others gathered at St. John the Evangilist Church on Seneca Street Thursday, March 6th at 7:00 pm for a candlelight vigil in Karen's honor. Karen was killed on Seneca Street, right outside the doors of that church. It was a night to celebrate Karen's life, keep her memory alive and promote awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
http://www.karenscrusade.org/

It has taken me 11 days to try and find the words to write in this blog but still I am short on words to describe this experience.

As a spokesperson for Safe Driver Awareness, I usually have a press conference per month, commercials, talk shows and radio shows in which I am speaking on this needless epidemic that faces our country on a daily basis, yet I was NOT prepared for what I was about to experience.

When I arrived I walked into St. John Evangilist Church in which I joined about 200 people to remember this young, vibrant life which ended so abrubtly.

Deanna Russo is Karens sister and the founder of Crusaide Against Imparied Driving. I looked at her and could feel her radiate passion for her organization and the prevention of this tragedy in the lives of other sisters, brothers, mother, fathers etc.

She got up to the podium, began to speak and I lost it. She spoke of her sister, her parents and the effect this tragedy has had on their family.

It was my turn to speak and I was literally lost for words. I've never been lost for words and there I stood, in front of about 200 people, lost. I say this because, I was ALIVE! I wondered WHY? Why did this father lose his little girl? Why did God spare me my life? My father was able to hold me in his arms at the scene of our car crash, he got to watch me awake. Karen's parents had to get that dreaded phone call. They were not there to pull there little girl from the car or hold her in her last moments. I didn't feel worthy to stand there, in front of 200 people and speak of safe driving awareness. Karen was the same age as me. Why was my life spared and not hers? Why did her parents have to endure that pain?

God has a plan for me and filled me with a passion. That passion is to speak on behalf of crash victims. This is definitely of epidemic proportion and if it were a disease, we'd be beggining for a cure, the cure is simple, education! I thank the lord for this gift.

Did you know that drunk drivers cause:
More than 17,000 deaths annually
310 funerals each week
One death every 30 minutes
An injury every 2 minutes
1 of 3 drivers will be involved in a collision with an impaired driver
After 10 pm during the week, 1 out of every 10 drivers is impaired
On weekends, it’s 1 out of every 5!

ANOTHER REASON WHY YOU SHOULD not DRINK AND DRIVE:
Jacqueline Saburido was hit by a drunk driver in Austin, Texas.She was pinned inside the vehicle as it caught on fire, leaving her withsevere burns over 60 percent of her body. Her life was changed forever.
Warning! The images in the following story are horrifying. Children below the ages of 18 must ask their parents before continuing.
Jacqueline's Story: http://www.drumbum.com/lessons/jacqueline.htm

News Article with Hubby saying I'm nuts! LOL

As Niagara Falls / Tales of the strange but true
Updated: 03/04/08 6:59 AM
Warming up :
Swimmers at the Olcott Polar Bear Day Swim for Sight on Sunday had unique ways to prepare for the bone-chilling dip into Lake Ontario.
Youngstown resident Helene Pavlock, who predunked into the 32-degree waters in celebration of her 51st birthday, didn’t wear a winter coat for a week.
Rebecca Scherrer, a 42-year-old mother of two, huddled next to her fiance to warm up before running into the water in a bikini. She emerged with ice in her hair.
The boys of Williamsville South’s wrestling team listened to heavy metal music by Iron Maiden and AC/DC to pump up their adrenaline.
But Mrs. New York American Beauty 2008, Jennifer Stehlar of South Buffalo, had the warmest approach. She planned to borrow a full-length water rescue survival suit from a local fire department to take the plunge.
Would she consider joining the Polar Bear Queen contestants in swimsuits Sunday?
“I said absolutely not,” Stehlar said. “I said, ‘I’m going to get sick.’ ”
Then she looked at her husband, Doug, and said, “You think I’m nuts.”
“Yeah, you are,” he replied.
With contributions from Denise Jewell Gee, Aaron Besecker, Thomas J. Prohaska and Nancy A. Fischer of the News Niagara Bureau.

Saint Patricks Day Parade

Today was the 67th Annual, Downtown Buffalo, Saint Patricks Day Parade. It was a phenomenal time and we truly enjoyed being part of the festivities!! We were invited to the PRE-PARADE Gala in the Mayors office. They had the traditional St. Patty's Day feast-Corned Beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rye bread, GREEN frosted donuts, coffee, cocktails and more. My best friend/sister, Amber works in the mayors office which just made it more exciting because it was like celebrating with family. From the Gala, we made our way to our Ford EDGE which is sponsored by DeLacy Ford. We lined ourselves up in the parade BUT stayed inside until we got moving b/c it was FREEZING out. The weather wasn’t exactly heavenly, but it could have been a lot worse. At least we had no snow, and the sun helped take some of the sting out of the wind chill.

That was Doug's first parade with me and he could not help but laugh. He had a great time laughing while driving the Edge. I was proposed to, I was called the DeLacy queen and people were shaking my hand. The craziest part was the young guy who got down on his hands and knees and started screaming, OMG, it's you, Mrs. New York - the one in the commercials, WOW, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy. After that we were wondering how much green beer folks truly consumed. LOL.

Please enjoy our photos below. Doug, Amber and I hope that you all enjoyed your St. Patty's Day as much as we did.

Hi everyone! We are at the VERY beginning of the parade.
Here we go!
With my 2nd family, the NYS Police. They were marching in the parade
There they are! We followed right behind them

Here is the guy that was praising me! Amber took this picture from the back of the Edge.


PRE-St. Patty's Day Parade Gala in the Mayor's office:
My bestfriend/Little Sister, Amber. She works in the Mayor's office and that is where we are in this picture.
Douglas and I with Congressman Brian Higgins, 27th Congressional District
Douglas and I with the GRAND MARSHALL and his family
Amber, Douglas and I right outside of her office.

The Kennedy Family, TIMOTHY KENNEDY is our District 2, Erie County Legislature.

Pain...another day of it.

I'm sure that most of this is not going to make sense b/c I am in so much pain that I find it hard to think.

To the left is a picture of my baby girl Chloe'. Whenever I am in pain, my pups can sense it and they will not leave my side. I love them so much!

Today is yet another day in the life of excruciating pain. I can move on emotionally from the car crashes but I find that there is no way to move on from the physical pain that they have caused.
At 28 years old, I wonder how long my family and I will have to live like this, then I realize......it will never end. Every year it's the same, physical therapy, speech therapy, medications and so on. The treatments create a few months of relief, then the cold months arrive and I am set back and feel myself falling into the pain cycle all over again.
I try to be strong, pretend that it's not there and then BOOM, I am down for days because I push myself too hard.
I try to plaster a smile on to save others the irritation that I feel this causes them. I wonder how long family and friends can truly put up with my complaints of pain. That is why I cover up the pain with a smile and at the end of the day, I'm left with knots in my stomach from the pain I sucked up that day.
This leads me to realize that the general public does not comprehend the way a car crash can permanently change your life. Then creating a trickle down effect b/c your family and friends are also forever changed because of it.
I've been told that when you meet me, I am a vibrant and happy woman. I told a cocktail waitress named Cora my entire story and she said to me, WOW, I would never have known. Cora said, I look at you and see a tall, thin, beautiful and outgoing woman. Then I hear your story and really makes me realize what a strong person you really are. We all have a story...some worse than others.
My driving force is God. He spared my life and most importantly, my fathers. That's another reason I feel guilty if and when I complain.......I am alive and that truly is a gift!

Hello!

Hello everyone! This is my first time creating a blog......so....I will try my hardest to get up to speed with everything..:-)