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Light Drizzle Fog/Mist Keri Balnis crowned Miss Wantagh
See more photos from the pageant and Fourth of July parade here.
Admittedly shy as a child, Keri Balnis will now hold one of the most prominent roles in her community: Miss Wantagh.
At a ceremony in front of Wantagh Elementary School, Balnis, 17, was crowned following the annual Fourth of July parade. She leads a court of seven girls who will devote the next year to various community service projects.
“I’m very shocked,” Balnis said, after learning that she had captured the title. “All the girls were great contestants.”
The pageant was held on July 1 at the high school before a crowd of about 100 family members, friends and community leaders. The seven girls each gave speeches detailing their involvement in school and the community, and were asked several questions by pageant coordinator Ella Stevens, including what service project they would undertake as Miss Wantagh.
Balnis is looking to start a mentoring program in the school district, in which high school students would work with children in the elementary and middle schools. They would serve as role models in the arts, academics and athletics. New friendships would form, she explained.
“It’s very surreal,” said Dawn Balnis, Keri’s mother. “We’re very proud of her. This will show other kids, ‘Go for your dreams.’”
Keri said she was an extremely shy child, and even applying to be a part of the Miss Wantagh court was a big step. Her biggest fear is public speaking, she noted as she delivered her speech last week.
She will be a senior in the fall, is a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club, pep band and marching band, is a tutor and freelance model, and has her own business, which she started in sixth grade, taking care of pets for families.
Her sister, Nicole, was a member of the Miss Wantagh court in 2011 as an ambassador. Nervous going into the pageant, Balnis said she received good advice from her older sister to simply remain calm.
Rounding out the court are first runner-up Ruth Kupperberg, second runner-up Nyatasha Jackowicz, third runner-up Nicole Ninivaggi, and ambassadors Emma Carey, Amanda Caso and Monique Fiscella.
