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Ms. Mantucket raises $25,000 for Guatemala effort
During the last three summers, Nantucket High School students and other related parties have traveled to Guatemala to build homes and shore up the infrastructure in some of the country's most impoverished areas. In three years, Nantucket Students for Guatemala volunteers have cemented 1,950 cinder blocks, provided permanent housing for 15 Guatemalan families and donated 6,000 lbs. of tax-free clothing, shoes, hand tools and medical supplies. This summer, the group will be overseas from July 9 - 19.
"It's way more than we've made in past years," said Audrey Obremski, who cut a dashing, debonair figure in a tuxedo, emceeing alongside a glamorously made up Harvey Young, who looked lovely in a donated Vera Wang dress. Obremski and her daughter, Sally, participated during the project's first year, when fundraising for the trip was pretty traditional. It was Obremski who came up with the idea for the Ms. Mantucket pageant, because she was tired of bake sales. And a bake sale this certainly was not. In platform sandals and a sequined shift, Paul Bixby sang "Don Juan" from the musical "Smokey Joe's Café" during the talent portion of the show, which was the highlight of the evening. Attendants bid on the opportunity to have a candidate perform his/her talent tableside, or, in the case of confirmed BoSox fan Richard Diamond, on top of the bar. For $1,600, E. J. Harvey bought the opportunity to look up Diamond's dress as Diamond ("Miss TL Construction") sang "Take Me Out the Ball Game" while wearing a New York Yankees hat at the Atlantic Café, where the event is held each year. (Kate and John O'Connor, who own the Atlantic Café, have sent their kids on the trip in previous years.) Diamond's talent got the first big bid of the night, and it upped the ante for the rest of the candidates, like Miss Halcyon Fishing (Daniel Pronk) - who brought in a little over $1,000 in exchange for a lap dance, during which Pronk rubbed live lobsters all over the head and body of the winning bidder. Bixby's talent raked in about $3,000 - second only to Mickey Beamish, a.k.a. "Miss Myles Reis Trucking." Dressed in a white wedding gown, Beamish re-enacted Madonna's infamous 1985 MTV Music Awards performance of "Like a Virgin" - rolling around like an animal in heat at the feet (and sometimes in the lap) of the winning bidder. His brother, Jeffrey, paid $4,000 for the pleasure of seeing (and filming) this moment of glory up close. Altogether the talent raffles accounted for $11,000 of the $25,000 raised. "We've never had anyone bid so much on talents before," Obremski said. "The bids were way higher this year than ever before." This is good news, since the group of volunteers is larger than it ever has been. Beth Whelden, who organizes the trip, said that this summer's roster is at 33 people, up at least a dozen from previous years. Without financial assistance, volunteers would each have to pay $1,500 to make the trip. Money aside, the experience is priceless, according to Whelden. The students who attend the trip often undergo lifelong changes as a result. Since traveling to Guatemala, Sally Obremski, for example, has gone on to volunteer all over the world and is currently in Bali, interning with a free birthing clinic. "After traveling to Guatemala with a group from school, I found the joy in service work abroad. Not only did I feel useful, I also got to learn more about the culture and its people on a deeper level," Sally wrote in an application for a scholarship to Warren Wilson College, where she will matriculate this fall. "Before Sally went to Guatemala, she had no idea that these life-changing possibilities existed in volunteering at this level," Whelden said. "Seeing these places for the first time, you get this really overwhelming feeling. Most of these kids who go are seeing poverty beyond their understanding. It makes them really energetic to help in a way they didn't anticipate." Inspired by her experiences with Nantucket Students for Guatemala, student Anna Burnham has also decided to pursue a community service major at DePaul University, where she's headed this fall. Burnham has already received a $6,500 scholarship for writing an essay about the trip. It seems one good life change deserves another. Although the Ms. Mantucket candidates are back to their usual, masculine selves by morning (maybe with a bit of a hangover), they have proven to themselves that it takes an exceptional man to wear a dress in a roomful of people. "They're all so worried about it beforehand," Obremski said of the candidates. "But they end up having more fun than they've ever had." The poised Ms. Mantucket 2006, Mike ("Missy") Gervin looked a bit sad to give away the title as s/he reflected on the last year. "The NASCAR endorsement was pretty big," Gervin said. "I tried to get a nude scalloping calendar going, but that didn't work. I don't know why." As the organizers tabulated the winner (using ballots that the audience members had filled out only moments before), Obremski and Young raffled off a 26" LCD flat screen television, donated by Marine Home Center. The audience was drunk with excitement by the time the emcees announced the results. Surrounded by his three adult children - Amanda, Bevin and Colin - a stunned Paul Bixby accepted his award with a gracious few words. "I love my children and I love this island. It's the greatest place in the world," Bixby said. When asked for comments on the win by Team Santos, Bill Santos, owner of Santos Rubbish, said that the night was well worth all the effort, as it raised money for a good cause. "Plus, Paul was the best looking one by far," Santos said. "I'm overwhelmed with joy." I Those who are interested in offering financial aid to Nantucket Students for Guatamala can send a check to Nantucket Students for Guatamala, C/O Beth Whelden, PO Box 454, 02554. |
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