Published: March 10, 2010
By Melody Kinser .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Some friendly encouragement from her band director’s wife paid off for Lindsey Martin.
Thanks to Lori Rozecki, whose husband Paul heads up the bands at Atlee High School, Lindsey now holds the title of 2010 Miss Mechanicsville.
The 18-year-old was a first-time contestant when she entered the pageant, which was held on Feb. 27 in the auditorium of Atlee High. A Mechanicsville resident, Lindsey is a senior at Atlee.
A staple in the community, the Miss Mechanicsville Pageant is sponsored by the Pamunkey Junior Women’s Club, of which Lori is a member.
Lindsey said Lori kept urging her to enter to pursue the scholarship monies awarded.
“She kept en-couraging me to do it for the scholarship money and the laptop,” Lindsey said last Thursday. “It’s not based on beauty, it’s beauty on talent, community service – that’s what got me into this one, so I have her to thank.”
Thanks to Lori’s persistence, Lindsey now has $2,500 toward her college education. She also won a laptop as the winner of the Community Service Award. Additional prizes were presented for her patron board, which was recognized as the People’s Choice award; talent – she performed a waltz on the flute; and selling the most tickets.
“I didn’t expect any of it,” she said. “The competition was just so great – I didn’t expect it.”
Backstage, she said, she was “very excited. All the girls were jumped around, ‘We’re ready, we’re ready.’ We were very excited about the dance.” The pageant opened with the contestants dancing to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
“I have never had to present myself in that way before,” she said. “I’ve always been very behind the scenes, not wanting to be up front and in front of people like that.”
She admitted she was nervous during the question portion of the pageant. “I’m more used to speaking with my peers rather than people I don’t know, but it was a lot of fun.”
While she expressed her appreciation for the scholarship, laptop and other gifts, the tiara, Lindsey said, “is beautiful. I get to keep it and I think it’s awesome.”
As for the laptop, “I’ve never had my own computer. I’ve had to share with my mom and my sister and now I can just plug in the laptop and go.”
For the talent portion, Lindsey took advantage of the years of flute lessons. She said she has been studying about seven years.
Earlier that day, Lindsey had auditioned for the All-State Band. She left Atlee High at 5 a.m. en route to James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
“I give flute lessons to two students – one is in elementary and one in middle school. They’re both beginner flute students; they’re both very sweet girls and very dedicated to the flute and that’s why I love teaching them so much.”
Music may be included in her higher education. She’s considering Virginia Tech, JMU and Virginia Commonwealth University when she heads to college in the fall. At this point, “I’m waiting to hear back” from her top three choices. She hasn’t quite decided on a major. “I keep switching back and forth. I love culinary arts and music education.”
She recently auditioned at VCU for the Music School.
Her mother, Eileen, plays the flute, which led to Lindsey’s interest in the instrument. “I love playing duets with my mom. I’ve heard her all my life. I imitate her sound. I enjoy playing with her.”
With music, it’s a family affair: dad Skip plays the guitar and Lindsey’s fraternal twin Ashley sings and plays the guitar and the piano. Lindsey also plays the piano.
“I take both flute and piano lessons. I’ve been taking piano lessons for 11 years,” Lindsey said. Her piano teacher, Jennifer Estabrook, accompanied her during the talent competition of the pageant. “She’s definitely my best friend,” Lindsey said of her teacher.
At Atlee High, her involvement with the band program includes the wind ensemble, which she said is the top band; marching band, of which she is “heavily involved.” She has been serving as the band’s drum major for two years.
School activities also include being a member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society and varsity swim team.
A member of the New Hanover Presbyterian Church, Lindsey is a member of the orchestra, which performs every Sunday. “I do a lot of children’s ministries, especially our Creative Arts Camp. We just teach kids different parts of the arts.” She teaches culinary arts. She also helps with the Food for Thought fellowship dinner that is held on Wednesday nights.
Lindsey also is a member of the Greater Richmond Youth Wind Ensemble, which meets every Monday. “Our big concert is in May.”
She participates in the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond, which brings together different religions, ethnicities and races. “They ask each school to choose a student that has demonstrated compassion and caring,” as well as a background of interacting with different religions and races.
The experience, she said, “was really neat.” She said they received “input from other students that had the same mentality as I do. We got to find out about our likes and dislikes and then compile them into common interests that could be given to the community through a service project that we’re hopefully going to have in May.”
Plans are under way for an open mic night and bake sale, which will benefit Haiti.
Her foray into the pageant scene sparked only positive comments. “The Pamunkey Junior Women’s Club did a very good job running the pageant. They made the process so nice for us.”
She also mentioned the Junior Miss and Little Miss Mechanicsville winners: Courtney Gravatt and Brooke Elmore. “I’m just very excited to work with Courtney and Brooke.”
In the small world category, Lindsey said she knew Courtney before the pageant. Courtney’s brother Chris is in the Atlee High band with Lindsey.
Submitted photo
Lindsey Martin is shown with some of the prizes she won during the 2010 Miss Mechanicsville Pageant on Feb. 27. As the new Miss Mechanicsville, she received a $2,500 scholarship. She also won a laptop computer for her Community Service.
