Gateway Students get the Royal Treatment
The last day of school is always special for Gateway School students as the long days of summer await them. But this year was especially memorable: it was Prince and Princess Day. The children got to make crowns as a special arts & crafts project, be visited by a variety of local pageant winners and be celebrated as a prince or princess for the day.
The event was hosted by the SERTOMA Club of Greater Baltimore, an organization dedicated to making life worthwhile through SERvice TO MAnkind, and the host of the Miss Greater Baltimore Pageant for the last seven years. Founded in 1912, SERTOMA is about to celebrate its centennial nationally and its 20th year in Baltimore. A community service organization focused on hearing, speech and communication issues, SERTOMA has been a valuable partner to The Hearing and Speech Agency for more than a decade. SERTOMA has been sponsoring the Prince and Princess event at Gateway School for four years. The day is a way to celebrate the accomplishments of Gateway Students by making them feel like royalty. According to Alan Zemla, Executive Director of the Miss Greater Baltimore Pageant and a past President of the organization, “It took us a few years to figure out how to incorporate the pageant and the needs of the kids, but I think we’ve really created a special tradition; the children and the volunteers just love it."
Among the special guests were:
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Carlie Colella
Miss Maryland -
Erin Drumheller
Miss Greater Baltimore -
Hannah Mollerick
Miss Western Maryland -
Lauren Kozlosky
Miss Frederick -
Stephanie Kelman
Miss Mason-Dixon
After being named Miss Greater Baltimore 2011, Erin Drumheller went on to the state competition and won the Miss America Community Service Award for her volunteerism and her message of fire prevention.