Mrs. Central New York!
Jan 21, 2019
I first came to the Tall Trainer in 2017. I wanted to get a solid fitness routine set and become part of a program with a set schedule and more accountability. I had tried reaching my goals on my own and it wasn’t working. I also felt I was losing strength the last couple years and did not like that feeling. My friend Tanya Goff referred me. Tanya’s mother Marianne had lost an astonishing 100 pounds working with the Tall Trainer so I thought “these people sound like they know what they are doing”! Upon arriving I immediately felt as ease. I loved the sense of community and feeling like I belonged. Some other places I’ve tried and didn’t feel like I fit in. I loved that it would not go unnoticed if you didn’t show up; this was helpful for accountability. I had some success and then stopped coming because I got involved in a big business venture and it was taking so much money and time and energy that I cut out all the extras. After 9 months of negotiations the business venture fell through and I was left feeling “what now? It made me think hard about my own values and goals and what I wanted to accomplish. Working on a Jeff Goldblum movie one day I met a fellow actress on set who was the director of a pageant for married women: The Mrs. New York pageant. Which leads to the most prestigious pageant for married women Mrs. America and Mrs. World. I had never known much about the world of pageantry but started to learn as I heard more stories of Mrs. New York delegates and from my friend Jessica Lahr who won Mrs. New York 2015 and Director Diane Hardgrove who made it all the way to win Mrs. World in 2007. I realized that competing is excellent for developing public speaking, leadership skills, community service, learning how to campaign and how to host events while keeping you accountable to create the change you want to see in the world and in yourself. Because a pageant has a specific date it forces you to create change within a specific timeframe. I immediately set out to create a plan, securing a pageant coach and immediately re-enrolled at the Tall Trainer
I asked myself who I wanted to be in 10 years and how did I want to show up in the world as a role model for my future children. My husband and I plan to expand our family in the future and making my health and fitness a priority for the pageant felt like the best start to prepare for motherhood by making myself the healthiest, fittest and strongest I can be. I also looked back over the last 10 years and realized that one of my goals of getting more involved in my community and doing more to help others had been pushed aside while I fought to develop personal success and a career I loved. I took a non-traditional path career-wise and spent a decade working full time as a model in my 20’s which evolved into a presenter, spokesperson and actress in my 30’s. It was my dream since I was a teen girl and it was the hardest thing I every set out to do and because competition is fierce. You have to have a very strong sense of self and seek support from family, mentors or teachers that help inspire you to find the courage to go relentlessly after your dreams.
Part of my platform has been about getting involved with non-profits whose mission mean a lot to me including The New York Institute of Dance and Education, volunteering at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen and volunteering, the Victor Farmington Food Pantry.
However, the other part of my platform was to work on a legacy project deeply personal to me and the pageant gave me the extra push to finally start my video series “Courage to Dream” which you can watch on Facebook by typing into the search bar @KristinBauerGross. Eventually I would like this to evolve into a weekly online tv show, podcast or youtube channel where I interview those who inspire me or have found courage to follow their dreams in the face or challenges or difficult situations as well as sharing my own stories and advice and tips on finding courage and confidence to go after your goals.
If I didn’t have my mother and mentors in my life encouraging me to go after my dreams I may have never believed in myself to go after my own dreams or to even think that accomplishing them is possible. Today working as a life coach and coach to aspiring models and talent a lot of girls and women look up to me in that realm and seeing that is helping me to dream bigger for myself and see myself as a leader for the first time because I see how my actions impact and inspire others. If my video series can change the trajectory of just one person’s life it will be a success. In 2020 I’ll get the transcripts translated from the videos and begin working on my first book “Courage to Dream”! And plan to continue as a speaker and coach to motivate others. My mantra for this pageant is a quote from my mentor Sean McLeod: “You are only as successful in life as the number of people you bring with you”.
On March 30th and 31st I compete for the title of Mrs. New York. The winner forwards to the national competition in Las Vegas in August 2019 for the one and only Mrs. America Pageant. I need your help to win Mrs. New York in March and have a larger platform from which to continue my mission to motivate and encourage others to find their passions and the courage to go for their dreams!
Beginning February 15 voting for the Fabulous Face Contest starts. Each vote I receive at www.MrsNYAmerica.com helps me get closer to winning! A vote costs $5.00 and the winner of this contest automatically makes it to the TOP FIVE and half of the proceeds collected go to the charity of my choice. The New York Institute of Dance and Education has been instrumental in helping me. They were the first to push me and really give me permission to go after my dreams in the face of naysayers and people who said it was silly or unrealistic. The CEO and Founder Sean McLeod was such an influential mentor and his teaching truly changes lives. If I win the contest half of all the contest proceeds go to the pageants charity Victoria’s Voice and should I win the Fabulous Face Contest the other half of proceeds would go to the www.NYIDE.comscholarship fund which allows deserving applicants who cannot afford to study dance and the performing arts attend their summer dance intensive program. I personally attended this summer program for at least 5 years and it was as much about personal growth, learning to accept yourself and speak your truth as it was about learning skills like dance, performance, and movement. I also feel strongly it is important that we support performing arts in upstate NY as it is challenging for many performing arts schools and theaters to thrive without community involvement and support. I want to see the New York Institute of Dance and Education be able to teach personal growth through the medium of dance for decades to come.
To cheer me on through this process please follow me on Instagram or Facebook @KristinBauerGross & on Instagram @MrsCNY
If you or your company would like to sponsor me or purchase an ad for the Official Pageant Program email me direct at [email protected] as any amount is appreciated.
Voting for the Fabulous Face Contest begins around Feb 15th through mid-March at www.MrsNYAmerica.com
To cheer me on in person the pageant will be held
March 31st 2019 at the RIT Inn and Conference Center doors open at 1pm and pageant is 2pm-4pm.
Tickets sold at the door $25 adults.
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