The Monroe-Woodbury Winter Classic has just celebrated its 14th year on Feb. 7th. We owe our success to its founder, Paula Catalina.
Paula was a very active parent in our Parents Club. She spent many hours on the sidelines proudly watching her daughters cheer for Monroe-Woodbury High School. Paula served as a board member of our Parents Football and Cheerleading Club for four years, two of them as the president.
With the sport of cheerleading growing rapidly, Paula decided to host a cheer competition, the proceeds of which would enable our girls to attend camp.
In 2002, we hosted our first Winter Classic Competition with great success.
I’m sure many of our long time coaches have had the pleasure of working with Paula as she was an inspiration and friend to so many of you.
We proudly hosted our 14th year, with great appreciation to all of our visiting teams. This year’s competition was dedicated in loving memory to Paula. It was a tribute to her constant dedication to our cheerleading program and the children of our community.
The “Paula T. Catalina Foundation” provides scholarships to deserving students, as well as helping to grant wishes for the “Make a Wish Foundation.”
• We would like to take this opportunity to thank some very special people. Special thanks to our Athletic Director, Ron Montalto, for his dedication and support. Thank you to our Athletic Department staff Kathy and Joan, to Ashley Meese for singing the National Anthem, to Lisa Sheehan for handling First Aid during the competition and Staples for printing our raffle tickets.
• We also cannot do this without the help of local businesses. We’d like to thank: Foremost Caterers, Harriman Square Deli, Big Mike’s, Tre Angelina, Villa Positano, Planet Pizza, Bagel World, Captain’s Table, Jay’s Deli, Birchwood Caterers, Amalfi’s, LaVera Cucina, Amendola’s, Adams Fairacre Farm in Newburgh and Dana Distributors. Please support these businesses who support MW’s children year after year.
• Raffle baskets donation by: Joy DeGennaro, Gina Gutierrez – The Jewelry Box, Carmen Torres, Maureen Simnor, Janet LaBella, Pam Loughran, Jill Kaminski of Melange Med Spa and Taste of Monroe-Woodbury – Sano Salad, Uno’s Pizzeria & Grill, Ramblers Rest, Tulcingo’s, Bright Start Diner and Outback Steakhouse.
• A heartfelt thank you to all the parents and parent volunteers especially Janet LaBella, Abid Acosta and Bill Dimmit who photographed the event, our Cheer Alumni Laurie Faig and Laura Santoro, and finally Coaches: Barbara Alidad, Jean Turco and Jenna Balakitsis who gave so much of their time to the success of their event.
• Huge thanks, too, to Barbara O’Connor who keeps coming back year after year to help us plan!
The MW Parent Cheer Club Board Members: Maureen Simnor, Lee Friedman, Claire Meese, Carmen Torres and Pam Loughran proudly serve the needs of the coaches and cheerleaders throughout the season and we thank you all for your support!
Lee Friedman
On behalf of the MW Parent Cheer Club