Miss Florida Int’l to grace Civic parade
Cape Coral resident Donna Snow, who was recently crowned 2010 Miss Florida International in April, will be a key ingredient of the Fort Myers Beach Civic Association’s third annual Fourth of July parade. The Sunday, July 4 event will begin at 1 p.m. and is expected to last about one hour.
According to parade officials, expect the Matanzas Skybridge to be closed from 12:45 p.m. until 2 p.m. that day. The 10 a.m. usual start of the parade has been delayed to accommodate the island’s churches since this year’s Independence Day falls on a Sunday.
Snow, who was Miss Southwest Florida at the April 11 state pageant, will be traveling to Michigan on July 21-23 to represent Florida and compete nationally in the Miss US International Pageant. With a victory there, she will be invited to Singapore later in the year in hopes to be crowned Miss International.
Born in Bloomfield, N. J., the 21-year-old senior at Florida Gulf Coast University was raised in Cape Coral and is a graduate of Mariner High School.
At FGCU, she holds a double major in Forensic Science and Psychology. She plans on furthering her studies with a Masters degree and hopes to work for the FBI as a serial killer profiler.
“Ever since I was little, I wanted to be in the Criminal Justice field,” Snow said. “I wanted to be a detective first, but when I started to take specific classes at FGCU, I knew I wanted to work in forensic science.”
Not your usual beauty queen, Snow also travels around the nation as a professional BMX racer. She likes to tinker with her car engine and holds a job in a Cape Coral real estate office.
“In two weeks or so, I’ll be in Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia for different qualifiers for the national series (in BMX),” she said. “My whole family rides bikes, and I’ve been riding since I was little. I work on my own car, but I’m not a mechanic.”
Snow rode in last year’s FMB Civic Fourth of July parade as Miss Southwest Florida. She is no stranger to Estero Island since she likes to hang out on the beach with friends and admits to dropping an occasional fishing line on the north end of Estero Island. This year, she’ll be the lead gal followed in the parade by Miss Cape Coral, Miss Fort Myers, Miss Tampa, Miss Leesburg, the new Miss Southwest Florida and Miss Suncoast.
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity to do something cool like that,” said Snow. “I love the Beach. I’m there all the time.”
The parade will begin at Topps SuperMarket parking lot and will proceed north along Estero Boulevard to Times Square.
All participants are asked to be there and begin lining up at noon. Everyone wishing to enter a float and didn’t receive an invitation in the mail can call Lee Melsek at 470-3407 or Dennis Boback at 462-8798. Entry fees are $20 for non-profit organizations and $40 for commercial and for-profit organizations.
The Civic Association partners for the 2010 parade once again are The Surf Club, The Beached Whale, The Beach Observer and Charley’s Boathouse Grill. New partners include the Mermaid Lounge and Liquors, Doc Ford’s, Winds and the Times Square Alliance. Other businesses wishing to join as a sponsor should contact Melsek or Boback. Main sponsors get their name on the parade tank tops and t-shirts.
Donations to help pay for parade expenses will entitle you to be a “Friend of the Fourth of July Parade” which includes being mentioned in all pre- and post-parade stories in Tidelines, The Beach Observer and The News-Press. If interested, send a check to the Fort Myers Beach Civic Association, P.O. Box 2356, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33932.
Parade awards will include Best Decorated Float; Best Musical Unit; Best Patriotic Theme; Best Overall Theme; Best Decorated Bike; Best Business; Best Non-Business; Best Decorated Car; Best Decorated Boat; Best Marching Unit; and Best of the Parade ( Best Entry in Parade). After the parade, the awards are expected to be announced at the Surf Club at 3 p.m.
According to Boback, the Beach Civic Association is looking for vendors to set up on Estero Boulevard for the first time in the parade’s history. There will be room for roughly 12 vendors. Contact Melsek or him for information regarding available location space.
The annual holiday parade has become a prelude to the island’s spectacular fireworks show off the pier just after dark. The Semmer Team fireworks show is regarded as the finest and most popular in all of Southwest Florida and draws tens of thousands of people to the island and along the shoreline.
Fireworks fundraisers for the show have been held since the beginning of May. Businesses which have already held benefits include Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Restaurant, Yucatan Beach Stand, the Beach Chamber of Commerce, Surf Club, Mermaid Lounge and Doc Fords. The next fireworks fundraiser is the Fort Myers Beach Golf Club Tournament on Saturday, June 19. If interested in the 8:30 a.m. shotgun start, call 463-2064 to reserve your spot. A raffle/lunch at Bonita Bill’s will follow the tournament.