Photo By Lt.Cmdr. Jim Remington | Air Force Senior Airmen Nicholas M. Snyder, a native of Kingwood, W.Va. and member of...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON - Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas Max Snyder took the stage June 14 at Washington’s Arena Stage to offer a steady hand to Miss District of Columbia 2015 pageant finalists while representing the U.S. armed forces.
Snyder, a native of Kingwood, West Virginia, and member of the elite United States Air Force Honor Guard joined the event after the Miss District of Columbia Organization and the Armed Forces Foundation made the request in the week leading up to the pageant. Pageant organizers’ concept was to have a service member participate in the pageant itself to represent all of the military and to provide the 18 contestants the assistance of a steady hand as they negotiated the stairs from the stage down to the floor in long gowns and tall heels during the pageant’s ball gown competition.
“I really enjoyed it. I’ve never been to a pageant like that. The crowd was really supportive of the military. When I walked on stage to support the ladies coming down the stairs in their evening gowns everyone was hollering and applauding. It was a really neat experience,” Snyder said.
Outside of his approximately twenty minutes on stage, Snyder was able to take a seat and enjoy the remainder of the pageants. At the event’s conclusion, he attended a behind the scenes photo shoot with the newly crowned Miss District of Columbia 2015 Haely Jardas where the two were photographed by the media photographers present.
Jardas, an American University alumnus, works with Mental Health Matters (MHMatters), a website founded to supply information and resources to mental health consumers, professionals, students and supporters. She works with MHMatters to assist those suffering with mental illness, raise awareness about mental health issues, and to destigmatize the issue.
“I’m so happy to have a decorated serviceman participate in the ceremony,” Jardas said after the event. “My brother is a U.S. Marine, and I always feel honored when any branch of the military comes to support Miss D.C. and what she stands for. I am so excited for all the people I will get to meet and talk to in my year as Miss D.C. I look forward to being able to meet as many members of the U.S. Armed Forces in D.C. as I can, and I’m excited to be able to share my platform, Mental Health Matters, with them. Many military families deal with mental health issues, but because of the stigma associated with depression, PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] and other disorders, they rarely talk about these in an open and healthy environment.”
One of Jardas’ stated goals is to use her issue platform as Miss District of Columbia to publish her experiences and what she is able to learn from others on mental health. She said she wants to hear as many stories as she is able from military members and veterans who are struggling. She also said she hopes to be an inspiration for them to speak out along with her and to help others who are suffering in silence.
“Suicide is the most devastating result of untreated mental illness, and it’s 100 percent preventable,” Jardas said.
The connection between the Miss District of Columbia Organization and the military has firm roots dating back to Miss District of Columbia 1997 Sonya Gavankar. Her maternal grandfather was a general in the Indian army. He met her grandmother during World War II while she was serving as a Dutch Red Cross nurse. But it was Gavankar’s connection with her future husband, then a captain in the Marines and an instructor at Marine Corps Base Quantico, that lead to a new Miss District of Columbia tradition.
“I met my husband just as he was wrapping up his career with the Marines. He was an instructor at TBS [The Basic School, where all newly commissioned and appointed U.S. Marine Corps officers are taught the basics of being a Marine officer]. I had the pleasure of attending an Evening Parade [at the Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.] when I was Miss D.C. and loved the precision and pageantry of the evening. I tell anyone visiting D.C. in the summer they have to go to see them,” Gavankar said. “Over the years, we have been lucky enough to secure tickets after the pageant and it has become the de facto first event for Miss D.C. Once folks find out she is there, they always ask for her to wear the crown and sash, even though it’s not an ‘official appearance.’ Haely continued this tradition when she attended the Evening Parade at 8th and I on June 18, the first Friday after being crowned Miss D.C.”
While Gavankar helped establish this precedence with the Marine Corps Barracks as one of her most visible and lasting achievements between Miss District of Columbia and the military, it is only a part of her legacy. During her year, and throughout her life since, Gavankar has worked with veterans and service members because she said she holds them in the highest regards.
“Having Senior Airman Synder on stage added some much needed muscle!,” Gavankar exclaimed. “We know how hard the men and women of our services work and they deserve a moment in the spotlight too. The contestants were expertly guided by him, but in a way it became a metaphor for what we are allowed to achieve because of the strength of those who keep us safe.
“I remember sitting with a dying Vietnam veteran, unable to hold his hand because it would cause him even more pain. Just sitting with him was the least I could do for a man who gave up so much. To have my generation fight multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq means I must step up to help them with their personal struggles. If I can make someone forget about it with one night of pageantry, perhaps this small step may bring someone one step closer to healing,” Gavankar said. “I look forward to seeing the mental health advocacy work that this year’s winner, Haely, brings to great effect for the military community.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2015 12:34 |
| Story ID: | 168281 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DC, US |
| Hometown: | KINGWOOD, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Building new bonds between Miss District of Columbia and military, by LCDR Jim Remington, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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