64 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARCH 21, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
VICTORIA’S A celebration of celebration
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
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Th e women exalted and strutted
as they made their way down
the red carpet to be recognized
by Power Women of Brooklyn
last week.
Each had earned her place on
the runway as leaders in their
respective fi elds.
Lisa Evers, the passionate
Fox-5 broadcaster, helped
me emcee the event aft er having
been honored as a Power
Woman the year before. I loved
the quote on her journal page
next to her photograph: “everything
is possible.” It seemed perfect
for each of the honorees.
Th e tone of the night was
set by our self-proclaimed 96
year old “Attitude Lady,“ Sylvia
Mariamoff , the recipient of our
Lifetime Achievement award.
She wrote a poem to celebrate
the night:
“Hello everybody, where shall
I start?
I’m the ‘Attitude Lady,’ Right
from my heart
With the help of God success
appears…”
Sylvia touched everyone’s heart
that night, and the more than
500 people in attendance stood
and gave her a standing ovation,
cheering her as she received
her “Vicki” statuette. Th e world
stood still for the self-proclaimed
“foxy great-grandmother “
It was just one of the extraordinary
moments at the stunning
Grand Prospect Hall, where we
gathered in their stunning multitiered
balcony grand ballroom.
Th ere was so much talent in
the room, starting with the brilliant
singer Felina Backer, who
opened the program with her
chilling and powerful rendition
of the national anthem.
At each event we raise money
for a local cause who becomes
the benefi ciary of 100% of the
raffl es sold throughout the night.
During this year’s Power Women
of Brooklyn event, we helped Th e
Selah Way Foundation and its
co-founder, president and CEO,
Elizabeth Melendez Fisher.
Her group, now nationwide,
works to end sex traffi cking
and bring help to the exploited
through four strong programs:
awareness, prevention, outreach
and residential. All of these programs
are to care for survivors of
sex traffi cking.
Taking our breath away was
extraordinary woman, Angela
“Butch” Buccini, an accomplished
dancer who created a
career in acrobatics and circus
artists. She specializes in hand
to hand acrobatics, aerial arts
and fi re performances having
appeared across the globe.
She founded The Muse
Brooklyn and ABC Cirque,
stopping our “show” by being
brought upside down by her
acrobat partner on the red carpet
— yet another startling, stunning
and memorable moment!
And then there was Raisa
Chernina, the founder and executive
director of the Be Proud
Foundation. One of her missions
is to promote families and
she hosts a unique event, “Your
Highness Grandmother” pageant.
Watch out, grandmas, here
I come! I’ll keep you posted.
I love that Raisa reaches out
and helps Brooklyn’s most distressed
Jewish people like the
dwindling holocaust survivors in
the borough. It was an honor to
meet her.
Finally, from retired Judge and
Our Power Women on the Grand
Prospect Hall staircase
civic leader Alice Fisher Rubin,
I took to heart her favorite quote:
“Th e secret to success is not solely
brilliance but perseverance.”
Amen!
You can see more photos from
our Power Women event at
brooklynpaper.com.
Sylvia Mariamoff wowed the crowd as she received her Lifetime Achievement Award as Lisa Evers and Lori Pedone look on. Angela Buccini strolls down the red carpet on her partner’s shoulders
/brooklynpaper.com
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