FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

There She Is! Miss America 2001 to Visit Wilmington. Angela Perez Baraquio to speak at Catholic Youth Ministry events February 1, 2001 --- (Wilmington, DE) --- Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio, will be the keynote speaker at a Leadership for a New Millennium dinner sponsored by the Diocese of Wilmington's Office for Catholic Youth Ministry (CYM) on Tuesday, February 13, 2001 at 6:30 p.m. at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, it was announced today by Mr. Patrick Donovan, Director, CYM. Angela Perez Baraquio is on a national speaking tour entitled, "Character in the Classroom: Teaching Values, Valuing Teachers." As a national spokesperson and advocate, Angela travels approximately 20,000 miles a month, into a different city every other day, addressing diverse audiences, increasing awareness and promoting greater emphasis for character education. Based on her experience as an elementary school teacher, coach and athletic director at Holy Family Catholic Academy in her home state of Hawaii, she also champions the role that educators play in guiding youth to success. She advocates quality compensation for quality education to recognize the significant role that educators play in developing values and ethics among youth. "The adoption of character development programs in our country's schools must become a national priority," Angela said. "As Miss America, I am encouraging educators, parents and students to make character education an integral element of their school's culture and curriculum." "We are thrilled to be able to sponsor Miss America 2001's only scheduled visit to Delaware," said Mr. Donovan. "Angela is an inspiration to young people and challenges adults to greater efforts in developing the character of our youth." The dinner is open to the public and tickets are $20.00 for adults and $15.00 for students. Seating is limited and ticket sales end February 9, 2001. Reservations may be made by phoning 302/658-3800 or 1-888-658-3775. At 1 o'clock on the afternoon of February 13th, Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio will address a group of 8th grade students at St. Mary Magdalen School, Concord Pike and Sharpley Road in Wilmington. She will give a presentation followed by questions from the students. While this event is not open to the public, a press conference is scheduled immediately following at the school. In her quest for the Miss America crown, Angela was awarded more than $80,000 in scholarship assistance. The Miss America Organization is the single largest provider of scholarship assistance to women in the world, with nearly $40 million made available in 2000 alone. A not-for-profit organization based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it is committed to instilling a spirit of community service and scholarship in young women across the nation through a variety of unique community-based programs. In serving American communities and the nation at large, the Miss America Organization works through a network of more than 300,000 volunteers. The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was established in 1868 and comprises 56 parishes, 20 missions and over 30 schools serving the State of Delaware and the nine counties of Maryland's Eastern Shore. The Office for Catholic Youth Ministry of the diocese is committed to serving today's young Church and the adults called to guide them in the building of the Kingdom of God, one youth at a time, through education, recreation and leadership development. For more information, visit the diocesan website at www.cdow.org. # # # Contact: Bob Krebs 302/573-3116 rkrebs@cdow.org