In 2008, the Jills struck up a deal with the Club Paradise nightclub in Blasdell to host the majority of their events and after a successful Congratulatory Party, the next big event to be held there was the annual Buffalo Jills Calendar Release Party. Held in late October, the event boasted CW23 star and honorary Jill Lydia Dominick as the emcee and included plenty of raffle prizes as well as dance routines and the customary swimsuit fashion show.
I got there early to help set up and it wasn't long before the girls on the squad started showing up, 38 of the 45 girls on the squad in all. While fans were still just starting to arrive, there were photo ops galore.
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| Stephanie, Ali, and Liz |
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| Amelina, Sarah, Anna, Amanda F, Holly, and Lonna |
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| Ashley, Alecia, Kristin B, Amelina, Brandi, Rita, Murissa, and Kristina |
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| Laura, Lydia, and Dana |
There was even an area set up especially for photos with the girls and 97Rock's intern Katie, who was on hand to help with the event was all too happy to jump in a few photos. Anyone who's paid attention to the Jills the past few years will recognize Katie pretty well as she herself joined the squad the following season and even landed the cover of the annual swimsuit calendar.
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| Liz, Ali, 97Rock intern and future Jill Katy R, Stephanie, Jill D, and Angelina |
Eventually, it was time for the dance portion of the evening as the Jills put on 3 rousing dance numbers with Christina and Jennifer handling the 1st part, Nicole, Eileen, and Amelina wowing the fans in the 2nd number before giving way to a big performance by Jackie, Lynn, Anna, Valerie, and Jessica.
After that was completed, all the girls took the stage as they showed off the suits they wore in the 2008-09 Swimsuit calendar. With a different venue than in previous years, I had to pick out a spot where I could get the best shots possible but unfortunately, the lighting from where I was didn't cooperate on everyone's pics. I did get a few good shots of some of the most beautiful young women in Western NY, though.
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| Jess looking flawless in the fashion show |
After the fashion show, it was time for the photobooth to get a lot of attention as Jenica, Stefanie, Holly, Ali, and Lonna stayed in their suits to pose for photos with the fans.
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| Jenica, Holly, and Stefanie posing for photos after the fashion show |
While photos were being taken, the dance floor started getting filled up by some of the Jills along with the fans. Jess even had a special dance partner who, each time the Jills had an event there, would always get a dance with her. He was a regular at Club Paradise even when the Jills weren't there as I saw him frequently when I was there with the Studio 54 Dance Band as well.
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| Jess and her favorite dance partner |
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| Anna, Vincenza, and Lonna |
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| "Sisters from another mister" Jill D and Ayeshia |
You can see all the pics at
http://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/8281
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the 2nd home game against the Philadelphia Wings. Since getting my season tickets in 2007, I'm always getting the girls on the squad posing for pictures. Besides the photos going out to the fans, the girls are very interested in getting them as well. A lot of cheerleaders over the years, Jills and Bandettes alike, have told me they don't get many photos of themselves in action through friends and family and this site has become a great resource for them and they'll be able to share these photos years from now with children and grandchildren to show them what they used to do. Prior to this game, we have a group posing together made up of Kelsey, LB, Cheri, Brianna, Mandy, and Lauren K.
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| Kelsey, LB, Cheri, Brianna, Mandy, and Lauren K |
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