Buffalo Jill of The Week Joya

This week, we take a look at rookie dancer Joya as our Jill of The Week. Spending her gamedays on Eileen's line between Jill and Anna, she's loving the chance to perform in front of 73,000 fans. She took a gradual build-up in excitement levels, starting off with the Hall of Fame game and going through preseason and ending up with the Home Opening win over Tampa Bay. While the team hasn't been providing the fans with any excitement to speak of since then, Joya and her squadmates are determined to give people attending Bills games a reason to stay in their seats watching or on their feet applauding from pregame to the end of the game. This college graduate is also a big fan of the camera, being one of this season's most-photographed Jills. Of course a part of that is due to having Eileen as a captain, who seems to do a lot to get a plenty of photos for her line. And then there's also Joya's dedication to the community, with several appearances to her credit, including a few in the Southern Tier. The dedication to the community is no surprise as she seems to enjoy meeting new people and is known for being friendly by her squadmates. When it comes to tryouts, everyone knows that the girls learn a routine one week and perform it a week later for the 1st round of dance cuts. There are also a few rounds in which they need to learn a short routine on the spot and Joya is known as a fast learner, something that definitely helped her land one of the spots on the squad this season.

2 appearances in Northern Chautauqua County

A couple different locations were the setting as the Jills went south from Erie County into the county that used to host Bills Training Camp and was the birthplace of Bills 50th Anniversary team LB Shane Conlan.

First off was the Tailgate Party in TJ Maxx Plaza in Dunkirk which was put together by DFT Technology Plus, a local internet and DirecTV provider. The attendees, of which there were many, got free hot dogs and registered for prizes like a flat screen TV or a Terrell Owens autographed jersey. Put together as a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County, DFT brought in former Bills LS Adam Lingner as well as Jill, Jessica, Angelina, and Joya of the Buffalo Jills to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Next up was Septemberfest at Merritt Estate Winery, an official sponsor of the Buffalo Jills and the maker of Buffalo Jills Wine. As a fundraiser for Camp Good Days, they held a silent auction with dozens of prizes including autographed Buffalo Sabres photos and memorabilia. Merritt Winery brought in former Sabres winger Danny Gare and ex-boxer Baby Joe Mesi along with several members of the Buffalo Jills to sign autographs and pose for photos while live music played all day long.

With 2 events going on at once, I was able to make it out to Merritt Winery in time to talk to and get some photos of Ayeshia and Jennifer of the Buffalo Jills before their shift ended.

Check all the photos out at http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2009/091209/

The Jills aren't done in Chautauqua County this weekend by any means, though as Septemberfest is going on Sunday as well so you can still check out some live bands, tour the winery, and meet some of the Buffalo Jills then. http://www.merrittestatewinery.com/page/53/calendar.aspx

Also, Shawbucks in Jamestown, in the southern part of the county, is hosting a benefit for a Marine who was critically injured in Afghanistan. The event goes from 1pm-7pm (or 10pm depending on the website) and costs $10 at the door which goes to benefit his family and his recovery. You can read more about the young man's situation at http://www.truehero.us/ Live music is included throughout the day, Shawbucks' kitchen will be open for business and a few of the Buffalo Jills will be on hand to lend their support as well.

After all this, it'll be time for the Jills to get set for the season with a pep rally in downtown Buffalo at Fountain Plaza Monday at noon and then a number of them will be heading across the Peace Bridge to hang out with Bills fans for Monday Night Football at Kelsay's Restaurant on Garrison Road in Fort Erie.

Be sure to stay tuned to http://buffalojills.net/appearances/index.php and the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog for more info on Jills future appearances!

Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week!

Continuing our look at the beautiful rookies who will be gracing the sidelines at Ralph Wilson Stadium this fall, we have a photo from the recent Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
In a photo taken midway through the 4th quarter, we have dancers Caity and Joya. I apologize because I can't give you much insight into these two young ladies as of yet but you'll be able to see them performing on Eileen's line starting Saturday night at the Kid's Day preseason game. Just a reminder, Lot C is the place to be from 3:30-6:30 as the Jills Ambassador Squad will be there (until about 6pm, anyway) for the Kid's Day festivities. There's also a special being filmed in that lot for the Food Network on tailgating featuring a team from Chicago and, representing Buffalo, the famed Pinto Ron.

With the Jr Jills joining the Buffalo Jills on the field this weekend, we have a photo from our other squad and their Jr squad, the Jr Bandettes at the Bandits-Titans game earlier this year. Here we see Alexis looking extra excited to get on the floor while the Bandettes and Jr Bandettes get set for their pregame performance.

The Jr Jill and Jr Bandette programs that the squads run do a great service for Buffalo's young women by giving those who are interested in dancing or cheerleading a head start by learning from the pros. Neither squad has cuts so everyone gets a chance to learn and the Jills and Bandettes each try to give the younger generation as much personal attention as possible so that everyone learns.