2008 Buffalo Men's Show-revisited

In 2008, Citadel Radio teamed up with the US Army to put together what would become an annual event dedicated to men with big boy "toys," celebs, and beautiful women. To help with that last part, the 2008 Buffalo Jills were recruited to appear and perform at the Agri-Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds where this 1st Men's Show took place. Included at the show in addition to the Jills were appearances by players from the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, Playboy Playmate Shannon James, and CW23's Lydia Dominick among others.
I got there a few hours into the event and, unfortunately missed a few of the Jills, including Katie K. I know this because shortly after I  got there, I ran into her boyfriend and hung out with him for a bit after grabbing a few photos of the girls that were there greeting fans and posing for photos in a photo booth that was set up. After  he left, I spent some time with rookie dancer Shana, who was getting set to leave herself after her friends were done checking out a few things. As it turns out, Shana had never been to an NFL game before. Shana moved to Buffalo on her own to attend UB after having  grown up in Oakland, California. As sher told me, her daddy wasn't going to let his little girl anywhere near the kind of rowdiness known to exist at Raiders games.

Shana, Danielle, Dana, Jill R, and Toi

Stephanie Br, Lonna, Val, and  Amelina with Jickster

Shana with a couple of her friends

Before too long, the Jills took the stage for a rousing dance performance with Stephanie Br, Val, Amelina, Omarlla, and Ayeshia taking the stage for a 3-pack of dance remixes and the rookies, despite being on the squad for only a few weeks, meshed extraordinarily well with the vets.

After the performance, Omarlla, Val, and Ayeshia went around the show for a little while mingling with the fans while Stephanie and Amelina were joined by Lisa and Lonna, first at the photo booth, and then, while Playmate Shannon James and Lydia Dominick were at the photo booth, out on the floor of the show. I  joined the girls out on the floor, as the stage was taken over by a bikini fashion show with some models from 97Rock. One of the booths the girls stopped at was that of former Bills G Ruben Brown, who was there promoting his annual motorcycle run, which helps raise money for youth service and enrichment programs. He brought along one of his bikes which the girls posed with.

Stephanie Br, Lisa, Lonna, and Amelina with Ruben Brown and one of his bikes

Afterwards, they decided to check out some of the games that were set up, with Lisa and Amelina showing off their QB skills before Lonna showed off her skills on the guitar with the Guitar Hero game set up.

Lisa showing off her throwing arm

Lonna on Guitar Hero

Eventually, the show started winding down and I spent a little bit of time with Lydia as she checked out Ruben's bike and posed with a few fans at his bile, including a little boy who had been at the Bandits game the night before with his father seated near me. He was even still rocking the Mohawk-esque hairstyle.

Ruben and honorary Jill Lydia Dominick posing on his bike

You can see all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/7438
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the 2nd home game against the Toronto Rock. I grabbed this shot during the 1st quarter when members of Kirsten's line were performing to the music. Shown here are Chrissy and Lauren  K.

Chrissy and Lauren K

The Jills and Bandettes at the Buffalo Men's Show

The last few years, Citadel Radio has been a big sponsor of a fun event geared towards men called the Buffalo Men's Show. Seneca Niagara Casino is the location where they bring in various vendors with lots of big boy toys like televisions, cars, and drinks. In addition, since guys love beautiful women, a lot of models are on hand each year as well. This year, one of those models was the Martin Archery Girl...who we all know as Laura of the Buffalo Jills. She spent some time at the Men's Show signing autographs and posing for pictures with the fans right alongside other local models and beauties including Honorary Buffalo Jill Lydia Dominick of WGRZ-TV.

Laura with Russo from 97Rock
Also, this event is a big one for the Jills with several members of the squad in attendance signing autographs, selling off their calendars, and posing for lots of pics. But this year's event went a little further than previous years...joining the Jills at the show were several members of the Buffalo Bandettes dance team. Throughout the event, I did some catching up with the Jills, whom I haven't seen in 2 months and some even longer, as well as get plenty of photos of both the Jills and the Bandettes.

Lisa, Beth, Melissa, and Jaclyn

Noelle, Murissa, Jessica H, Chrissy, and Meghan

See all the photos of all the girls at http://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/24292

Of course no big appearance by the Jills would be complete without a dance performance by members of the squad.

We also have a bit of news to share from the Jills as captains and co-captains have been announced. With Eileen's retirement from the squad, a vacancy at captain opened up and filling that slot, joining Omarlla and Christina as a dance captain, will be 6th year vet Valerie. Also, after going through 2010 without dance co-captains, the slots have been filled for 2011 with girls with a wide range if experience. 5th year vet Lisa, 3rd year vet Loren, and last year's rookie of the year Natalie will be the co-captains for this year's dance units. On the Ambassador Squad, Keisha returns as captain and joining her as her co-captain in 2011 will be fellow 5th year vet Laura.

Also, if you have a set of golf clubs, make sure to take Monday, August 1st off from work for the 9th Annual Buffalo Jills Golf Tournament to be held at Westwood Country Club in Williamsville. Full details will be available at a later date but expect lots of raffle prizes and games to be played throughout the course of the day which will include lunch, dinner, and a great dance performance by the 2011-2012 Buffalo Jills.

Of course the 2011-2012 Buffalo Jills squad, with the exception of the aforementioned captains, has yet to be selected and tryouts start April 10th at the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse with the Open Workshop for all interested in trying out for the squad. Get all the details at http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=2098800

Coming up next for the Bandettes, they'll be back at HSBC Arena this Saturday night as the now playoff-bound Buffalo Bandits look to improve their seeding in the playoffs as they play host to the Washington Stealth. Joining them at halftime will be the Jr Bandettes who the Bandettes have been working with to get ready for the performance.

Jills Awards and something new for tryouts this year

It's that time of year again as the Jills held their annual end-of-season banquet this past weekend and as a part of that banquet, many Buffalo Jills received some awards.
There were some repeats from last year as Omarlla and Lisa continue to set a high standard and Kelly, who is retiring after 2 seasons, had perfect attendance her entire career. When you consider all the hard work these girls put in and all the time commitments, that's quite an accomplishment!

• Rookie of the year: Gina (ambassador) & Natalie(dance)
• Captain of the year: Omarlla
• Veteran of the year: Lisa
• Outstanding Ambassador Jill: Alyssa
• Miss Congeniality: Kelly (dance) & Keisha (ambassador)
• Most appearances: Murissa
• Perfect attendance: Kelly, Omarlla & Jill
• Most Calendar sales: Meghan

Congratulations to all the award winners!! Though, truth be told, everyone on the squad is a winner in my book.

Captains haven't been selected yet this year with tryouts taking place in April. And speaking of tryouts, there's something new happening at 1st cuts this year, an event which is open to the public for the 3rd year in a row. At this year's 1st cuts, which will be taking place at 1pm on April 17 at the Tralf Music Hall in Buffalo, the ladies who make it through 1st cuts will be back on stage in swimwear. This is to help evaluate confidence and poise more easily as well as make the event even more interesting to the public. As a Buffalo Jills cheerleader, confidence and poise are a must when on appearances and at events and anyone who can model their own tasteful swimwear (with heels), should do quite well in these areas. See all the details on tryouts at http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=2098800&spid=34534

While the Jills are mostly doing smaller appearances from now until tryouts, there is one big event still at which a large number of the Jills will be on hand. The Annual Buffalo Men's Show is being held at Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center on March 27th and features Ruben Brown, Joe Ferguson, and Van Miller from the Bills as well as Frank Resestarits from the Bandits and many more celebrities and booths. The main attraction though, will obviously be the Buffalo Jills. In addition to greeting people at a few various booths at the event, they'll also be putting on a big dance performance as well. Check out all the info on the Men's Show and how to get tickets at http://www.97rock.com/Article.asp?id=2085661

Lots more to share

First up are some more photos from Saturday night's Jills Comedy Show. As many fans know, FCI Photography was the official photographers of the Buffalo Jills for several years. Well, after a 1-year hiatus, they're back on the job with the Jills and were also on-hand Saturday night and took a lot of photos as well. Check them all out at http://fciphotography.smugmug.com/Buffalo-Jills/Jills-2011-events/Jills-Comedy-night/15672593_myn2g#1174700932_8XTPi-A-LB

After the Comedy Show, I myself went downtown to visit with the Studio 54 dance band who, as many of you already know, used to have a Buffalo Jill as the lead singer. Well, the current lead singer is also into acting as well and occasionally, Ashlee fills in for her with the band. This past weekend, Ashley Kate was playing the role of Cheryl in "The Taffetas" and is also slated to play the role of Lucy in a production of "Jekyll & Hyde" in late March. So Ashlee was ready, willing, and able to fill in for her both in Lockport Friday night and at the Shadow Lounge Saturday night. Check out all the pics at http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2010/Ashlee%20with%20Studio%2054-2/

Also, make sure to visit http://www.studio54band.com/home to learn more about the band, see showdates, and even get a little extra info on when Ashley Kate is on stage as Lucy in March.

Finally, the spring of 2008 was the beginning of one of the biggest non-sporting event to hit the area since Wingfest was founded...the Buffalo Men's Show! Sponsored in part by Jills primary sponsor 97Rock, the Jills will once again be in attendance at the March 27th event to be held at Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls, NY. In addition to the Jills, who will be there putting on a big dance performance, there's always plenty of celebrities, models, and all sorts of neat gadgets and toys to check out like big electronics items, ATVs, snowmobiles and the like. Last year's event included Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Ruben Brown, and Mark Steenhuis as well as local model Jessica Daniels who landed the cover of the current Bikini USA calendar. Tickets go on sale on February 7th and more celebrities are joining the current line-up that can be found at http://www.97rock.com/Article.asp?id=2092619&spid=

Stay tuned to 97Rock and the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog for more info on the 3rd Annual Buffalo Men's Show!

The Buffalo Jills at the Buffalo Men's Show

2 years ago, 97Rock and 103.3 The Edge helped put on the 1st Buffalo Men's Show at the Hamburg Agri-Center and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. This year, the venue was the Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center in Niagara Falls, NY. The venue was the only major change as the place was packed from start to finish. Attendees got to check out a large number of different booths including one from Zoladz Limousine. At the Zoladz booth, people slammed a hammer onto one of those carnival-style bells to get a chance to win a tailgate party with some of the Jills for the Bills Home Opener this fall. Kristen did a good job convincing people to try their luck, which should be no surprise. Who could say no to that smile and the positive energy she has?

In addition to the booths from the vendors, various celebrities were on hand to sign autographs including Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Ruben Brown, and Mark Steenhuis. Ruben stayed off the stage area and hung around his own booth promoting his motorcycle run coming up on June 12 in Atlantic City. Considering he got to pose with Jills 3rd year vet Angelina, who can blame him for hanging around his booth? Get all the details on that at http://rubensrun.com/

Obviously the big feature was the Buffalo Jills who signed autographs, sold calendars, and posed for pictures before a big dance performance on stage.

See all the Jills photos at http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2009/Mens%20Show/

For more on the Men's Show, be sure to check out our friends at Skunkpost where Christie Weber has a video up from the event http://www.skunkpost.com/news.sp?newsId=1800

Coming up, Jills tryouts are in full swing starting on March 14 as the Jills hold their Open Workshop for all prospective 2010 Jills at the Conference Center of Niagara Falls. This Workshop is closed to the public but 1st cuts, also at the Conference Center, will be open to the public on March 20th at 10am. Get all the details at http://buffalojills.net/auditions/index.php

More Jills appearances, tryout dates to watch for

Obviously, the biggest thing to watch out for regarding the Jills coming is auditions. This Saturday is the last Audition Prep Class to be held at Fusion Dance Studio from 4-5:30pm. This class is designed to give aspiring rookies a chance to get better prepared for what to expect from being a Buffalo Jills Cheerleader and the cost of the class is $20. Visit http://www.buffalojills.net/auditions/prep.php for full info and registration information.

Jills tryouts themselves start on Sunday, March 29th at Fusion Dance Studio at 10am with an Open Workshop for all interested dancers and ambassadors. In this class, dancers will learn a routine that they'll be expected to perform during 1st dance cuts while dancers and ambassadors alike will learn what's required of them as a Buffalo Jill with a short question-and-answer session with Jills management and captains. There's no fee for the Open Workshop but this event is closed to the public. Only those who are thinking about trying out are to be in the audition area. You can get more info as well as an audition application at http://www.buffalojills.net/auditions/index.php

1st cuts for the Ambassador Squad will be held at Fusion Dance Studio on Thursday, April 2nd at 8pm in an event that's closed to the public.

On April 5th, the Jills tryouts are open to the public for $5 at Town Ballroom in downtown Buffalo. The tryouts start at 1pm and will feature the 1st cuts for the dance squad as well as 2nd cuts for the Ambassador Squad.

On Saturday, April 25th, from 3pm-7pm, meet the Jills along with Billy Buffalo, local celebrities, and some Bills players at the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse in the Season Ticket Holder Draft Party. This event is only for Bills season ticket holders.

On May 2nd, the Hamburg Agri-Center is the place to be from 11am-7pm as WEDG-FM is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Buffalo Men's Show. Tickets will be $5 for this event and watch for more details on the event as they become available at http://buffalomensshow.com/

This year, the Jills are taking their Calendar Shoot Cruise from May 25-29th and the public is invited to come along and see the making of the 2009-2010 Buffalo Jills Swimsuit Calendar. The Cruise itself is priced from $539 a person and more details can be found at http://buffalojills.net/appearances/details.php?recordID=3

Jills Calendar sold out and appearances coming in the months ahead.

Anyone who checked out the new site of the Buffalo Jills may have noticed that a link is missing. There's no link for calendar sales and that's because they're basically sold out...though a few may still be out there if you make a Jills appearance sometime in the next few weeks. The 2009-2010 calendar will be shot the week of May 25-29 as well as in the weeks following that for any of the 2009 squad that doesn't make the trip. We can expect the next calendar to be available in late July/early August.

Beyond that, we have a few more appearances to announce. One of them will be on draft day, April 25th at the Fieldhouse. The Bills are holding a special draft party just for their season ticket holders and of course the Jills will be there. The other one is one we expected. Last year, 97Rock, 103.3 The Edge, and the US Army put together the Buffalo Men's Show at the Hamburg Agri-Center and the place was packed most of the day and included appearances as well as a performance by the Buffalo Jills. May 2, The EDGE Men's Show will be taking place and we can expect more of the same. Stay tuned to http://buffalojills.net/ http://www.wedg.com/Default.asp and http://buffaloprocheer.blogspot.com/ for all the details as they become available.

Pics from the Buffalo Men's Show

In a celebration of manhood, the US Army and Citadel Radio took over the Agri-Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds to put on the 1st Buffalo Men's Show. This event featured such things as an Army demonstration, games to play, replicas of KITT and the General Lee, and plenty of booths with various big boy "toys" to buy like motorcycles and HD TVs. It was also an opportunity for the thousands of event-goers to meet and get autographs from various celebrities. On hand were Sabres like Rob Ray and Patrick Kaleta and Bills like Trent Edwards, Terence McGee and Gibran Hamden. There were plenty of non-athletes as well when you factor in the radio personalities of 97Rock and 103.3 The Edge, Chris "Shooter McGavin" McDonald, and Shannon James, Playboy's Playmate of the Month for May 2007.

Obviously, an event like this wouldn't be complete without hot women and in addition to Shannon James, they brought in Lydia from the CW23 (an honorary Buffalo Jill for all her work in promoting tryouts) and a large group of the Buffalo Jills. The Jills spent some time posing with fans for a donation to Hunter's Hope and sold some calendars for the majority of the day but a lot of these girls made the squad not just because of their beauty, but their ability to dance as well and took to the stage to put on a hot dance performance for their fans.

Later on, while a lot of the event-goers had their attention focused on the stage for a bikini fashion show, the Jills circulated through the crowd handing out Bills schedules, meeting fans and posing for pictures, and checking out a few of the displays and games. Lisa and Stephanie B tried their hand at bowling using a Wii before meeting former Bills All-Pro G Ruben Brown at his Ruben's Run booth. After that, Lisa and Amelina tried out the QB challenge and both girls nailed their 2nd attempts to the delight of several fans who were watching. Then, Lonna Kay showed off her musical skills at Guitar Hero and earned a number of groupies as she played.

Here are some pics and videos from the event.

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2008/Mens%20Show/

If you missed it but were in Western NY, what were you thinking? But considering how successful the event was, don't be surprised to see it made an annual event so hopefully you can check it out next year.

Stay tuned for more events and appearances from the Jills over the next couple of months including, but not limited to, appearances at the Taste of Buffalo on July 12th and 13th, and the 6th Annual Buffalo Jills Golf Tournament to be held on July 21st at Lancaster's Fox Valley Country Club.