When Sally Pomante walked into the spotlight at the Leelanau Sands Showroom to claim the title of Miss Grand Traverse last month, it was a familiar moment. After all, she had won the same bodybuilding title as the “best of the best” 11 years ago. Today, Sally, 51, looks rock-solid and ripped from her long hours in the gym and months of an extreme diet. At the April show, she won the masters 35-and-older class as well as the ‘short’ class in order to take the top title. Not bad for the mother of two grown children, Jen, 17, and Sara, 22. “In fact, I’m also a grandma, since Sara has two boys, ages three and one,” she says. A resident of Kalkaska, where she lives with six pet dogs and operates her Champion Cleaning Company, Pomante has always been attracted to physical pursuits. She raced stock cars as an 18-year-old back in the day when she was running a ‘68 Camaro around the track in Elmira. She also tried figure skating and still enjoys kick-boxing.
May is National Foster Care Month in recognition of the 513,000 kids placed in foster care nationally due to abuse, neglect or sudden crises. Look for blue ribbons this month tied on trees—symbolizing the attempt to end child abuse. This article focuses on kids aging out of the system at the age of 18—about 20,000 kids across the country each year. A program called Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative helps them out.
When Kayla Abel was a sophomore at Kingsley High School, she had to drop out of school to take care of her new baby sister. She cleaned the house, watched the baby and two other siblings, and cooked dinners while her mom worked at night. After a year, however, she called it quits. She moved in with a boyfriend, who beat her, and then with an uncle and aunt—her fourth set of foster parents.
America has Oktoberfest to celebrate German traditions, Chinese New Year to honor the Chinese, St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate the Irish - and Cinco de Mayo to honor our Mexican neighbors and resident Mexican-Americans. But did you know that Cinco de Mayo - that most Mexican of holidays - isn’t such a big deal in Mexico itself?
