Passaic County’s 2013 Marshal & Miss Polonia

• PostEagle
• May 7, 2013
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Passaic County Will Be Well Represented At Annual Pulaski Day Parade
With Alice Stolarz, Miss Polonia 2013 – Andrew Kaczmarek, 2013 Marshal

NEW JERSEY – Passaic County-Central of Polish Organization will be well represented at the 76th Annual Pulaski Day Parade in New York City on October 06, 2013 by  Alicia Christine Stolarz, Miss Polonia 2013 along with the 2013 Marshal Andrew Kaczmarek, owner of the Polonia Bakery in Passaic, NJ.

The 76th Annual Kosciuszko Ball, sponsored by the Central of Polish Organizations (established in 1934), was held on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at the Polish American Cultural Center in Passaic, NJ. The highlight of the evening was the presentations of Miss Polonia 2013, Junior Miss Polonia 2013 and the Little Jr. Miss Polonias.

In photo above: L-R: Miss Polonia 2013 Alicia Stolarz, 2013 Marshal Andrew Kaczmarek, Junior Miss Polonia Olivia Stopka, and Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik.  17 year old Alicia Christine Stolarz was selected Miss Polonia 2013, and with this title she will represent Passaic, Clifton and its Vicinity in the 2013 Annual Pulaski Day Parade in New York City.

Alicia was born in Passaic, NJ  and is the daughter of Andrew Stolarz, former Passaic Marshal of 1993, and Dorothy Gebala, former Miss Polonia of 1983, and granddaughter of the late Anna and Joseph Stolarz from Passaic.  She is a Junior at Randolph High School.  Her hobbies and activities are drawing, painting and track, National Art Society, Future Business Leaders. Her plans for the future are to attend college to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Marketing.

In her speech she expressed that…  “The primary reason that I am submitting my application for Miss Polonia 2013 is because it would be the 30th anniversary of when my mother, Dorothy Gebala Stolarz, was chosen as Miss Polonia in 1983, and also it would be the 30th anniversary of when my dziadziu Joseph Stolarz (deceased) served as the 1983 Passaic Marshal. Coincidently, it was at that parade, in 1983, that my parents actually met for the first time. My dad is Andrew Stolarz, Joseph Stolarz’s oldest son.  If I were to become Miss Polonia in 2013, it would be a loving and touching tribute to my entire family and it would celebrate many decades of great pride of our family’s Polish culture and tradition. I can vividly remember marching in almost every Pulaski Day Parade since I was a child. Every year I proudly marched hand in hand with my grandfather and parents down Fifth Avenue in New York City. I also remember the excitement and the fun bus rides to and from New York City, listening to everyone sing and give speeches in Polish. I loved preparing to march every year, wearing my mom’s krakowianki outfit that she wore forty years earlier when she was a child. Being involved in the Parade for the past sixteen years with my family has instilled in me a great sense of pride in my Polish heritage. In particular, it would be a true honor to be Miss Polonia on the thirtieth anniversary of my mother’s reign. It would also be an opportunity for me to perhaps expose other young Polish teenagers to the wonderful traditions that I have learned from being involved with the parade. I also believe it would be a great chance to get others involved by doing service projects for Polish people in need of assistance. This would be a great way for teenagers to become involved in a cultural experience, and it would benefit others as well as getting the youth more involved.”

In photo above right: L-R: Andrew Stolarz Jr., Jane Vitart, Irene Stolarz, Miss Polonia 2013 Alicia Stolarz, mother Dorothy Stolarz (Miss Polonia 1983), Halina Laporta and Andy Stolarz.

The Junior Miss Polonia is 12 year old Olivia Stopka from Clifton, NJ; daughter of Malgorzata and Jozef Stopka. She attends St. Andrew R.C. School in Clifton. She likes to dance and sing. In the future she would like to become a Veterinarian.

The little 2013 Miss Polonias are sisters Isabella and Julia Nicole Zon from Clifton, and sisters Victoria and Dominika Dzon, also from Clifton, NJ.

Sponsor of the trophies for all the girls was Paul Kamienski, 1979 Marshal, owner of Kamienski Funeral Home; crown for Miss Polonia 2013 from Judge Walter J. Tencza; and crown for Jr. Miss Polonia Zdzislaw Grygus. Also gifts were received from Marshal 2013 Andrew Kaczmarek and the Polish Veterans from Trenton.

Andrew Kaczmarek, owner of Polonia Bakery in Passaic and son of John Kaczmarek (1978 Marshal), was proudly announced as the 2013 Marshal of the Passaic-Clifton & Vicinity Contingent in the 76th Annual Pulaski Day Parade in New York City on October 6, 2013. Andrew Kaczmarek was chosen as the 2013 Marshal at the Centrala’s meeting this past November and will be presented with a Marshal’s Sash at the Central of Polish Organizations Ball Sash-Night on Saturday September 21, 2013, 7 pm, at the Polish American Cultural Center in Passaic. Everyone is invited; please save the date.

Krystyna Bladek – Auditor of CPO