Passing the Spirit Stick

It is hard to believe a year has gone by and my reign as the captain of Cheer New York has already come to an end! Fortunately, I simply couldn’t be happier to pass on the Cheer New York Spirit Stick to two of the most capable people I have had the pleasure of knowing and cheering with: Manny C. and Tonika S.

Manny has been with Cheer NY for 5 years and was previously captain in 2003. In his essay for election he confessed, “I look forward to reaching out to the community with fundraising and charity work. I look forward to entertaining hundreds of thousands of people and possibly competing. I cannot promise the world. I can promise my all, along with honesty, loyalty, respect and SPIRIT.”

When listing Tonika’s strength in cheerleading it might be more appropriate to ask what she can’t contribute to Cheer NY. Tonika is a nationally certified judge, is published in the National Council on Safety and Spirit Education (NCSSE), and founded her own cheerleading team at Brooklyn College. And that is just the tip of Tonika’s cheerleading iceberg!!

There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be an amazing season for CNY, and as Tonika so wonderfully put it, “Cheer New York is Fierce – Everyone Better Watch Out!!!”

--Kelsey M.