Ellington Native Participates in Mrs. Connecticut America Pageant

On Feb. 4, Ellington native Tressa Giordano took part in the Mrs. Connecticut America pageant at Foxwoods Resort & Casino.

Sixteen competitors from Connecticut – a large group compared to past years – and 11 from Rhode Island – the Mrs. Rhode Island America pageant was also held – participated in the pageant.

Giordano said that the women competed in a private panel interview with five judges prior to the show.  

“During the production, we competed in front of approximately 600 family and friends,” she said.

Phases of the competition included bathing suit and evening wear for all contestants. The top 10 for Connecticut and top seven for Rhode Island - semi-finalists - had an on-stage question. After that, the top five were chosen and then the winner was announced.

Giordano, the 33-year-old mother of two, placed third runner-up as “Mrs. Ellington.”

She truly enjoyed the pageant.

“The experience was great!,” she said. “I had a wonderful time meeting some amazing women. We continue to stay in touch on Facebook and are planning on getting together in March again. I was impressed by each one of their “stories,” their professions, their passions, etc.”  

In July of 2010, Giordano had heart surgery to close two holes. For 20 years, she was told that she had a seizure disorder. Unfortunately, she was never able to get them under control, especially during and after her two pregnancies. Giordano then found a doctor who decided to check her heart, and he discovered the two holes as well as a genetic blood clotting disorder that causes her blood to clot too much.  

“I was actually experiencing mini-strokes, not seizures,” Giordano said. “The fact that I had experienced these for over 20 years, experienced two pregnancies and two natural child births without having a catastrophic stroke was amazing... however, I was literally a ticking time bomb and was at huge risk for having a major stroke. So we found a team at Mass General to perform surgery.”

When Giordano was going in for heart surgery, she and her husband, Dave, talked about setting some goals to help give her the strength, courage, and motivation to go through that experience.  

“To be honest, I was terrified to have the procedure, but knew in my heart I had to do it for the future of my children,” she said.  

Giordano’s first goal was to get back to teaching – Zumba is her passion and she teaches about 10 classes a week. She was able to get back into things gradually - in five weeks - and back to her full schedule in 10 weeks.  

Giordano’s second, and 6-month goal, was to take her children to San Diego, CA, which meant flying and being away from her team of doctors.  

For her year goal, the Giordanos decided that it should be something kind of “out of the box,” and something that would give her the chance to tell her story and inspire others. That was where competing in the Mrs. Connecticut America pageant came in.  

“The whole pageant experience gave me a chance to reflect on how blessed I am to have the chance to live life to its fullest,” she said. “I was so proud to see my beautiful family in the audience and felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have my husband escort me on stage for evening wear. He looked so handsome and all I could think about was how wonderful he had been during my weeks of recovery.”

While Tressa was recovering, Dave had to take on extra responsibilities.

“He had to learn how to administer injections in my stomach twice a day for weeks post surgery, he had to take over many of our daily household tasks, and rush me to the hospital a few times when recovery was causing me some challenges,” she said. “He was, and is my rock!”  

Her husband was not the only family member at the pageant. Her children, siblings, and parents were also in the audience – which she said was amazing.

“In those moments on stage, all I could feel was the love for all of them that fills my heart,” she said. “My 7-year-old son, Riley, was so cute after the pageant. He was a little teary-eyed because I did not win, but for me, the experience was really about conquering a goal that I had set and having the opportunity to inspire others to live a healthy life.”  

Paying attention to your health is something Giordano stresses.

“It doesn't matter how young or old you are, taking care of yourself is crucial,” she said. “You never know when your body is going have an issue, so it is best to build it strong so you can prevent and handle anything that comes your way.”  

That’s not the only lesson she has learned from her journey.

“I have also learned that life is precious and you must live each day to it's fullest,” she said. “Never wasting a moment, taking time for your family, helping others, and being present and mindful in all you do.”

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