ERIKA
LAFATA
No stranger to the Mrs.
United States®
pageant system, Erika was Mrs. Texas United
States® 2000 & spent her year as the President of her local
Lions Club talking to people about the humanitarian causes
of Lions Clubs International.
Her start in pageants began at the age of 13 when she
entered a scholarship pageant & as the youngest contestant,
won the Scholastic Achievement & Public Speaking Awards.
After winning a local Lions Club contest her senior year of
high school, she volunteered as the director for the next 9
years. During that same time, she was given the license for
four years to produce a local preliminary to Donald Trump's
Miss USA/Miss Teen USA state preliminaries, Miss Texas USA &
Miss Texas Teen USA. With the help of her business partner
Melissa King, they have the distinct honor of
having two Miss Rice Belt Teen USA’s win the highly
competitive Miss Texas Teen USA title back-to-back in 2001 &
2002, with one eventually becoming 3rd runner up to Miss
Teen USA 2001. Erika has judged, emceed and/or consulted
numerous pageants.
She has had a career in the media for 18 years, including
newspaper writer, photographer & managing editor; in radio
as on-air talent for 5 years, as well as ad sales &
promotions; in cable TV ad sales for 7 years; and as talent,
lending her voice & face to scores of radio & television
commercials & industrial films locally to internationally.
She has been recognized in the radio & television industry a
number of times for her sales achievements, including
being a recipient of the Comcast Spotlight’s President’s
Club Award and in February 2006 was named (along with her
jobshare partner) the CBS Radio President's Award Winners
for the Dallas radio market. Additionally, she has worked as a print model
for clients such as Kroger, Foley’s, Oshman’s, Sakowitz, and
Academy Sports & Outdoors. One of the highlights of her Mrs.
Texas United States year was being featured in & on the
debut issue’s cover of Les Avenues magazine.
Erika moved to Frisco, Texas in May, 2002 and has been
working in the media field for 18 years, including 5 years
of radio in the Dallas market. In December 2007, Erika went
back to work in cable advertising marketing sales, where she
previously worked in the field for 7 years, and also still
does select voiceover work. Erika is a former lector at her
church, past Secretary of the American Women in Radio &
Television Dallas-Ft Worth Chapter, & past member of
various chambers of commerce. She is the Public
Relations/Marketing Co-Chair for the Boys and Girls Club
of Collin County Chrysalis Ball 2008. Additionally, Erika is proud to be a
graduate of the Frisco Citizens Police Academy Class 20. She has three sons, ages 15,
11 and 4 1/2.
Erika married Matt Lafata in November 2007. He
also has three children: a 15 year-old girl and two boys,
ages 13 and 9.
Contact Erika:
erika@mrstexasunitedstates.com
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MATT LAFATA
Matt Lafata moved to Frisco from Gloucester, Massachusetts in
January 1999. He has helped build several
highly successful businesses for more than 20 years.
A long-time business consultant and entrepreneur, he is
the Director of Sales and Marketing with the
Frisco-based HR technology consulting firm
HRrchitect.
He is also the founder of several marketing and public
relations agencies including
The Matt Lafata Marketing
Group.
Previously, Matt was an Executive Vice President of a
computer software company where he was responsible for
corporate development, strategic supervision of
marketing and sales, product development and more. He
studied finance and business management at Salem State
College in Salem, MA.
Matt is involved in numerous organizations throughout
Frisco. In May 2007, he completed his 2nd term
(6 years) as a
Frisco City Council member. He is also a former Deputy Mayor
Pro-Tem on the Frisco City Council, former Planning &
Zoning Commissioner, a graduate of Leadership Frisco, a
2005 recipient of the “21 Leaders of the 21st
Century” by Inside Collin County Business, the Thursday
morning networking chair-person for the Frisco Chamber
of Commerce, a graduate of the Citizen’s Police Academy
and a member of the Alumni group, a youth sports coach,
a past board member for the Frisco Family Services
Center, a St. Francis of Assisi Knights of Columbus
Member, a member of the Frisco Heritage Association, a
member of the Frisco Association for the Arts, a
Community Advisory Board member for the Frisco Women’s
League,
a board member for the Frisco Square Municipal
Management District, a City of Frisco Technology
Committee member, a City of Frisco Budget and Audit
subcommittee member, a Tax Increment Finance board
member, and heads up the annual fundraiser for the Mrs.
Texas United States pageant (in 2007 & 2008 the recipient was Cure
Autism Now/Autism Speaks and the pageant was able to give almost $3000
to the organization!)
For a number
of years, Matt has produced a very popular e-newsletter,
The Matt Lafata Frisco Community
e-Newsletter,
that goes out every week to over 40,000 people which keeps
the Frisco community in touch with local events and
businesses.
Contact
Matt:
matt@mattlafata.com
*************************************************************************************
KYLE MILLS
Show
Producer
A
7th generation Texan, Kyle has lived throughout the state of
Texas and calls Austin home. He has a degree in Electronic
Media Television Broadcasting from Texas State University.
Mills has worked with some of the top cosmetic companies in
the business and some of the most beautiful women in the
world. High fashion and glamour started Kyle over 13 years
ago in the world of pageantry. Kyle's clients include some
of the most successful names in the business such as Miss
Texas USA Holly Mills-Gardner, Miss USA Kandace
Krueger-Matthews, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Suzanne Saxon
and Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria .
He
has also worked with some of the top photographers in the
nation such as Phil Hardy, Zac Grimaldo, Kate Linger, and
Ladd Photo of Houston. Kyle was chosen in 2004 as the lead
stylist for MTV Made's highest rated show ever. He was on
the makeup and styling team for the 2006 Houston Texan
Cheerleaders' calendar shoot.
Kyle's outgoing personality and true Texas charm enables him
to make the most shy client feel comfortable and the largest
audience feel that each person is the most important. "I
believe that everyday is a photo shoot; so why not look and
feel your absolute best" says Mills.
As a
National Makeup Artist and Educator, Kyle has the
opportunity to teach women that beauty has a higher purpose
and it all starts with great skincare and glominerals.
Here
are just a few of the celebrities that Kyle has worked with:
Eva
Longoria
MTV
Made Stylist
MTV
Tiara Girls Stylist
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
Houston Texan Cheerleaders
Miss
Texas USA
Miss
Texas Teen USA
Miss
USA
Mrs.
Texas United States
United States Air Force Tops In Blue
