Congratulations to Jenna Drew, a Hoboken resident and the winner of Miss New Jersey International 2013 this last weekend. She plans to use her position and notoriety to raise awareness abut Celiac Disease. Read hew note below and additional links for more info:

Jenna Drew Miss New Jersey International 2013 – photo credit Richard Krauss

“I am excited to announce that I was crowned Miss New Jersey International 2013 on Saturday, March 9 where I represented Hoboken in the platform based pageant held in East Brunswick, NJ.

I will spend my year as Miss New Jersey International promoting my platform, Celiac Disease Awareness.  One in 133 people have Celiac Disease which is an autoimmune disorder where a person is unable to digest a protein called gluten.  Gluten is in wheat, rye and barley and commonly found in foods like pizza, pastas, cookies, cakes and other processed foods.  As Miss New Jersey International, I will work to raise awareness for Celiac Disease because living with non-diagnosed Celiac Disease can lead to other autoimmune disorders, infertility, cancer and other health issues.

From July 22 to 28^th, I will compete for the title of Miss International in Chicago, IL.  From previous awareness events and volunteer work, I was named a Celiac Awareness All-Star by the National Foundation of Celiac Awareness for my efforts to raise awareness for Celiac Disease.

As I prepare to compete for the national pageant, I will work even harder in the New Jersey community to raise awareness for Celiac Disease as well as volunteer with the American Heart Association, the pageant’s cause of choice.”

- Jenna Drew Miss New Jersey International 2013