Model mixing fun, message at Holland fashion show

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Erin Lundgren wants the children of Holland Elementary School to know about the fear she felt moving from their small town to New York City but she also wants them to know she overcame it.

"I was so scared when I first moved to New York City, never thinking I would fit in. Now, more than 10 years later, I blend right in," Lundgren said.

"I want these children to realize that you can be a small fish in a big sea and make your dreams come true," she said.

That is part of her motivation for organizing the second annual fashion show at the school, which will be Saturday , starting with a dinner at 6 p.m.

She also hopes the children participating have fun and, at the same time, learn that modeling can be hard work.

And if these were not enough goals for one night, the event is a fund-raiser. Proceeds from the $15 tickets will go to the Holland Elementary School student activities account, which is used for field trips and other programs not covered in the school budget.

Lundgren was once a student at Holland Elementary School, and while she says now that she did not always love growing up in a small town, she knows that she has gone on to accomplish the dreams she had there.

Lundgren is director of scouting and special events for New York Model Management, one of the top modeling agencies.

For this show, she will bring co-worker Dana Cullen to help run the professionally staged runway show, and one of their top models, Julie Henderson, who was featured in the 2007 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.

"She is a bit of a super model," Lundgren said of Henderson, who will host the show and be available after it to meet those in attendance and sign autographs.

After the dinner, which will be catered by Tantasqua Regional High School students from the Cornerstone Cafe, the Holland Elementary models will take to the catwalk wearing the latest styles from JC Penney and Marshall's.

"Our goal is to have an evening of family fun and entertainment, while giving the students a unique experience that will cause them to dream big dreams," said Andrew M. Samuelson, principal of Holland Elementary School.

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