Homecoming queen

May 15, 2008 - 03:24

By Chris Hall

PORT PERRY - It was just after three o'clock on Wednesday afternoon when Tim Couch took his spot in line at Mac's convenience store, waiting for the girl of his dreams to arrive.

Decked out in a pair of Playboy hats and his arms loaded with copies of the popular men's magazine and other press clippings featuring Port Perry's most famous resident of the week, as the first person in line Mr. Couch eagerly awaited the arrival of Jayde Nicole, the recently anointed 'Playmate of the Year' for 2008.

"I'm a big fan of hers, since I first saw her in the first issue, when I first learned about her," said Mr. Couch, 34.

It turned out Mr. Couch wouldn't be alone for very long outside the popular Port Perry convenience store. Shortly before 4 p.m., others began to form a line just outside of the Scugog Street market and by 4:15 p.m. the line had grown to a half-dozen or so folks interested in chatting with the homegrown beauty.

A half-hour later, the procession of fans had grown nearly threefold, with most sipping coffee, checking the batteries in their cameras and flipping through the pages of June's edition of Playboy, which celebrated Ms. Nicole's Playmate crown with a cover shot and 10-page pictorial inside.

Among those standing in line, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the leggy brunette, who first captured the attention of men and women across North America with her appearance as Miss January 2007, was Jill Balaka, 45.

Her husband, a collector of the popular periodical since 1968, was tied up at work, she explained. So, continued the Port Perry resident, "someone had to come and get it signed," adding she's a supporter of her husband's long-time infatuation with the magazine.

"The articles are great," she said. "It's a good magazine, I enjoy it."

Directly behind her, gripping three copies of the latest edition, was Kyle Brenn. He made the commute from St. Catharines to meet Ms. Nicole and grab autographs for himself, his father and uncle.

"She's Canadian and I like to support Canadian girls and Canadian people in general," he said.

Joining Mr. Brenn was his pal Jeff from Aurora. The electrician declined to offer his last name, explaining he had slipped out of work to attend the signing session. He hoped that his boss would be understanding on Thursday, after he presented him an autographed copy of the magazine.

"It's worth it," Jeff said of skipping work. "This is a once-in-a-life-time experience."

As the clock ticked closer to 5 p.m., the designated start for the meet-and-greet, a representative from Playboy pulled up in a minivan. Swinging open the back hatch, he unloaded a small table and chair for the guest of honour and checked over the dozens and dozens of copies of the magazine that remained in reserve in case the Mac's outlet was cleaned out. He expected close to a thousand copies would be swept up as part of the session.

Minutes later, another handler announced to the crowd on hand what materials could and could not be brought in for signing. Only licensed Playboy items, he stressed to the growing line.

Soon after, around 5:10 p.m., just as a light rain began to fall on the antsy crowd, a grey Lincoln Town Car pulled into the parking lot. As another handler rushed over with an umbrella, two attractive blondes folded their long legs out the back of the car, ahead of the star attraction.

Dressed in a short, red-and-white sundress, Ms. Nicole made her way into the store to shouts of 'Woohooo! Canadian women!!' from one man in line.

"I'm very excited, I can't believe how many people have actually come and showed up and how supportive everyone has been. It's amazing," said Ms. Nicole, a 22-year-old former Port Perry High School student.

Her title, she explained, was awarded through a fan voting system, although Playboy boss Hugh Hefner had the final say.

"I couldn't be happier and I want to thank everyone from Port Perry and everyone from all over Canada who voted for me and I know Port Perry definitely had a big pull in that," Ms. Nicole said just prior to greeting the masses.

She explained that she first received word of the honour over lunch with a friend.

"I didn't believe her at first, it took a while to sink in," Ms. Nicole recalled.

Instructed not to tell anyone, she said she had to "scream quietly in the restaurant."

The first person she told? Her mom, of course.

"We're all very, very proud of her and thankful for Playboy for giving this huge opportunity for girls," said Ms. Nicole's mother, Shari.

(As part of her deal with the magazine, Jayde cannot disclose her real name. For security reasons, her mother preferred The Star not include her last name.)

"Port Perry is such an amazing town. No matter who it is, they're out there supporting people," Shari said. "Port Perry's just been amazing... I love living here."

Among those at the front of the line was Port Perry's Barry Cole, 48. Joined by his son, Jesse, 22, the pair brought along five copies of the magazine to be signed. Shortly after his visit with the aspiring starlet, Mr. Cole was spotted with an ear-to-ear grin.

"It was great," he gushed after his two minutes with 2008's Playmate of the Year. "It's just really good to see a hometown girl come back and support her community and I'm happy for her. I wish her all the success."

Also on hand for the session was Wayne Medford, a former arts and photography teacher at Port Perry High School. While he never taught Ms. Nicole in a classroom setting, Mr. Medford did take some students four years ago to Toronto where they took pictures of her during a Ryerson University fashion show.

"It's your job as a teacher: You give them encouragement to get success and when they reach that success, you have to congratulate them," he said.

Mr. Medford also expressed some dismay that some of the Township's top officials weren't on hand to welcome Port Perry's biggest current celebrity. He chastised the mayor and councillors for skipping the event.

"If it had of been a guy signing a contract with an NHL team, they would have been all over it. This is a big deal, a real big deal," Mr. Medford said.

Regardless, he congratulated those on hand for showing their support and recalled his thoughts years ago when he first became aware of Ms. Nicole's, um, potential.

"I told her that she was going to be good, but I never thought she'd be this good."

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