Karin (Gloistein) Tsokanos is celebrating her 20th anniversary of being Miss German-America this year! She still lives in the NY Tri-state area and is Unilever’s Vice President of Finance.  Most recently Karin gave birth to a beautiful girl, Kyra Anne. Congratulations to the whole family!

Karin’s childhood and upbringing certainly led to Karin being a part of the Steuben Parade in 1999 and continues to influence her support of the Parade and staying close to her heritage. She grew up attending events at Schuetzen Park (where her parents first met), being part of Burgenlander events (where her grandparents were from), studying German on Saturday (in the Westwood school), and ultimately minoring in German Studies at Babson College. This deliberate path “continued to hold me close to the roots of my grandparents.”

A few highlights from her time as Queen included her Goodwill Trip to Germany where she was able to visit her father’s family and hometown. She was treated like royalty while traveling, the same hospitality that many of our current Queens also experience when attending Cologne’s Rosen Montag Parade! Karin fondly remembers standing on the swords of one of the groups from Germany in NY’s Central Park after the Parade. She still attends the Parade either as a spectator or marching along with the Burgenlaender club.  A fun fact about the Tsokanos household is that the children love saying ‘Prosit’ and maintaining other German traditions.    

Advice for future courts:“Savor each moment, grow from each interaction and make memories – they will all last a lifetime!”