Green crowned Mr. SHS

The Mr. SHS contest had some stiff competition on Sunday night from the Academy Awards, but Sisters proved loyal to its own with a nearly full house enjoying an entertaining evening culminating in the crowning of John Green as Mr. SHS 2011.

Marcus Arends wore the Mr. Congeniality sash, and Hayley Palmer, escort to Seth Flanders, was named Best Escort.

Hard work and ingenuity by the contestants and their lovely escorts resulted in a total fundraising effort of $31,089.14, with $15,544.57 each presented to representatives from Sisters Family Access Network and the St. Charles Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

A video was shown prior to the show's opening, highlighting FAN's work within the Sisters school community and Kim Lundquist, a mother whose son spent his first weeks in the NICU, spoke from her heart on the vital service the unit delivers.

Sara Mosher, a nurse in the unit, offered profuse thanks to everyone involved in the program.

"Because we are a regional center and service families from all over Central and Eastern Oregon, this is going to help so many families," she said.

The Mr. SHS group held several fundraising events in the lead-up to the final contest. An auction of the contestants netted $900, with a high bid of $110 made for Hayden Wester. The cake auction saw Seth Flanders and Hayley Palmer's creation go for $100, and the dodgeball tournament between SHS and Redmond High left each group with $250 to put into their coffers. Sisters held the home-court victory in the match.

The 10 talented young men vying for the Mr. SHS title shook up the proceedings as they donned rock-and-roll alter-egos for their opening number. It was perhaps a bit of a stretch to put John Denver (aka John Green) in that crowd, but he held his own in the dancing part.

Clever choreography by Samantha Williamson and Sydney Stoneback allowed each contestant to release his inner rock star as they bounced, gyrated and in one instance, moon-walked across the stage.

Leadership team members Kaity Douglass and Tori DeLeone shared Master of Ceremony duties, keeping the audience well supplied with little-known rock-and-roll trivia in the pauses between talent segments.

The young men were judged on character, charisma, attitude, fundraising, talent, the formal-wear walk and interview questions by a panel of four judges. Barbara Kamrath, Zander Alberson (Mr. SHS 2010), Mark Stewart and Melvin Herberger took on that task.

The talent section covered a wide range, from infomercials to how-to demonstrations to song-and-dance and comedy.

Ben Fullhart opened the segment, dedicating his song, The Beatles' "Let It Be," to his cousins, who were facing a family crisis. Ably backed by his father and several talented friends, Fullhart gave an American Idol-worthy performance.

Erik Lund also entertained musically, with a catchy and clever rap titled "Outlaw Pride."

Jordan Rudinsky, whose escort, Jordi Gauthier, aspires to become a dance therapist, provided her with ample practice as he presented an interpretive dance number. Gauthier accompanied him as the dance told a story of love lost and won back, overcoming bad guys and revealing one's true self.

Jacob Meyers produced an elaborate smoothie concoction on stage, complete with narrative instructions. He then presented it to the judges, all without spilling a drop.

Jordan Hodges practiced his entrepreneurial skills in a tongue-in-cheek infomercial touting his product "J-Roids." It evidently produces amazing muscle tone and strength.

Seth Flanders revealed his comedy and piano-playing chops as he performed a smooth song-and-dance routine, assisted by his piano teacher, Donna Moyer.

John Green, a hunting-shooting-fishing kind of guy, showed his abilities in a how-to video. In it, he demonstrated the creation of an American long bow, from wood selection to stringing.

Hayden Wester comes from a tradition of blacksmithing, and he proved his prowess by creating a horse shoe from a piece of bar-stock iron. He fired up his forge and banged away on the anvil, keeping up a running commentary on what he was doing as he worked.

Marcus Arends and friends did an energetic lip synch of the song, "Cinnamon Lips" by OK Go.

Taylor Steele, an avid and passionate runner, spoke from his heart about what running means to him.

The formalwear walk followed, and each young man, dressed in a tuxedo from Bend Wedding and Formal, and his escort, in a gown of her choice, took a turn around the stage. The escorts left their contestants to answer a question from the emcees.

The five finalists - Marcus Arends, Seth Flanders, Ben Fullhart, John Green, and Erik Lund - were named and exited the stage to enter a soundproof room. They returned one-by-one to face the final interview question: "Life is not a final, it's daily pop quizzes. Give an example of a pop quiz in your life and how you handled it."

The young men thoughtfully answered the question, with eventual winner John Green recounting his mother's cancer diagnosis, which occurred his freshman year. She pulled through, and the family faced the challenge together.

"And we're the better for it today," he said.

Green's reign will take him to the Mr. Central Oregon contest, where winners from area high schools vie for a $1,000 scholarship.