What do a varsity quarterback, a first-year theater kid and a Spanish enthusiast have in common? On Friday Night, each one and more faced off at Student Council’s annual Mr. EHS pageant.
The event is held each year in the auditorium, with tickets costing $5 and all proceeds going to the winner’s charity of choice. This year, Yale Weaver, representing his class as “Mr. President,” plans to choose a cardiac research program to help those with heart issues, he said.
But before Weaver could be crowned by the judges, the senior boys selected from each club or sport competed in a series of talent showcases and rapid-fire questions from the judges.
The night started off with Student Council president, senior Josie Proctor, and student events officer, senior Nolan Forinash, announcing each contestant. The pair shared each boy’s name, club or organization he was representing and a fun fact with the audience.
But Proctor and Forinash decided to take a different approach with their hosting style than emcees of the past: humor.
“I felt like I wanted to make me and Nolan’s role a little more interesting and fun for both of us and for the audience,” Proctor said. “We played around with acting like we were mad at each other and had a bad attitude.”
After welcoming each contestant, they transitioned into the talent section of the show.
Talents ranged from dance acts, to vocal performances, to speed-eating an entire jar of sauerkraut, as “Mr. German Club” Sawyer Heck, did.
“Every year the language clubs host an event called Oktoberfest and there’s a sauerkraut eating competition, and for the past three years I’ve been the champion,” Heck said. “When I finally realized what I had to do I was getting major stage fright, but when I was behind the curtain and I heard my friend announce my name all that fear suddenly disappeared.”
In one of the final performances, the red curtain opened to reveal Jeremiah Watters, “Mr. NHS,” and his band members decked out in black attire and face makeup resembling the 70s rock band KISS.
“I was inspired by all my friends who play instruments and wanted to perform,” Watters said. “I wanted to give them the chance to perform too.”
After performances of lifetimes, the judge panel selected their top five to advance to the “rapid-fire questions” round.
Hosted by EHS Student Council, the panel each year features students from the student governments of neighboring high schools, usually girls.
This year, some questions were, “What would winning Mr. EHS mean to you,” and “If your friends were to describe you in three words, what words would they use?”
“My favorite part was the interview questions,” Weaver said. “I thought everybody had great answers and they were all funny.”
After the questions, Weaver was not only crowned by the judges but also the audience.
Posted around the auditorium during the event were QR codes for the audience to vote on secondary awards for the contestants, such as “Mr. Aura” and “Mr. Talent.”
Weaver was awarded “Mr. Rizz” along with his crown. His performance of “Love” by Keyshia Cole helped him fit the title.
“I was pretty nervous because I’m not the best singer, but I thought it’d be fun,” he said. “I knew the entire song so that way I couldn’t mess it up. I also thought that it would be a little unique compared to the others.”
Despite the uniqueness of his performance, Weaver said he was impressed with his peers’ talents.
“There were a bunch of guys with amazing talents that the crowd and judges seemed to love, so I was unsure,” he said. “I was surprised with the win, but I’m still grateful regardless.”