Mr. Fair Grove was a new fundraising event supporting Project Graduation. The event consisted of a pageant, where the senior boys from the class of 2026 competed in style, interview questions, and display of talents.
The seven contestants were Adrick Wilson (12), Carson Trussell (12), Dylan George (12), Gage Green (12), Gavin Brock (12), Macklen Johnson (12), and Samuel Moore (12). The pageant began with the first category, “Style”. Each senior would walk onto the stage one by one to showcase their outfits while the announcers presented a series of fun facts and details about each participant.
Once the introductions were completed, the announcers asked them a large variety of questions and judged them based on their answers. One of the questions was “What do you think parents could learn from their kids in high school?” to which Brock answered, “I think that parents could learn to give their kids more freedom, because if they don’t, once they get it it’ll be abused.”
Another one of the questions, addressed to Carson Trussell was, “Who is your biggest role model?” He replied, “My biggest role model has always been my dad. He has always encouraged me to do so many things and I wish to be the kind of man he is.”
After the interview portion, the contestants went backstage to prepare for the grand finale of the event. Each contestant would have to display a talent that they have been practicing ranging from months to days leading up to the pageant.
George, whose talent was lip syncing “Baby One More Time” by Brittany Spears, stated, “To display my sweet lip syncing and choreography skills, I ironed my shirt and listened to ‘Baby One More Time’ on repeat and practiced my dance moves the day of.”
Johnson, who performed the famous Napoleon Dynamite dance, said “I practiced for two nights in a row before the big day. I watched the dance over and over again to memorize it and practice the moves.”
The other talents shown were Wilson doing stand up comedy, Trussell’s rendition of ‘Friends in Low Places’ by Garth Brooks, Moore ran throughout the upper elementary gym while telling stories about his life, Brock with his assistant Waylon Wright performing ‘Nutshell’ by Alice in Chains, and Green doing a group parody of Richard Simmons’ fitness dance videos.
At the end of the pageant, the judges came together for a final vote to see who would be “Mr. Fair Grove.” The contestant that earned the crown was Johnson who won the crowd with his stylish dark blue suit, his answers to some of the toughest questions the judges had, and his performance of the Napoleon Dynamite dance. Johnson said, “I knew the Napoleon Dynamite dance would win a lot of hearts because of how wide the age range of fans is.”
Overall the event was a fun light hearted competition between seniors that brought some of the community together which also raised $1850 for project graduation. With such a memorable success Mr. Fair Grove has become an event that some look forward to, and may possibly return for years to come.
