HAMLET – Saturday, May 5th the Hamlet Middle School gymnasium was the location of the first annual Hamlet Business Development Association’s “Talent Search.”
Spearheaded by Carolyn Blue of Hamlet Florist, this competition was a fundraiser with the proceeds being used to establish a scholarship at RichmondCC for a business major, a deserving entrepreneurial student who may one day open his/her own business in the Hamlet area.
Auditions were held in March to select the vocal contestants to participate in the show. The hope was to have 18 – 20 talented singers to regale the audience in this inaugural show. Falling a few short of that number, there were 10 vocalists listed on the program with 1 not able to perform tonight due to illness.
All contestants were vocalists, but some played an instrument as well. Third place finisher Bob Dotson of Hamlet Hardware played guitar and sang “White Freightliner.” The second place finisher Lisa Freeman accompanied herself on the piano. Ray Charles played the guitar and sang the crowd-pleasing Tempations’ hit “My Girl.” Emily James sang an original song and played her guitar as well. All in all, it was an entertaining night and a successful fund raiser as the entire $500 scholarship was raised with the sale of the local business’s ads in the program.
Intermission entertainment was provided by vocalist Carolyn Blue, herself a veteran of a number of talent shows, and Joe Ford, a Richmond County resident who is known for his musical talent on piano.
After all contestants completed their performances, the judges compared notes to select a winner.
Jamie English was crowned top singer tonight and excitedly accepted his first place trophy. The top three finishers all received a trophy and a cash prize for their efforts.
A 50/50 raffle was also going on all evening and Joe Ford was the lucky winner of the $66.00 pot.
Members of the HBDA committee who were instrumental in the planning of the show were Jamie Gerald of the Girl Scout Office, Trina Poplin of Second Time Around Consignment, and Dewey Brower, Brower Taxi, all on Main Street in Hamlet. Bernice Owens of Bill’s Bilt Auto on Hamlet Avenue was also a big hand in the behind-the-scenes activity. Jay Parker entertained the audience as the MC while DJ Jimmy Reece provided the audio support for the night.
