ROCKINGHAM - Saturday night at Liberty Place in downtown Rockingham may or may not have been the first ever “Womanless Pageant” in Richmond County, but this hilarious fundraising event dreamed up by Toni Maples, a member of the Habitat Women Build Committee, was certainly entertaining and successful.
Over the course of the past several weeks, the committee found seven men willing to give their time and talent to a great cause, raising money for the next Habitat build scheduled to begin September 6 in the Briarwood subdivision in Hamlet.
The format for this pageant was much the same as other pageants: an evening gown section, followed by an interview question, and then the “talent” portion. Questions asked ranged from: “If you could perform in a circus, what would your act be and why?” to “What form of dance would best suit your personality and why?” Such inquiries provided the judges with insight into the contestants’ self-confidence and ability to speak extemporaneously.
In the talent portion (a description which was used loosely and humorously in this event), the first contestant was Matt Harrelson; he yodeled. There were several lip-syncs and dancing contestants following Matt, and then Jonathan Pope energized the dance floor with a crowd pleasing rhythmic ribbon dance.
The recipient of the new home, Ellis Pittman, felt obligated to volunteer as a participant in the pageant - and he WON, receiving the crown as the "Judges' Choice." Pittman, his wife ReNika (Nikki), and their 2 children will also be directly helping throughout the building process, in accordance with Habitat policies.
When asked if she had coached her husband in his preparation for the evening, Nikki Pittman said, “All the way to the door” (of the venue). I told him to “throw them hips!” which Ellis did in his lip sync of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it on.”
The judges for the evening, Rita DeNapoli, a Habitat for Humanity of the Sandhills Board of Directors member, her husband Lin, and Executive Director Amie Fraley had the good fortune of being seated front and center for all the fun.
The mission of Habitat for Humanity is to build safe, decent, affordable housing for families in need. The families are put through an application process, contribute 300 hours of "sweat equity" and get a 0% mortgage on their Habitat home.
If you would like to participate in the upcoming Women Build, contact the Aberdeen affiliate office (910) 295-1934 or the Rockingham Habitat ReStore, (910) 817-9526.
