The contestants brought their best to Cinnaminson’s annual DECA fundraiser
Nine contestants took to Cinnaminson High School’s auditorium stage Feb. 22, but only one would walk away Mr. Cinnaminson.
Mr. Cinnaminson is an annual competition and fundraiser where CHS gentlemen show off their skills through casual, talent and formal rounds of competition. The top four candidates are then selected to compete in a questionnaire round, and three judges cast their votes for the best contestant, who is subsequently crowned Mr. Cinnaminson.
On Thursday evening, senior Matthew Abrams stole the show with his performance of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” claiming the crown, title and bragging rights that accompany the victory.
“Mr. Cinnaminson is put on by the DECA organization at CHS. This is our biggest fundraiser each year, and an event that we very much look forward to. Proceeds from this event help to defray the cost for DECA students to attend the International Career Development Conference, which is in Atlanta, Ga., this year,” CHS teacher and DECA supervisor Alexis Esposito said.
DECA is a nonprofit student organization with more that 200,000 international members and aims to prepare young people for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.
This year, Mr. Cinnaminson competitors included students Austin Gabay, Eric Joyce, Abrams, Ryan Coslove, Goni McGuckin, Wayne Reynolds, George Snedden and Liam Wharton. Following the talent portion, audience members filled their favorite contestant’s respective bucket with donations to send them to the formal round. Gabay, McGuckin, Abrams and Wharton each received the most donations, qualifying them for the question-and-answer portion of the competition.
Judges and CHS staff Donna Centifonto, Katherine Laskowski and Julie Leetz picked the top three contestants, and the winner was determined by crowd applause to break a tie between Gabay and Abrams.
“We want to thank Cinnaminson staff, administration and [superintendent] Mr. Cappello for their support of the Cinnaminson DECA program and allowing us to keep this tradition alive,” event co-host Colin Karch said.
Esposito said the evening garnered about $1,500 for DECA’s trip to Atlanta, where the students will have an opportunity to compete against more than 10,000 other members, participate in a leadership series and check out college and career exhibits. More than 18,000 high school students, advisors, business people and alumni are predicted to gather at this year’s conference.
To donate to DECA’s conference trip or find out more about the CHS chapter, visit the webpage here.
Edit from Cinnaminson High School DECA supervisor: There was an error in the tallies, therefore we did not realize that Liam Wharton was the actual winner until the following school day. Wharton should have been crowned the winner at the actual event, but due to the error Matt Abrams was crowned.
