Winner of Mr. Clearview ‘got his head in the game’ to receive the popular title.
By KRYSTAL NURSE
The Sun
Twelve seniors from Clearview Regional High School gave their all on Nov. 20 as they were vying for the title of Mr. Clearview. The show was originally scheduled for Nov. 15, but a nor’easter caused the school to change plans due to dangerous conditions.
Seniors Kevin Canterman, Nolan Parry, Brian Sheahan, Eric Uhorchuk, Demetri Rome, Harrison Baker, David McCullough, Mark Turner, Derek Rose, Aidan Burns, Mike Feldman and Shawn Dougherty were tasked with creating talent pieces, formal wear and outfits representing their months, January to December, for the charity competition.
Seniors submitted applications into the event in the beginning of October, and middle school employees then chose, anonymously, who the 12 contestants would be.
Advisor and high school guidance counselor Paul Sommers said the event is a part of a fundraising effort to provide funds to a family in the community. The students can obtain the title of People’s Choice Award winner, raising the most amount of money, or the Mr. Clearview title, which is judged based on all of his components in the competition.
“We’re not allowed to put it in writing, but it’s a family very prominent in the Mullica Hill community who are dealing with a major hardship and that’s all I can say,” said Sommers.
The family is aware they’re receiving the funds, however they do not know how much is being given. Sommers said they should be awarded either at the principal’s office, or an upcoming board meeting.
For some of the guys competing, they’ve been waiting since they arrived in the district to be in the event.
“I’ve been waiting to do this since my freshman year, even before that, in middle school, and I had everything planned out for a very long time,” said Uhorchuk of Mullica Hill.
“Seeing shows my sophomore and junior year and seeing how funny they were, they made me want to do it,” said Dougherty of Mantua.
Despite being given two weeks to decide, practice and perfect all of their performances, the contestants showed heart with Rome doing a rendition of “Since U Been Gone” with an acapella group; Uhorchuk making fun of his mom, Roseann, a high school marketing teacher, in a stand-up comedy routine; Rose allowing two students to cut his hair off; Sheahan performing “Getcha Head in the Game” with two students; and McCullough having a “mean tweets” portion in which one tweet, read by Superintendent John Horchak, said “I wish I was Mr. Horchak’s son so I could win Mr. Clearview.”
Audiences laughed and cheered as the men went on to perform dance routines and intentionally sang songs in a playful fashion. A miracle minute also took place where they collected money from audience members prior to the intermission.
Prior to the performances, some of the guys said Mr. Clearview means to show off who they are.
“It shows the public more of what you want to show to the public what they might not know about you so they can get to know you better as a person and as a peer,” said Uhorchuk.
“Everyone loves it when it’s that time for Mr. Clearview,” said Dougherty. “We all came up with the nickname Mr. ‘Neer it’s kind of a lovely thing around the school we all participate in.”
At the end, Rome was crowned as the People’s Choice Award winner after having raised over $900. Sheahan, representing March, took home the top honor of being crowned as Mr. Clearview.
Sheahan spoke through tears stating that it was “an honor beyond any [he] could ever ask for.” Excitement, he added, was an understatement to his reaction of receiving the title.
“To my fellow Mr. Clearview month men: I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to work with,” said Sheahan. “Honestly, I wish I could [have talked] to some of these guys more beforehand earlier on in my high school career, but I’m very happy I was able to share this incredible experience with them.”
Sheahan advises that anyone seeking to compete to “go all out” for the competition to not only gain the title, but to support a good cause.
“This is such a fun experience, you’re not going to want to regret doing everything you can to make yourself as great as you can possibly be,” said Sheahan.
