On Tuesday, November 25, twelve boys from the senior class took the stage to perform in front of a crowd of 500 in the annual Mr. Morris Hills pageant. The twelve boys that were nominated to perform in the show were Mike Dietrich, Nick Dezao, Isaiah Turner, Matt Toohey, Kevin Cassidy, Kyle Gaeb, Brandon McHugh, Zach Berkowitz, Rahul Naik, John Dennehy, Trevor Van Bodegon and Michael Gosden. These boys, along with the help of their managers, did a fantastic job raising money with their cans during all lunches. Students received cookies, brownies, and candy to thank them for their donations. With everyone’s help, the boys raised a total of over $5,000 for the senior class and donated $400 dollars to a family in need.

Due to the great success of this year’s fundraiser, the senior class officers and advisors decided to make a $400 donation to the Alemany family. Gremier Alemany graduated from Morris Hills with the Class of 2002 and enlisted with the National Guard from 2002 to 2010. A horrifying accident happened to his wife a few months back causing hardships for him and his family. His son, Gabriel, has medical complications that have involved four open heart surgeries and eight cardiac catheterizations in just two years. The donation of the senior class goes to support this former Morris Hills student and his family.

The Mr. MH pageant is the biggest fundraiser for the senior class. The twelve nominated seniors competed against one another in a number of events. They performed an opening dance to a medley of songs from Grease, as this year’s theme was the fifties. They then participated in a fashion show which featured casual, beach, and formal wear. Many felt that the entire show was filled with great acts that kept the audience involved. Mrs. Janel Jones stated, “A lot of representations of the athletic department were presented and seeing the people I work with everyday get impersonated was pretty hysterical.” Coach Bell, Coach Sabo, Mrs. Kellner, Mr. Haraka and Mr. Wittner were all impersonated by the contestants. This was the first year that faculty impersonations were added to the pageant.

All of the managers for Mr. Morris Hills were a great help. They assisted the boys in making posters, shirts, cans and sweets. Melissa Marin, one of Mike Dietrich’s managers, expressed her overall experience with Mr. MH: “It was exciting to be a manager, and I also enjoyed helping Mike raise his money. Seeing him on the stage made me happy to be his manager.” Without everyone’s help, the boys couldn’t have done it all. Mike Dietrich said, “My managers took the stress out of the pageant and gave me time to focus on my acts.”

At the end of the show everyone was antsy to find out who would take the crown out of these 12 outgoing, talented, and brave boys. Mike Gosden was granted the award of “Mr. Money” due to the fact that he raised the highest amount, $300. The second award was presented to Kyle Gaeb, who was “Mr. Congeniality.” Kyle was a steal for this award due to his funny acts, the great sportsmanship he had with his opponents, and his overall upbeat personality. When Michael Gosden was announced as the overall winner of Mr. MH, the crowd erupted into applause,and cheered him on as he received his crown. Overall, this year’s pageant was a tremendous success, and couldn’t have gone any better.