Eight contestants remain in the venture to claim the prestigious title of Mr. MHS. First picked to join the program last May, the pageant this Saturday will conclude the journey for the participants in the annual competition. However, the program has much more to it than the finale.

“There is much more to it than just the pageant. This is just the end party for the program,” Advisor Jennifer Bunnell said.

The eight remaining contestants include Chris Armstrong, Brogan Bracelin, Alex Brown, Ty Bunnell, Juan Caballero, Taylor Dornbusch, Bill Fields and Quentin Kirk. The group was assembled by the student body and staff alike to represent their class well. According to Dornbusch, the program is more than just a competition.

“I wanted to get involved because you get to support your school and community through the program,” Dornbusch said.

The program fundraises money to donate to the Share Bear Snack Pack Program, which helps children from low income families receive a meal. During the pageant, a portion of each contestant’s score is related to how much they were able to fundraise. The opportunity gives many a different perspective of their community.

“It opens your eyes to the world and how everyone has struggles,” Dornbusch said.

Along with fundraising, competitors must also display formidable skills before the audience and judges. Among these are a talent portion to be displayed on the stage, as well as a serious and humorous question segment, and a child escort segment. Each will be judged and weighted to determine the winner. According to Bunnell, each contestant must put in time in order to make the program successful.

“For the first few months we put together one big fundraiser and several volunteering opportunities, but there is a lot of heavy work to prepare for the pageant in the final two weeks,” Jennifer said.

Along with the boy contestants, a senior girl accompanies each and helps with fundraising.

“The senior girls spend just as much time as the boys do in the program,” Bunnell said.

The senior girls are not the only girls involved in the program, as the coordinators help to organize the events. Senior Sierra Pedro leads the group of coordinators.

“We organize and set up everything in the community and make sure everyone has everything ready to go,” Pedro said.

Pedro is joined by fellow head coordinator Jodi Mork, as well as senior coordinator Emily Edwards and junior coordinators Alysen Barker and Cora Messerle. The contestants, their senior girls and the coordinators all worked to keep the program running, attempting to add new opportunities while keeping annual ones, including the Mr. MHS dodge ball tournament and the Volleyball game against North Bend’s program, Mr. Bulldog.

“We sold thanksgiving baskets, Christmas wreaths and calendars, did a car wash, and put cans out for people to donate money to a good cause,” Dornbusch said.

Through the fundraising and volunteering, those involved continue to devote themselves to a greater cause, showing that the Mr. MHS program works far beyond the surface of a competition.

“We are trying to help the children,” Pedro said, “And there aren’t many programs where you can directly give back to the community.”