Donovan Bennett was crowned Mr. Vineland Thursday in the 22th annual competition before a boisterous but appreciative crowd in the auditorium of VHS South. Bennett, the son of Sean and Kendall Bennett, was one of 11 candidates selected by senior girls to vie for the prestigious title. A 6’0”, 215 pound senior, Bennett is a member of the VHS football team and Marching Clan band. So it was no surprise that he listed his hobbies as football and playing the drums. In fact, it was his high energy mash-up of several pop songs on the drums that wowed the crowd and put him closer to the crown. The new Mr. Vineland plans to attend college, major in criminal justice, and play football on the collegiate level. Bennett, Mr. November in the contest, received his crown and sash from the reigning Mr. Vineland, Austin Jennings. Each contestant was scored equally in the following areas: casual attire, talent, and formal attire. The field was then narrowed down to five finalists, who answered the final question posed by veteran host Charles Gaudio. Bennett was also poised and confident answering the question, “If you could give one piece of advice to a future VHS student, what would it be?” “Follow your dreams,” said Bennett. “Never let anyone tell you what you can’t do. Someone once told me to live life with a ‘forget you’ attitude, meaning there’s always going to be someone trying to bring you down, someone saying you can’t come out and play a certain sport cause of your size or speed or intelligence. But you just have to live life with a ‘forget you’ attitude and do what you want to do.” First runner-up was Ricardo Ramos, Mr. July. If for some reason Bennett is unable to fulfill his duties as Mr. Vineland, Ramos will assume that post. Second runner-up was Anthony Sierra, Mr. February. Isaiah Ocasio, Mr. June, was third and William Lunsford, Mr. October, fourth. The other contestants were Kyle Castellini, Steven Tobolski, Eric Petit, Jared Martine, Andrew Vena, and Mohammad Kazmi. Judges were: Teri Godlewski, a district supervisor of instruction; Natalie Bermudez, VHS grad and now professional vocalist; Sue Cicchini, teacher at Veterans Memorial School; Officer Dion Colvin, from the Vineland Police Department and first runner up, Mr. Vineland 1999; and Officer Julio DeJesus, from the Vineland Police Department who was also a contestant in the inaugural Mr. Vineland contest. Scores were tabulated by Scott Musterel and David Hart of the Vineland Public Schools Finance Department. Funds raised from ticket sales and calendars with photos of each contestant sold at the pageant, will be used to help pay for the senior prom. Mayor Ruben Bermudez was publicly thanked by Gaudio for providing without charge the tuxedos worn by the contestants each year of the pageant. Bermudez has also offered Bennett free use of a tux for this year’s senior prom. The program was videotaped by VPS TV and will air on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon FIOS Channel 41 tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. Because of music copyright issues, the program may not be available on our Youtube channel. DVD copies of the program are available for $10 by calling the district communications office at (856) 794-6700 Ext. 2103 or email [email protected]. Mr. Vineland and his court: vpscomm.org/public/01-16-15_VHS_MRV.jpg Front row, from left, Kyle Castellini, Steven Tobolski, Eric Petit, and Ricardo Ramos, first runner-up. Second row, class advisors Stacey DeRose and Mary Beth Banko. Back row, from left, Jared Martine, Andrew Vena, William Lunsford, fourth runner-up, Bennett, Mohammad Kazmi, Anthony Sierra, second runner-up and Isaiah Ocasio, third runner-up. Gallery of candid photos: vpscomm.org/public/MRV15_Final/index.html
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 18:28:47 +0000
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