Mr. MHS competition brings out school spirit

Brett Nadrich MARLBORO - A group of 10 senior boys at Marlboro High School vied for the title of Mr. MHS on Feb. 7, with Brett Nadrich taking home the crown.

Senior Anthony Charette, 21, of Howell, took home the title ofMr. Nice Guy, an award voted upon by his fellow contestants. Anthony, who has been a student at the high school for seven years, has Down syndrome, a fact that has not stopped him from enjoying his high school experience.

Mr. MHS is an annual competition that involves 10 finalists participating in various activities to win the crown. The contest started with 18 potential contestants who treated their teachers during a Teacher Appreciation Day. The boys dressed up and made breakfast for their instructors, with some offering the staff members omelets. The school staff then voted for the students and the 10 with the highest number of votes moved on to the competition.

Becoming finalists were Brett Nadrich, Anthony Charette, Jeff Paglio-Pizzi, Cameron Nichols, Nick Compitello, Jackson Ho, William Eastman, Chris Colley, David Eisenberg and Phil Zanardi.

In an interview with the News Transcript, some of the contestants sat down and discussed their participation in the Mr. MHS competition.

Jackson, William, Cameron and Nick, each of whom is 17, are active in other school organizations and saw the competition as another way to have fun during their last year at the high school.

"I did so much during high school that I thought this would definitely be a lot of fun and cap off my senior year. I mean it's your last year, so you might as well go out with a bang," Cameron said.

The finalists had a lot of work along the road to the big night.

"It was like midterms or Mr. MHS," William laughed.

The boys created a Mr. MHS 2008 calendar in which each contestant received a month where they dressed accordingly. For example,Anthony had June, where he was seen wearing a cap and gown for graduation. Two months featured group shots with the young men.

Nick and Cameron said they enjoyed the photo shoot for the calendar and felt it was very "classy."

The participants also spent three days raising money during their lunch periods for the Valerie Fund, an organization that provides support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders.

Each of the fundraising days had a theme, leading to boys dressed in muscle shirts and suits. William said they all went crazy trying to raise money, running around, doing the best they could to get people to donate. In the end their efforts paid off as the group raised about $2,700 for the Valerie Fund.

To prepare for the big night's opening dance number, the contestants received three days of dance lessons from members of the Marlboro High School dance squad.

For the talent competition the boys devised their own skits to perform with the help of their friends. Skits included a mock of theMTV show "Made," a band audition and even a Pokemon battle involving an SAT prep book.

William helped out with Anthony's skit, introducing Anthony as the true soul man. The skit included Anthony and friends singing "Soul Man" dressed as the Blues Brothers, characters made famous by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

For his own number, a skit of "Everyone Wants to Be Will Eastman," William told those present that he wanted to be just like his grandfather and then he invited his grandfather onstage to dance.

Decked out in formal wear, the contestants escorted a teacher of their choice across the stage and then jumped into a question-and-answer session.

The judges - who were parents - totaled up all the points and then announced the winner of the Mr. MHS title. The choice for Mr. Nice Guy was determined by a silent vote among the contestants themselves.

The competition led to some great friendships, according to Anthony and his mother, Debbie Charette.

Charette explained how William helped out by drivingAnthony, when there were conflicts in schedules. She said the camaraderie that was seen among all of the boys on the evening of the event was apparent.

"They all wanted to be Mr. Marlboro High School, but truly they all deserve to be Mr. Marlboro. Each one of those boys was, to me, a core example of the pride of our school district," Charette said.

Anthony was pleased with his title of Mr. Nice Guy, commenting that while Mr. MHS is chosen for his talent, he won his title because of his personality. He dedicated his selection as Mr. Nice Guy to his father, Joe Charette, who graduated from Marlboro High School before theMr.MHS pageant came about.

All of the boys encouraged next year's seniors to take part in the competition and Jackson called it "one of the best experiences of high school."