MEO Tri State Idol Finals Full Of Divine Presence
You’ll never guess who stole the show April 25 at the 4th Annual Marian Educational Outreach Tri State Idol finals.
The Holy Spirit. Seriously.
There’s a good chance many wouldn’t think first about God’s presence at this event. Make no mistake – He was there, and the evidence was all over the Pavilion at Evansville’s Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.
On stage, an amazing pool of talent performed – providing a collective witness of Divine blessings. In the audience, a just-as-amazing outpouring of generosity left no doubt of the Holy Spirit’s presence and impact on the evening.
It’s tough to decide which to write about first – the talent or the generosity. Either could be the lead, after that show-stealing Spirit.
And after Benedictine Sister Beata Mehling, one of the founders of the Marian Day School that has become MEO. She enjoyed a warm, heartfelt welcome from the large crowd, and spent time throughout the evening with attendees who made a point of personally sharing their memories of and gratitude for her efforts.
Mater Dei Senior Alexandria Turpin wowed everyone with her rendition of the late Whitney Houston’s “If I Don’t Have You,” and she won the Idol finals. If you weren’t there, however, don’t let that mislead you into believing the other finalists weren’t worthy.
Third-place finisher Manisha Wohlford, a junior at Reitz Memorial High School, kicked off the finals with an explosive performance of Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” Second-place finishers “Likewise,” the duo of 2013 St. Maria Goretti Youth Distinction honorees Ben Dahlquist and Matt Cassidy – from Evansville’s Holy Trinity Parish – turned in a delightful treatment of Bobby McFerrin’s joyful “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” “Likewise” has already released an album, “Neighbors,” which is available on iTunes.
The other finalists included the trio “New Haven,” whose members are Taylor Dolletzki, Dekar Baker and Jacob Plough. They are working on their first album and hope for a release later this year. Catie Catanese offered a stirring performance of country star Miranda Lambert’s “House that Built Me,” and her accompanying guitarist, Josh Thompson, played the perfect arrangement to highlight Catanese’s powerful, expressive voice.
Emily Pfister earned a rousing ovation for her arrangement of Adele’s “Set Fire to Rain.” Voters (audience votes that night combined with online votes to determine final placements) were compelled to reward her not only for her vocal talent, but also for her wonderful abilities on keyboards. She played and sang in the Idol finals.
That’s a lot of talent to share a single stage – but wait … there’s more.
Evansville television icon Mike Blake of WFIE-TV emceed the evening, and he welcomed a pair of Idol judges who are carrying Evansville’s wealth of talent to the world. Memorial graduates DeVonna Lawrence and Jama Williamson returned to their hometown from Los Angeles just for the Idol finals. Lawrence is one of three siblings who are among the area’s most accomplished musicians – and Williamson has appeared on Broadway and in a variety of television series, including one of the longest-running ever (Law & Order).
Lawrence's younger brother Phillip tours with Bruno Mars, but has found time this week to be in the studio with DeVonna and their brother Shane to put the finishing touches on an album. DeVonna, who sang “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess” and an original, “Love,” as part of the Idol finals, told the crowd that the siblings are hoping to join a tour of gospel performers in support of the record.
Williamson told the crowd that she just finished shooting a sitcom pilot, and that she has finished work on the film “I Am Potential,” which is set for theatrical release in 2015.
But wait … there’s even more!
2013 Idol finalist Meghan Nichole, a Memorial graduate, returned for an “encore” performance of two songs – including an original from her debut album, which is set for release this fall. She already has released an E.P. (i.e. mini-album). And 2014 Idol event chair Nora Ferguson introduced her Godchild, Sullivan Cox, an eighth-grader at St. John Newburgh, who sang Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” to kick off the evening’s performances.
Now, about the audience. Its collective generosity was every bit as memorable as any of the on-stage performances. Blake had to beg people to move away from the silent-auction displays so dinner could be served on time. Although they cooperated, many were up from their seats quickly to continue bidding until the auction closed.
Auctioneer John Jenkins worked through a five-item live auction, raising more than $5,000 for MEO in about the time it took to get through dessert. As noted above, audience votes helped determine the Idol winner – and voters donated $5 to MEO for every ballot they cast.
When it comes to spontaneous generosity, however, the crowd made a huge statement after hearing from MEO board member Molly Francis about a new initiative. Francis, who has a child in Holy Spirit Catholic School’s Resource Program, introduced the “Tech It Easy” concept – a camp to introduce special-needs students to technology resources that can help them achieve in the classroom and in life.
Francis explained that MEO received a grant last year from the Welborn Foundation that it used to provide iPads to diocesan schools. The organization is applying for another Welborn grant this year, with the goal of using it to hold “Tech It Easy” camps for the next two years.
The difference? The new grant requires matching funds from the applying organization, and MEO will need to raise $10,000 to make this all happen.
Or, rather, it NEEDED to raise $10,000.
Literally in less than 10 minutes, members of the Idol-finals audience had pledged $10,250 specifically to apply to the matching portion of the new Welborn grant application. Those moments – as bidding cards went up all over the room to signify people pledging amounts from $25 to $1,000 – were as moving as any of the musical performances.
MEO board member Cherie Burgdorf may have been part of the night’s biggest surprise. Fellow board member Martha Pitt recognized and honored Burgdorf’s many years of service with a special presentation, which prompted a long, enthusiastic ovation from the crowd.
