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Wounded warrior; verbal percussionist wins ‘Show Me What Ya Got’
By Staff Sgt. A.C. Mink, Marine Corps Air Station New River
As applause and shouts filled the house, Cpl. Warren McCain, a
verbal percussionist, accepted his checks for $1,000 and $500
as winner
of Camp Lejeune’s inaugural “Show Me What Ya Got” talent
competition.
Twenty-four acts put on a show that had “something for everyone,” just
as touted by event coordinator Yolanda Mayo, II Marine Expeditionary
Force protocol officer.
“We wanted to give our Marines and the community a forum in
which to perform,” said Mayo, who also hosted the event alongside
Michael Saunders from the single Marine Program. “There isn’t
a community theater or dance theater here where people can perform.
We wanted to give them an outlet.”
Col. Adele Hodges, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune commanding officer,
approached Mayo in July about the possibility of holding a competition
for the Marines and the local community to showcase their talent.
A few weeks later, Mayo pitched a concept to the colonel and from
that grew “Show Me What Ya Got.”
“The colonel has a huge love of the arts, [she is] a big advocate
of the arts,” said Mayo. “She wanted to do this because
she believed that the talent is here in Jacksonville and surrounding
communities.”
When you put together a talent competition it is never a sure thing.
Show’s like “American Idol” and “So You Think
You Can Dance” make it look easy, but there is an enormous
amount of planning and preparation that goes into making the program
go off without a hitch, according to Mayo. “Without the support
of Marine Corps Community Services and sponsors Sprint, The Globe
newspaper, Party 92.3, Thunder Country 96.3 and KISS 102, we could
not have made this happen.”
“It was such a success. Everyone had fun and even the crowd
got into the program,” said Melinda Vincik, MCCS event coordinator. “We
had more than 40 acts try-out; enough that were good enough to do
another whole show.”
The concept was simple, a noise meter gauged the audience reaction
and the top five acts would then go on stage for a “cheer off.” A
$1,000 prize was to be given to the top act. However, wanting to
further encourage the active-duty service members who made it into
the competition, Hodges added $500 of her own money.
“We just have so many with hidden talents,” said Hodges. “This
is an opportunity to share those talents not just with Lejeune, but
with the surrounding communities.”
Hodges, who even attended some of the auditions, echoed Vincik’s
statement, saying she would definitely like to see another show like
this.
After their dance routine and the show’s finale, Jacksonville
High School cheerleaders kept the crowd pumped up as the top acts
were called back to the stage. From a barbershop quartet and a country
singer, to a beat boxer or verbal percussionist and a group of teenage
dancers who “krumped” their way to the top, the acts
showed diversity in true variety show form.
There might have been a few seconds of mystery as to the winner,
however, when the last of the top contestants stepped center stage,
there was no question.
“I was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to Warren
McCain,” said Mayo, of McCain who seemed genuinely shocked
by the crowd’s enthusiasm.
“I had fun and was just pleased with the opportunity to perform,” said
McCain, who is currently attached to Wounded Warrior Battalion East,
Wounded Warrior Regiment, aboard Camp Lejeune.
As to future shows, everyone involved, including Hodges, was enthusiastic.
However, Mayo and Vincik shared this sentiment, “just not tomorrow.”
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