 |
With his Irish Riverdance routine, 14 -year-old Daniel Beeman, left, won the $1,000 top prize during Omaha’s Got Talent contest on Saturday night. Connor Meuret,12, center, took second place for a solo vocal performance and third place went to Justin Temme, right, for his guitar solo “The Ride,” which was written by the late country music great, Chris LeDoux. |
 |
UNMC College of Pharmacy Class of 2009 student, Tess Andersen, left, president of the Omaha’s Got Talent executive committee, with her husband, Mike, and Jessica Chardoulias, who also was a member of the executive committee. |
 |
Emcee Todd Paulsen, Pharm.D., UNMC College of Pharmacy assistant professor, stands before contestants of Omaha’s Got Talent as he gets ready to announce winners. |
Sponsored by the College of Pharmacy Class of 2009, the event drew several hundred to the Central High School auditorium to watch 24 acts compete for a top prize of $1,000. Proceeds from the event went to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
First prize went to 14-year-old Daniel Beeman for his rousing Irish tap routine. He donated 10 percent of his winnings to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Connor Meuret, 12, took second place for her extraordinary vocal performance, and third place went to Justin Temme for his impressive guitar solo.
Those who attended the three-hour event were amply entertained.
One of the first acts was 4-year-old Jojo Siwa, who shined with a jazz dance then a vocal solo. The crowd was mesmerized by the young hopeful who showed the guts and confidence of a Broadway star. Fourteen-year-old Brittney Tartt strutted her stuff with a hip-hop dance that showed her professional quality moves and one could see the Diamondettes performing their impressive a cappella on bigger stage someday.
Todd Paulsen, Pharm.D., associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, served as emcee of the event. Though he’s never emceed an event before, he looked like a professional as he kept the show moving and the crowd entertained.
For an event that wasn’t even scripted, Dr. Paulsen performed superbly.
Celebrity judges, who were paired with cancer survivors, were inspired and impressed by the talent. They struggled with their decisions.
“You’re all so talented and so much fun to watch,” Glennboy of Star 104.5 FM told the contestants.
Judges included Tom Becka of KFAB radio, Guerin Austin of KPTM Channel 42 television, Sheila Brummer and Rachel Pierce of WOWT Channel 6 television, Glennboy and Glo of Star 104.5 FM, Miss Nebraska Junior Team representative Jordan Somer and cancer survivors Bob Husz, Mary Waugh-Taylor, Greg Schardt, Victor Michael Ludwik and Donna Kelly.
There was plenty of UNMC talent represented in the contest, including College of Pharmacy student Ryan Frickel, who played player for the local rock band, Atkinson; Temme, whose uncle, Jim Temme, works at UNMC; Claire Volk, daughter of Amy Volk of the University of Nebraska Foundation; and Joo Lee, who works in the emergency room.
Will Wetzel, of “Will Wetzel and the Music Men,” and his band also competed. Wetzel is the son of Martin Wetzel, M.D, and Sharon Hammer, M.D., of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry.
|
|
Third-year pharmacy student Tess Andersen spearheaded the show and thanked her fellow students for their hard work arranging the event over the past few months.
“The students did a phenomenal job,” Andersen said.
She credited many others as well, including John Gibson and his students at Central High School.
“I love those kids,” Andersen said. “They dedicated so much time to this event. Without John’s help, we wouldn’t have been able to have the show. He has an awesome group of kids.”
Motivation for the fund raising began with Andersen, who later with the help of fellow students, convinced her class to get involved. Her father had stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was 34 years old. As a teenager, she said her family was told to go to the hospital to say their goodbyes.
But Andersen’s father miraculously survived. He’s now 55 and was at the show.
Jessica Chardoulias, UNMC College of Pharmacy Class of 2009 student and member of the executive committee, said her father, a cancer survivor, told her he didn’t expect to see the talent he witnessed Saturday night.
“He’s been hearing Tess and I talk about this all summer,” Chardoulias said. “He bought his ticket to be there for me. He was amazed at what we pulled off. He said my mom was transfixed during the show.”
For Andersen and Chardoulais, who both have been affected by cancer, not only did the show entertain, but it also provided an important chance to educate people about leukemia and lymphoma.
“The show became a labor of love for us,” Andersen said.