Mr. Murtown Contest Brings in Money for College Scholarships

From modeling formal wear and swimsuits to the talent and personal interviews, Murrieta High Schools Scholarship Foundation’s first Mr. Murtown Benefit held on April 10 had all the elements of a beauty pageant. Capitalizing on the popularity of Murrieta Valley Unified high schools Mr. Nighthawk, Mr. Bronco and Mr. Ram contests, the top senior boys from school’s contests pulled out all the stops to prove they had what it took to be crowned Mr. Murtown.

Screaming students from each high school cheered on their favorites as 11 young men danced, sang, swagged, played the piano and painted. Murrieta Mesa senior John Beltz’s talent is videography and he showed a music video he created. Andres Gonzalez wowed the crowd by performing a salsa dance with his very talented mother. Omar Mohamed had everyone laughing at his realistic animal sounds and slide show of animal pictures. Matt Smith performed a guitar solo and Zachary Bryan played an original composition on the piano. During the formalwear wear competition, most of the contestants were accompanied by their mothers who took obvious delight in being escorted by their dashing young men.

The event hosts, Marilyn Durbin (VMHS), Ashley Matkins (MVHS) and Jared Zachary (MMHS) kept the show moving along with their timely comments and jokes. Debating which school’s color was best Zachary settled the matter by saying, "The whole point here is that we are one big Murrieta family."

After the competition was narrowed down to the final four, Cody Pham from Vista Murrieta was named the first Mr. Murtown and he received a crown and sash from Miss Murrieta. For the talent competition Pham captivated the audience by speed painting a large portrait of the event’s organizer Mike Pattison to music. The audience voted online for the People's Choice Award which went to Mesa’s Dallin Inman.

"To say that Mr. Murtown contest was a success is an understatement. We raised $3,900 for student scholarships, but just as important is the camaraderie and unified spirit shared by students from the three high schools. It proved to be a healthy competition, full of laughs and serious talent."

Cody Pham said, "It was a great experience and it was awesome to be chosen but more importantly, it was an opportunity to make new friends and have fun while we helped raise money for scholarships."

Murrieta High Schools' Scholarship Foundation will present scholarships to deserving seniors on April 22 at Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee. Community members and local businesses are encouraged to make a tax-deductible donation and help a deserving graduate realize their dream of a college education. Donations of any amount may be sent to the Scholarship Foundation at 41870 McAlby Court, Murrieta, CA 92562.

For more information, contact Karen Parris at 951-696-1600, ext. 1022.

—News release submitted by Karen Parris, Murrieta Valley Unified School District