PHOTO GALLERY: Local Girl Wins Stoneham Star Competition

Aspiring stars took over the  on Tuesday night, with 15 finalists performing in a talent show put on by the Rotary Club of Stoneham in its third annual fundraiser.

The Stoneham Star talent contest attracted more than 40 entries this year for a good reason — a contest prize of $1,000, which was captured by a local sixth grader, Jacklyn Junta of Stoneham.

Second-place winner Rebecca Lerman, a Stoneham Middle School student, has performed in many musicals at the Stoneham Theatre and was very comfortable on stage for her performance of the Disney hit song "Part of Your World."

"My older sister got me started (singing) and I just fell in love with it," Lerman said. 

The acts included some talented local bands that traveled from out of town in hopes of winning the prize.

Thomas "Tom-Tom" Fuller from Dorchester and West Medford is the drummer of the Boston-based band Legacy.

Fuller works as a cook at a high-end restaurant in Kenmore Square, and said his grandparents from Harrisburg, Pa. were both drummers.

"I wear my chef hat on weekdays, and my music hat on weekends," Fuller said.

Former Rotary President Gerry McCarthy said the local Rotary Club is made up of 37 members, most of whom are successful Stoneham businesspeople.

"We are one of the largest humanitarian clubs around," McCarthy said. "Most are businesspeople who want to give back to society. It is service above self."

The event raised more than $3,000 in donations for the local parents' musical association.

Dr. Joseph Pizzarello, who has run a family dentistry practice in Stoneham for 15 years, donated the first prize money, which he presented to Junta.