Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home High School is expanding Mr. Husky to include girls this year and will call the event Husky Royalty.
This year, the event will include nine boys and eight girls, all seniors competing for the title of Mr. and Ms. Husky.
Mr. Husky, which began in 1999, has traditionally been a semi-serious pageant-style event in which contestants are judged on everything from swimwear to formal clothing, with a talent competition.
The new format has gotten off to a little bit of a slow start, but SHHS teacher Chris Hiaasen, who is in charge of school activities planning, said interest among the school’s female population seems to be increasing.
“When I was at Oakridge, they did Mr. and Ms. OHS,” Hiaasen said. “Eight boys and eight girls would go all year long and do fund-raisers.”
With its busy schedule all year long, SHHS can’t really run the event longer, but it could at least see about adding girls to the competition to add something new, Hiaasen said.
Contestants so far include Brendan Bittner, Brenner Roberts, Brie Davis, Brittany Poteet, Daniel Sappington, Destiny Martinez, Dyani LaFave, India Porter, Jacob Webb, Jakob Hiett, Jason Miller, Julie Morgan, Mark Taraski, Pamela Bakarich, Ryan Yon, Sierrah Owen and Ty Schilling.
The other big change this year will be the addition of a scholarship, Hiaasen said. A leadership student suggested it as a way to attract more participation.
The winning boy and girl will receive a scholarship of 10 percent each from the proceeds from the event, Hiaasen said. The remaining 80 percent will go to Sweet Home Emergency Ministries.
If the scholarship isn’t used within a year, then it reverts to the charity, Hiaasen said.
This year’s event will be held at 7 p.m. on March 10 in the Sweet Home High School auditorium.
A number of fund-raising events are planned, leading up to the main event.
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, and Thursday, Feb. 26, contestants will wait tables at A&W and Spoleto’s from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, March 3, a three-versus-three basketball tournament will be held at 7 p.m. in the main gym.
At 7 p.m. on Monday, March 9, the school will host three-versus-three volleyball.
Those are the main fund-raising events for the program, Hiaasen said.
The registration price is $20 per team. Teams will choose a contestant to sponsor for each event.
Registration forms are available at the high school bookkeeper’s office from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. through March 2 for basketball and March 6 for volleyball.