The Wild West: Mr. WHHS Pageant Raises Over $21,000 to Support Local Families

On Saturday, November 4, 2023, the West Henderson High School DECA chapter hosted their second annual Mr. WHHS Pageant. The pageant was held in honor of the Mauro Perez, Ashley Trowbridge, and Brandi Ferguson families. Students set a goal to raise $12,000 and far exceeded their goal by raising a total of $21,647.34. The 29 contestants raised at least $200 to compete and the girls accompanying the contestants in the pageant raised at least $100. That money, along with the generous donations of individuals and local businesses, helped make this year’s pageant successful.

The Mr. WHHS Pageant is an all-male pageant created to raise money for families within the Henderson County Public School community that have suffered a great loss or are dealing with major medical issues. Families are nominated by employees in the Henderson County School system and voted on by members of the West Henderson High School DECA Chapter.

Marketing teacher and DECA Advisor Alison Garrett said, “This is one of my favorite events of the year. I am so impressed with our students and their dedication to serving our community. The boys involved took it upon themselves to support three families this year instead of two. This allowed us to benefit families that have students at eight different schools within our HCPS community. Mr. WHHS is a great display of student leadership and community involvement, all wrapped up inside a fun event that people enjoy.”

Mr. WHHS is a student-run event. Students choose the theme, organize the show backstage, run the light and sound booth, choreograph the opening dance, write the script, create the programs, choose decorations, and raise money for the families involved.  This pageant is a fantastic way to showcase what students in our community are capable of when given the opportunity to shine.

Two-year contestant and senior Blake Phillips said, “Mr. WHHS is fun for students and at the same time allows us to make an impact on families in our community.”

Senior Brady McGee said, “Mr. WHHS was an amazing experience. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish for our community.”

The 2023-2024 Mr. WHHS winner, Carson Dimsdale, said, “Seeing the families and knowing that all the money we raised would benefit them was very special for all of us.”

This year’s theme was “Mr. WHHS: Wild West”. Contestants competed in two “wears” as well as a talent competition. The wears portion included contestants showcasing their favorite dynamic duo and dream job. Talents ranged from crowd favorite original acts like “Yay Toast,” “The 12 Days of Christmas,” to a German and English rendition of the song “Hallelujah.” The following contestants won awards in the categories below:

Mr. WHHS: Carson Dimsdale

People’s Choice: Jack Klein

Mr. Sexy Legs: Truitt Manuel

Mr. Money Maker: Carson Dimsdale

Family’s Choice: Tyler Adams, Braxton Miller, and Erwin Thomas

Mr. Congeniality: Brady McGee

Top Five: Carson Dimsdale, Aiden Ostman, Tyson Sem, Erwin Thomas, Trey Whitaker

The winner of  Mr. WHHS is voted on by four judges from the school system. This year’s judges were Dana Braznell, Tom King, Jason Livingston and Vanessa Price. The pageant is student directed and run under the supervision of their teacher and advisor, Alison Garrett. This year, Olessya Wuthers served as the backstage director.  Caroline Frampton, Cole Reasoner, Jaylen Robinson, and Campbell Riddell acted as stage managers. Wade Huber and Lucas Shuler ran the sound and lights, while Olivia McCutcheon, Oliva Rector, Elijah Furr, John Kompreda, Shahbano Khan, and Christian Acosta worked front-of-the-house and were responsible for the set design. DECA officer Naomi Cannon and William Robinson entertained the audience as the emcee’s for the evening. The opening dance was choreographed by Cole Reasoner.  The event t-shirts were donated and printed by Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More. The “Man Enough” and “Family Videos” were created by Caroline Frampton and Erwin Thomas. Students in the WHHS DECA chapter members were in charge of planning the event.

The following students competed in the pageant along with their escorts:

Senior Contestants:

Diego Castro escorted by Allyson Garcia

Carson Dimsdale escorted by Anne Lucas

Ryan Kasney escorted by Emily Delaney

Truitt Manuel escorted by Tatum Garrett

Brady McGee escorted by Emma Bryson

Braxton Miller escorted by Emery Sprouse

Aiden Ostman escorted by Lillie Singleton

Blake Phillips escorted by Lily Barrett

Hudson Pressley escorted by Katie Barton

Grant Putnam escorted by Riley Frazier

Dustin Smith escorted by Savannah Brown

Rourke Sullivan escorted by Katie Stanley

Trey Whitaker escorted by Perci Moore

Junior Contestants:

Tyler Adams escorted by Katelyn Day

Carson Cathey escorted by Peyton Lindsey

Drew Chavez escorted by Sofie Ruzich

Jake DeBiase escorted by Kaia Filipovic

Roscoe Greene escorted by Charlot Anne Jackson

Holden Hamlin escorted by Rylee Lecker

Kian Holden escorted by Noelle Houlihan

Jack Klein escorted by Sophia Rodriguez

Neil Robinson escorted by Nyla Carroll

Tyson Sem escorted by Amerie Delfin

Erwin Thomas escorted by Aubrey Garrett

Sophomore Contestants:

Matthew Lupo escorted by Amron Rice

Brady Merrill escorted by Abigail Garnett

Bradyn Ross escorted by Kaili Lewis

Freshmen Contestants:

Chase Childers escorted by Chloe Childers

Daniel DeBiase escorted by Chiara Ball

The West Henderson High School DECA Chapter would like to thank the following businesses and organizations who donated financially, gave items to be included in our raffle baskets, or created raffle baskets:

828 Take & Bake
Advance Auto Parts
All About Heat & Air
Allergy Partners of Western NC
Alpha Fitness
Apple Valley Middle School
Ashley Mobile Electric
Athleta
Atkinson Elementary School
Bash & Co Salon
Big Frog Custom T-shirts & More
Blue Ridge Pizza Company
Blue Ridge Real Estate, Bryan Ross
Bri McKinley Hair & Makeup
Bruce Drysdale Elementary School
Builders First Source
Caroline Albea, Orthodontics
Clear Creek Elementary School
Construction Specialties & Design Builders, Inc
Corky’s Ribs & BBQ
East Henderson High School
Elite Cabinetry
Etowah Elementary School
Etowah Valley Equipment
Fighter Within Mixed Martial Arts, LLC
Flat Rock Middle School
Fletcher Elementary School
Fletchers Fun Toys
Glenn C. Marlow Elementary School
Hamlin Creative
HCPS Career Academy
Henderson County Early College
Hendersonville Elementary School
Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville Middle School
High Caliber Tattoo
Hillandale Elementary School
Hot Dog World
Humiston Family Chiropractic
Interiors I
JMK Builders, LLC
Joey’s Bagels, Fletcher Location
Mills River Elementary School
O’Reilly Auto Parts
Quality Home Consultants, LLC
Remax Realty, Donna Humiston
Renfroe Valley Farms
Rugby Middle School
Salon L Spa & Boutique
She Farms Too, Henderson County Farm Bureau
Studio 207, Nancee Pond Art
Sugarloaf Elementary School
Super Dave Concrete
Tattoos by Gat
The Honeycomb Esthetics Spa, Adrienne Honeycutt
The Salty Landing
West Henderson High School

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