The Mountainlair Ballrooms will be filled with various genres of talent from West Virginia University faculty and staff on Friday at 7 p.m.
The annual Faculty/Staff Talent Show will consist of singing, dancing, storytelling, comedy, monologues and other acts from some of WVU’s most talented faculty and staff members.
Former WVU all-Big East Conference performer and current linebacker of the Chicago Bears J.T. Thomas will sign autographs prior to the show. Former Mountaineer Mascot Rebecca Durst will introduce Thomas as he outlines his ReadyReady Road Trip in conjunction with the Epilepsy Foundation and the J.T. Thomas Foundation.
The co-hosts for the event will be Chelsea Malone and Ellis Lambert, reigning and runner-up of Mountaineer Idol. Malone and Lambert will also perform a duet.
The celebrity judges will be WVU football quarterback and Orange Bowl MVP Geno Smith, WVU inside receiver and 2011 NCAA all-purpose yardage leader Tavon Austin and Mountaineer Mascot Brock Burwell. Other judges include: former Mountaineer Idol runners-up Rachel Viglianco and Patrick Garcia, WVU Dance Team member Mel Moraes and 2010 Faculty/Staff Talent Show winner Jonathan Burns. Burns will close the show with a performance, as well.
The contestants performing for the event are:
Robin Anderson – Staff, Office of Research Integrity and Compliance
Jason Burns, Staff, Office of International Programs
Angela Caudill – Staff, University Relations
Pamela DeBarr – Staff, Mountainlair
Kathy Fletcher – Staff, Office of Information Technology
Joanna Ham – Faculty, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Chris Honaker – Staff, Dining Services
James Johnson – Staff, Office of Multicultural Programs
Duncan Lorimer – Faculty, Physics
Kathy Mayer – Staff, Office of International Students and Scholars
Chris Plein – Faculty, Public Administration
David Plum – Staff, Facilities Management
Kaushlendra Singh – Faculty, Forestry and Natural Resources
Litha Sivanandan – Faculty, Extension Service
Awards will be given to the winner, first runner-up, second runner-up and remaining two finalists.
-WVU-
td/02/07/12
CONTACT: Sonja Wilson, Mountainlair
304-293-8230, Sonja.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.