Bow ties adjusted, polished shoes shining, and an audience waiting in anticipation. Welcome to Etowah’s first Mr. EHS Pageant. On Mar. 13, Etowah, in conjunction with the “Dream on 3” organization, held a fundraiser for one of its own.  Up next, a student-teacher basketball game during a special pep assembly.

All of these events are for  sophomore Anderson Sisk, chosen by the county to experience a dream of a lifetime.

Dream on 3 is an organization whose mission is to make the sports dreams of exceptional children come true. They create experiences for qualified kids by giving experiences such as introducing them to their favorite athletes or getting them to their desired sporting event. Sisk wants to see a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event and Etowah wants to help send him to it.

“I think the pageant was a great success for everyone because we all had fun being there and participating, and it all went to a good cause; everyone was really into it, and we were most importantly able to provide a great experience for Anderson,” Liam Aenlle, junior, said.

The pageant ended with Sisk being crowned this year’s Mr. EHS. Senior Cade Gantt hosted the event alongside teacher and coach Jason Dasinger. The two had the audience laughing with their jokes and banter.

 “It was an awesome night seeing the Etowah community come together and raise money for a special cause. Seeing Anderson get lifted up after winning Mr. EHS was something I won’t ever forget,” Gantt said.

 The crowd went wild for Sisk when he was announced Mr. EHS. Etowah enjoyed coming together to help a fellow classmate.

 “The Dream on 3 organization came down to a county meeting with all AD’s and they told the county about it and they reached out to all schools to see if we had any students who we would want to submit an application to make their dream come true. We submitted different names and Anderson was chosen,” Victoria Carter, coach, said.

 Carter and Coach Lindsey Alexander ran the pageant and will continue to host fundraisers with the help of the “Junior Dream Team”. This team consists of seniors Matt Lane, Jaxon Etter, Bryant Madden, Rhod Many, Tori Ridgeway, Molly Deane, and Cade Gantt; junior Maggie Messerly; and sophomore Ally Zazzara.

 “We decided [the pageant] would be a good way to get everyone involved, and on top of it being fun for everyone, it would also be a good fundraiser,” Madden said.

“All in for Anderson” t-shirts can be purchased for $10 in Carter’s classroom or Alexander’s office. A goal of the dream team’s is to have everyone at the send-off wearing this t-shirt.

 “All Anderson knows is that the event has to do with wrestling. He does not know the date, where he is going, or who he is going to see,” Carter said.

Although the majority of the money needed to reach Anderson’s $4500 goal was made from the Mr. EHS Pageant, the dream team still has more community nights planned. The next fundraiser, a student-teacher basketball game, is taking place on Friday, Mar. 29 during 7th period for $2. All it takes is good spirits to help support Sisk and his dream.