Happy April everyone and welcome to a new edition of Cortney's Corner. I'm sorry to have been away for so long, but I'm back in action with news about Danny Haywood's 9th Annual CSRA Images Of The King, Elvis Impersonator Contest in Augusta, GA!
February 17th & 18th, 2006 found ETA's and Elvis fans traveling to the VFW in Augusta, GA for another dose of the CSRA Contest! The field looked to be a good one, tough competition and some special guests!
This year's contest had a new look, the stage was set up in the middle of the room for an "in the round" performance. We were treated to Elvis in all era's, with great song selections. Friday night's prelims proved the weekend was going to be full of great entertainment and lots of brotherhood amongst the contestants. Half of the contestants sang Friday night and half sang Saturday afternoon. In total there were 20 contestants, 5 Youth contestants and 4 special guests. The youth entertainers were fantastic!! The future of the ETA world looks like it's going to be a bright one!! The youth sang midway on Friday night then again on Saturday. The contestants in the youth category all received trophies for their efforts. The lineup was: Alex Swindle (already a champion several times!), Nick Gutirrez (new on the scene and fantastic!), Kambrie Gaddis, Kelsie Gaddis and Demi Downing. Alex treated the crowd to his OWN guitar playing on Friday night...what a treat! The youth were all wonderful! Another "little bit" that sang as a special guest was little Jaycie Ward from SC. For as small as she is, she has an amazing talent! She sings some great country tunes, and others as well. She could easily be a future American Idol winner!
The adult contestants in no particular order were: Russell Schneider, Alvin Smith, Arik Christopher, Damon Hendrix, Joe Trites, Gary Elvis Britt, Rick Wade, Terry Young, Paul Knutson, Mark Gagnon, Matthew Spalding, Jeff Barnes, Michael Ratcliffe, Bill Cobb, Doug Lewis, Adam Fisher, Little D, Danny Dale, Ray Johnson, Kenn E. All the guys really put their heart & soul into their performances. The crowd was on hand both nights to yell, clap and dance for all the performers. The other three special guests were 2005 CSRA Images Of Elvis winner Jason Sikes, and 1988 Images Of The King (Memphis) winner Michael Hoover and the band from Ghost Radio from Atlanta. Both Jason & Michael gave outstanding performances and showed why they were previous champions! Ghost Radio always performs a great set of Elvis music along with other tunes that keep everyone dancing.
Saturday 12 Finalists were picked from the field of 20, the finalists were in order of their performance slot: Russell Schneider, Matthew Spalding, Danny Dale, Michael Ratcliffe, Adam Fisher, Damon Hendrix, Arik Christopher, Mark Gagnon, Jeff Barnes, Rick Wade, Gary Elvis Britt, and Joe Trites. The night was a LONG one, but for the entertainment it was well worth the wait! Again we were treated to performances Elvis would be proud of! At the end of a long weekend 4 70's Elvis's and 1 50's Elvis would be crowned winners, the top 5 guys were: 1st Place- Damon Hendrix, Adam Fisher, Arik Christopher (50s), Rick Wade and Jeff Barnes. The Spirit Of Elvis award was given to Rick Wade, and a special appreciation award presented to Jeff Barnes.
A Big thank you goes out to Danny Haywood, his lovely wife Pat, emcee Bill...and the rest of the crew involved in putting together a great contest! Another big thanks to ALL the performers....it's because of them that Elvis's legend is kept alive! If you want to go to a WONDERFUL contest, full of fun, friends and great Elvis music, be on the lookout for the dates of Danny Haywood's 10th Annual contest next February! You can stay updated, see photos, and read my review of the 2003 CSRA contest at: www.csraelvisimpersonatorcontest.com
