By Liz Twentyman (Feb. 12, 2002)

After a grueling competition Saturday night, including a talent competition and interview, George Mason senior Josh Singer was crowned Mr. Mason for 2002. 

Before the competition Saturday night, contestants were nominated by individual teachers and then voted on. They were chosen on the basis of their scholarship (3.0 GPA or higher), involvement in school and community activities, personal integrity, and how well they personified those characteristics of the George Mason student body. Two contestants were named from each of the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes, while five contestants represented the senior class.

The competition Saturday night began with an introduction of the contestants followed by the talent competition. Many of the contestants sang or performed music. Freshman Andrew Campanelli played a drum solo, junior Grant Sabatier played the guitar and sang "Waiting on an Angel," junior Chris Sabattini sang in Italian, and senior Gordon Daisley played a song with his band, Southern Comfort.

Senior Jon Tonkowich amused the audience by playing the guitar and singing a song that he had written himself about the "Mr. Mason Blues." While Jon sang about his problems trying to decide what to do for the talent competition and trying to convince Mr. Wilkie, who helped to run the Mr. Mason competition, to let his girlfriend (a student at Fairfax High School) escort him, he admitted that winning the competition would help him get rid of his Mr. Mason blues. (Having his girlfriend Meredith Huddleson escort him didn’t hurt.)

Some of the music performances were less traditional - freshman Will Straub played the harmonica while jumping on a pogo stick, and Josh Singer (a.k.a "Papa J.") brought the audience to laughter as he danced to the Offspring’s "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" with his "home girls" (Beth Pyne, Claire Montgomery, Kendra Webb, and Jessie Grubbs).

While sports are hard to transfer to an on-stage competition, sophomore Joseph Mauro and senior Brian Coleman found ways to get past that. Joseph Mauro chipped golf clubs into recycling bins, and Brian Coleman demonstrated the rules and penalties of hockey, slashing and fighting his little brother Michael in the process. 

Sophomore Andrew Montgomery, knowing that it would be hard to outdo his talent performance last year (he wrestled, and lost to, a folding chair), decided to show a completely different talent. In a video, upon finding an apple pie recipe and a large number of apples on his kitchen counter, he decided to make apple pie, wearing a frilly apron.

Senior Sasha Eric also appeared in a video, titled "Average Guy." While a friend who was narrating the video admitted that Sasha was not a normal superhero, he still did things that needed to be done. He brought a carton of milk to a friend who had just run out of his, he helped another friend who managed to get his head stuck in his sleeve while putting on his shirt, and he rescued a cat from a tree.

After the talent competition, Southern Comfort played some songs before the five finalists were announced. Freshman Will Straub, sophomore Andrew Montgomery, junior Chris Sabbatini, and seniors Josh Singer and Jon Tonkowich moved on to the final rounds. The announcement was followed by a performance by the band Keen.

In an evening wear competition, contestants were judged on overall impression and poise. Following was the interview competition, in which each of the contestants was asked one question. Freshman Will Straub declared that the most important characteristics of Mr. Mason were "style, class, and dignity" and Andrew Montgomery discussed why integrity is an important characteristic. When asked which Olympic sport he would like to participate in, Chris Sabbatini decided that he would do the luge, as it takes great courage to go down the steep curves of life. Josh Singer said he believes that the essence of school spirit is "supporting those who support you, and enjoying other people doing what they enjoy." Jon Tonkowich discussed how he had been personally affected by the events of September 11. (The proceeds were to benefit the September 11^th Fund and those affected by September 11^th.)

According to the master of ceremonies, the final vote was close. The fourth runner up was freshman Will Straub, the third runner up was sophomore Andrew Montgomery, the second runner up was junior Chris Sabbatini, and the first runner up was senior Jon Tonkowich. After being crowned Mr. Mason, Josh Singer said that "the competition between everybody is what pushed us to be this good." He later said about the Mr. Mason competition, "it’s things like this that make this school great."